Penn State's University Park campus ranked first among 6,269 colleges in drug-related arrests for the year 2000, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Education.

Drug and alcohol violations account for the majority of crimes committed on campus, said Barbara Copland, associate director of Penn State's Office of Judicial Affairs.

"Generally, in the eight years that I've kept a list (of campus crimes), drugs and alcohol have topped the list," she said.

The frequency of drug arrests in and around Penn State might not mean drug use is a larger problem at this campus than at others, State College Police Lt. Diane Conrad said.

Instead, she said the ranking might indicate a more proactive law enforcement approach at Penn State.

"If you have a place that is honest and open about crime, you might get a different statistic than from a place that sweeps it under the carpet," she said.

Statistics taken each year might not reflect the prevalence of drug sale or use for that year, since investigations may have taken place in prior years, Conrad said.

For example, this semester a number of suspects were arraigned in connection with an alleged Ecstasy ring from the 1998 to 1999 school year, she said, and these arrests will count toward this year's statistic.

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon attributed the large number of drug arrests to Penn State's size.

"One of the schools with the highest population would have the highest number of arrests," he said.

Total drug arrests at colleges across the country increased by 10.2 percent from 1999 to 2000, according to an article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education earlier this month.

Alcohol arrests, which grew by only 0.4 percent in 1999, increased by 4.2 percent in 2000.

At Penn State, the number of campus drug and alcohol violations reported to police increased in 1999 and 2000, according to a report issued on Judicial Affairs' Web site www.sa.psu.edu/ja.

For example, 45 marijuana violations were reported to university police in 1998, 57 were reported in 1999, and 76 were reported in 2000.

Judicial Affairs has not yet released the 2001 figures.

The increase in drug- and alcohol-related arrests from 1998 to 2000 followed a slight decrease in enrollment at the university for the corresponding years.

From an enrollment of 40,969 students in 1998, the university's enrollment decreased to 40,571 students by 2000, Mahon said.

According to the education department report, 175 Penn State students were arrested or subject to university sanctions in 2000 due to drug violations.

Tickets and citations issued for drug violations also fall under the category of arrests.

This category is defined by campus police officers.

The number of students arrested for drug violations is also rising off campus, officers said.

There were 26 arrests in 1998, 48 arrests in 1999, and 53 arrests in 2000, Conrad said.