Although underage alcohol consumption rates have decreased according to University Police, officials are still seeking new ways to discourage the activity in Oswego County.

Recently, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that authorities are going to start taking action against fake ID holders in New York State. The fake ID campaign is set to run until April and will start in the capital district with the possibility of expanding to other counties in New York.

The campaign will use underage decoys in an attempt to catch distributors, bars and retailers serving alcohol to fake ID holders.

“Alcohol consumption becomes an issue for everyone when negative actions occur,” Oswego State University Chief of Police John Rossi said. “SUNY Oswego has addressed the problem over the past several years and our incidents involving alcohol have actually decreased.”

Oswego State offers a variety of programs for students that get caught engaging in underage drinking activities. The main goal is to educate students on the dangers of underage drinking.

“Lifestyles Center has a program they conduct each week,” Rossi said. “We know we can’t stop underage drinking, but we want to decrease binge drinking through education, as well as teaching them how to drink responsibly.”

According to Rossi, students caught engaging in underage alcohol abuse are mandated by the college to get assistance.

The SUNY website requires that each school distribute alcohol and drug awareness information to students across the campus to make sure students are informed of the dangers of abuse.

Oswego State can be seen in the lineup for the top partying schools in New York State. In October 2015, Oswego State made an appearance in an article titled “Here are the 13 Drunkest Counties (and Cities) in New York State” posted by Alfred Nottingham of onlyinyourstate.com

According to Nottingham, there are 6.08 bars per 10,000 residents in Oswego, “Students drink because they are in social settings and it is just something college-age people have always been involved with,” Rossi said.

SUNY schools deal with underage alcohol consumption in different ways. No one University Police Department is like another, because no campus is like another.

According to the Oswego State website, each college must go through the processes of preventing alcohol and drug abuse.

“Each SUNY college is responsible on a logical level, other than strict adherence to the legal age for consumption, the SUNY system leaves it to each individual campus,” Rossi said.

The SUNY website also points out the core elements of policies and practices for alcohol and drug prevention. These policies include establishing committees to adhere to specific safety issues, educating students on drugs and alcohol, providing professional staff that can control substance abuse and creating campus support for drug and alcohol prevention.

On a federal level, all campuses, not just SUNY campuses, have to adhere to statewide policies regarding alcohol consumption and abuse.

“Binge drinking is a problem in today’s society because young adults aren’t aware of their limits,” said Catherine Anastasia, a Oswego State student. “I feel as though if students were exposed to the dangers of alcohol consumption at a young age, binge drinking wouldn’t be an issue.”

Anastasia has observed individuals that are underage on and off campus engage in underage binge drinking. She believes there are ways that alcohol abuse can be discouraged amongst students and community members in Oswego.

“In attempt to combat this ongoing issue, Oswego can look into establishing more facilities for students to go and have fun without involving alcohol,” Anastasia said.

Anastasia also pointed out that she is not aware of any activities in Oswego for college aged students that could be beneficial when trying to deter drinking.

“There isn’t really much to do around here other than go to the bars on the weekends,” Anastasia said. “I’m 21, so going out is a fun thing for me to do, but it makes me think about the students that are under 21 and have basically nothing to do at night.”

Anastasia believes that even if rules are established, students are going to drink anyway.

“No matter what rules are set for drinking, students are going to find ways around them,” Anastasia said.

Lt. Zachary Misztal of the Oswego City Police Department believes that there are many reasons why students engage in underage drinking.

“People make a lot of bad choices when they are intoxicated,” Misztal said. “One bad decision that we make because we are not thinking clearly from alcohol can effect our lives forever and in some cases ruin them.”

According to Misztal, Oswego Country regulates most activities to ensure the quality of life for residents improve.

“Parents and schools can educate individuals, businesses can regulate sales and alternative activities can be offered,” Misztal said. “The specific and general deterrents through law enforcement can be used, whether they are arrests, tickets or educational engagements.”