ECU, police try to rein in drinking

GREENVILLE -- Over and over, East Carolina University students hear about alcohol abuse in mandatory classes and in warnings from peers and police officers.

But campus and community officials say the party isn't over among underage drinkers.

Police dispatch "party patrols" into neighborhoods around the Greenville campus to crack down on noise and drinking. Campus police say there is "zero tolerance" for underage drinking, especially at football games. And university officials who have long discounted ECU's reputation for hard partying -- some say it's a myth -- have stepped up education and counseling programs aimed at freshmen.

"You have 4,000 students at risk every year," said Robert J. Morphet, an ECU counselor. "You're continually starting over."

High-profile arrests this year brought attention to ECU, but police and school officials say those incidents reflected stepped-up enforcement rather than an unusual prevalence of underage drinking.

Morphet said that ECU, which has about 26,000 students, has about the same incidence of alcohol use and abuse as other universities. Studies show that nationwide about 85 percent of high school students have consumed alcohol.

In college, that drinking takes on new intensity and the results are worse than missed classes and disorderly conduct. In 2004, N.C. State University moved to curb student drinking before football games after two young men were fatally shot in a student tailgating area outside Carter-Finley Stadium. At UNC-Chapel Hill, a female student fell from a ladder and died after a night of heavy drinking in 1995.

ECU, like colleges across the nation, is intensifying its efforts to punish drunken behavior and encourage moderation among students who choose to drink.

ECU and Greenville police issued about 20 citations for underage drinking in August, one of them to ECU quarterback Rob Kass. In addition, Greenville police and state Alcohol Law Enforcement agents raided a party at a fraternity house off campus and charged 77 people with underage drinking.

Maj. Frank Knight of the ECU Police Department said enforcement at home football games, has been increased but most citations are issued to those who are most visible, such as those who stumble around in parking lots or urinate in public.

Knight said stricter enforcement off campus resulted from law enforcement response to such alcohol-related crimes as physical assault, vandalism, sexual assault and strong-arm robbery.

Knight said police actions are intended to protect students, not harass them. Many victims are inebriated students attacked while stumbling home.

"We feel that by reducing the underage drinking, we'll reduce the crimes against the students," Knight said.

Police patrols added

Maj. Kevin Smeltzer of the Greenville Police Department said this year police began patrolling areas near the campus rather than waiting for a call. Six to 12 officers work overtime, at a cost of $2,500 to $5,000 a week, to monitor private parties.

Smeltzer said the department encounters more underage drinking at private parties than at downtown bars and restaurants. "Now most people drink before they come downtown," he said.

When a student is charged with a drinking violation, police turn over the information to campus officials. If the charge is a simple violation with no aggravating factors such as assault, a student is referred to a campus judicial system. Penalties include community service work and counseling.

Parents are notified in some cases such as a second offense or a more serious charge.