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<h1>Press Releases<br>
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<td width="559"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<br>
</strong></font></td>
<td width="147"><a href="BingeDrink/19904-99-2024%20Binge%20Ad.pdf">Click here to<br>
to view advertisement.</a></td>
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<td valign="top" width="559"><font face="Times New Roman" size="1">&nbsp;</font><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES CONCERNED <br>
ABOUT IMPACT OF BINGE DRINKING</font><font size="3"><p><font face="Times New Roman">WASHINGTON,
D.C. &#151; A national campaign aimed at raising public awareness of the dangers of
high-risk and binge drinking by young people is being launched by the National Association
of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), 113 member institutions, and the
Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities. </font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">Full-page advertisements will appear in dozens of
newspapers around the country starting September 10, including the <i>New York Times, USA
Today, </i>the<i> Wall Street Journal, </i>the<i> Los Angeles Times, </i>and the <i>Chicago
Tribune.</font></p>
<p></i><font face="Times New Roman">In addition to the advertisements, a web site, a
&quot;best practices&quot; brochure highlighting campus programs to combat binge drinking
and other information have been created to focus on this public health issue.</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">&quot;Young people today are dying as a result of high
risk and binge drinking. Others&#146; lives are in jeopardy. We hope that by drawing
attention to the issue, the general public will join us in looking for ways to curb this
horrible problem,&quot; said C. Peter Magrath, president of NASULGC. </font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">&quot;Our campuses are working hard, but we can&#146;t
solve the problem alone. Too many students come to us as problem drinkers. Nearly
one-third of college students start as binge drinkers in high school, and binge drinking
has become a destructive way of life for too many college students,&quot; Magrath said.</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">Binge drinking is defined as the consumption of five or
more drinks in one sitting by a male, or four or more drinks by a female. According to a
national survey, more than 40 percent of today&#146;s college students binge&#151;20
percent of them three or more times in a two-week period. More than half of the students
who use alcohol say they drink to get drunk. Alcohol is a factor in 40 percent of all
academic problems and 28 percent of all dropouts.</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">The public-awareness campaign was the idea of Graham
Spanier, President of the Pennsylvania State University and chair of the Kellogg
Commission, a panel of NASULGC presidents and external advisors that is issuing a series
of open letters recommending ways public universities can adapt to better serve society.</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">Universities throughout America have signed on to support
the campaign and, besides the ads in national and large daily newspapers, are purchasing
full-page ads in their local and student newspapers. Ads also will be published this fall
in college football programs and other publications.</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">The national-awareness campaign is being funded through
donations by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Barnes &amp; Noble, Inc., and through
funds contributed by the participating institutions. The ads appearing in national and
major city papers were developed pro bono by the Philadelphia-based ad agency Tierney and
Partners, a True North Company.</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">&quot;Many of us on college campuses and in the local
communities where our institutions are located have been focusing on the problem of high
risk, binge drinking for several years now,&quot; said Spanier. &quot;But if we are going
to succeed in addressing this public health issue, we need the interest and support of the
general public.&quot;</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">&quot;It is not unusual for students who come to our
colleges and universities to already be experienced binge drinkers. It may be too late for
some of these students if we wait until they begin college to attempt to address the
problem,&quot; Spanier said. &quot;Too many students are ending up in the emergency rooms
of local hospitals; students are dropping out of college before graduating; and much of
the crime involving college students&#151;including assaults, vandalism, disorderly
conduct, and sexual assault&#151;are related to the excessive consumption of
alcohol.&quot;</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">&quot;If we can reduce the amount of high-risk drinking
taking place we can save lives and we can make our communities safer places,&quot; Spanier
said.</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">Penn State took the lead role in raising the funds that
are helping to pay for this public-awareness campaign, and University staff are
coordinating the effort with NASULGC.</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">&quot;If one thing comes out of this, we hope it is that
more parents talk to their children about the dangers of binge drinking&#151;the dangers
to their health, their academic careers, their futures,&quot; said NASULGC&#146;s Magrath.</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Added Spanier, &quot;It is important to understand
that the kind of drinking going on today is very different from what parents might
remember when they attended high school or college. For some young people it is drinking
with the sole purpose of getting intoxicated.&quot;</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">There are many good web sites in existence that address
issues related to binge drinking and alcohol abuse in general. To assist the public
awareness campaign, a web site has been created with links to many valuable resources
around the country, at <a HREF="BingeDrink/Default.htm">www.nasulgc.org/bingedrink</a>.
&nbsp; </font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">&quot;I believe the vast majority of students welcome the
chance to be responsible,&quot; Spanier said. &quot;They need our encouragement and
support.&quot;&nbsp;</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">_________________________________________________________</font></font></p>
<p><small><font face="Times New Roman">Founded in 1887, the National Association of State
Universities and Land-Grant Colleges is a voluntary association of public research
universities, land-grant institutions, and many state university systems. Its members
enroll more than 3.2 million students, award approximately a half-million degrees
annually, and have an estimated 20 million alumni.</font></small></p>
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<td valign="top" width="147"><strong><font size="2">Media Contacts<br>
</font><img src="PA-2.gif" width="90" height="3"></strong><p><font size="2">Cheryl Fields,<br>
Director of Public Affairs,<br>
<a href="mailto:cfields@nasulgc.org">cfields@nasulgc.org</a><br>
202-478-6042</font></p>
<font size="3"><p></font><font size="2"><font face="Times New Roman">Steve MacCarthy,<br>
Penn State University<br>
<a HREF="mailto:sjm15@psu.edu">sjm15@psu.edu</a></font><br>
<font size="2" face="Times New Roman">814-863-1028</font></p>
<p></font><font size="2" face="Times New Roman">Cindy Hall,<br>
Penn State University<br>
<a HREF="mailto:cbh3@psu.edu">cbh3@psu.edu</a></font><br>
<font size="2" face="Times New Roman">814-863-5680</font></td>
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<p><em><font size="2">For additional information contact Cheryl Fields in the Office of
Public Affairs at 202-478-6042, fax 202-478-6046, or click here to e-mail: <a href="mailto:cfields@nasulgc.org">cfields@nasulgc.org.</a></font><br>
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