This summer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed his plan to fight underage drinking on college campuses in New York.
With help from the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, the New York State Liquor Authority, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and the New York State Police, they hope to put an end to underage drinking. Together, they came up with a few ways to help protect college students.
“Underage drinking can lead to life-altering consequences for college students, and as the fall semester gets underway, we are working to educate college students about this reckless behavior,” Gov. Cuomo said in a statement.
The Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services has a campaign called Talk2Prevent, which gives advice to parents on how they can talk to their children about underage drinking and the dangerous effects it can have on them.
The State Liquor Authority and Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association (ESRTA) are presenting free trainings across the state in bar, restaurant and tavern owners and their staff. The program will inform them on the legal responsibilities of selling alcohol to customers. Many underage students get ahold of alcohol by getting fake IDs.
The DMV launches the “Operation Prevent” program in college towns, directed at underage drinking by prohibiting the use of fake IDs. In 2015, DMV investigators made 760 arrests and confiscated more than 750 fake IDs. The investigators worked with local authorities to find out where the underage drinking hotspots were at.
“This program provides valuable guidance and assistance and will go a long way toward gaining increased compliance with the law. That’s good for the business and owners and for the public at large,” said Scott Wexler, executive director of ESRTA in a statement.
Members of the New York State Police Campus Sexual Assault Victims Unit are speaking at college orientation sessions, speaking about the connection between alcohol abuse and sexual assault on college campuses. Sexual assault on college campuses is another concerning issue that people are worried about. With Cuomo’s “Enough is Enough” legislation he is trying to help reduce to number of sexual assaults that have occurred in the past.
“Underage drinking is fueled by the forbidden fruit theory. Putting on more pressure to stop it may only cause kids to drink more,” Sophomore Abby West said. “I think the drinking age should be lowered because of that. We may be less inclined to binge drink if we are legally and socially permitted to.”
Jamie Aranoff, a sophomore, said, “I think in theory it’s effective, however, a large social aspect of college is portrayed in terms of underage drinking. From movies, to social media, to even our parent’s stories, drinking alcohol and college are just associated together. In many cultures outside the U.S., drinking is part of life and not seen as taboo; there is also not a negative stigma towed it.”
In many other countries, drinking age is lower than the United States’ drinking age. The World Health Organization published research that found that in many European countries that have a drinking age of 18 or younger, teenagers drank occasionally, but there were fewer incidents of alcohol intoxication versus the United States.
According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, an independent organization that inspires social change through research, how the media repetitively shows alcohol-related content may stress that alcohol use as a cultural “norm.” On television, drinking is over exemplified and exaggerated to get people to watch a show or movie.
Cuomo is trying to guide college students to not drink underage because of the causes of intoxication on college grounds. Hopefully, his efforts show a positive feedback on college campuses.
“These coordinated efforts will build on our progress to help avoid needless tragedies and create a safer learning environment on campuses statewide,” said Coumo in a statement.
