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Friday, September 07, 2018

Morganelli Teams Up With CHC To Address College Drinking

Sonia Oliveira (L) and Arlene Lund (R)
On July 18, NorCo DA John Morganelli met with Northampton County's four college presidents to see what could be done to discourage and reduce drinking on college campuses and at off campus housing near these colleges. "Alcohol is still the drug of choice," he said. He wants to avoid tragedies like last year's death of a Lafayette College freshman, who fractured his skull in an apparent fall after a weekend of drinking.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor-vehicle crashes. Nearly 696,000 students are assaulted by another student who has been drinking. Morganelli explained a "culture of drinking" on college campuses that is both "damaging and deadly," especially to incoming freshman.

He explained that Pennsylvania has a medical amnesty law that shields underage students from prosecution if they seek medical assistance for a student who may be suffering from alcohol poisoning or worse. To ensure that students know they can seek help without fear of retribution, the Center for Humanistic Change (CHC) identified all alcohol distributors within a five-mile radius of each of Northampton County's four schools.

Morganelli has sent a letter to each distributor, asking them for their help in curbing underage drinking. "These are the fellows we want on our side," he remarked.

Sonia Oliveira, a Program Specialist with CHC, will follow up with personal visits to distributors and handouts explaining the Medical Amnesty Law. CHC Executive Director Arlene Lund explained that her agency is an alcohol, tobacco, and drug education and prevention organization. "scare , tactics do not have an impact," she warned. "We want to have a conversation."

Morganelli may expand his outreach to bars that surround colleges.
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7 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2018 at 12:47 AM

    The only real solution for this is lowering the drinking age to 18, or introducing a graduated legal limit so kids learn how to drink responsibly under supervision. For example: legal limit at .05 BAC and supervision of an adult over 30 for 16 year olds, .08 for 18 year olds, no limit (except driving obviously) for those 21 and over.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2018 at 8:38 AM

    Better late than never.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2018 at 2:00 PM

    Center for Human Change...sounds like something from a Seinfeld episode.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2018 at 11:27 AM

    Most hide their deficiencies by focusing on another person or groups failings.

    We have a responsibility problem across the whole spectrum of the society, correct that, make it the focus, and all else will fall in line.


    Or you could mention Alcohol and College together, over, and over, until the link is impressed into the public psyche enforcing the probable over use at a specific time of life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ConsigliereSeptember 8, 2018 at 5:36 PM

    What is Jumbo Martini doing to reduce the scourge of alcohol besides consuming more than his fair share?

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2018 at 6:57 PM

    I'll drink to that!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2018 at 5:07 PM

    trump does not drink

    ReplyDelete

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