With the spring semester quickly drawing to a close, law enforcement and university officials say alcohol abuse among students continued to trouble the Penn State community during the 2001-2002 school year.

Students are partaking in more instances of high abuse of alcohol, whether it is drinking larger dosages or more frequently, Cliff Lutz, Penn State Police supervisor said.

"Our officers are seeing more people using it," he said. "It's a huge, huge problem."

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig agreed with Lutz.

"Any level of alcohol use -- when not done responsibly -- is a detriment to the university," he said. "We look at every problem with alcohol seriously."

The concern among officials comes on the heels of a recent study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Task Force on College Drinking. Alcohol consumption contributes to 500,000 injuries and 70,000 sexual assaults, the study says.

Officials noted one of the more serious problems on college campuses is binge drinking.

Jerry Prater, clinical educator at Centre Community Hospital, said of the 242 student patients admitted to the hospital's emergency department over the past year, six were treated for cases of alcohol overdose.

He added the hospital treats an average of 18 to 22 students a month, with the average student age being 19.5 years old.

"The point we keep trying to emphasize is that alcohol and binge drinking is a problem not only here at Penn State but at universities around the nation," Kendig said.

However, another pressing issue appears to be the rise in drinking that leads to criminal activity such as driving under the influence, underage drinking, public intoxication and criminal mischief, said State College Police Sgt. John Wilson.

Wilson said the climb in alcohol-related crimes has been "pretty steady" compared to last year, noting that most crimes occurring in State College after dark are alcohol related.

University police have seen a climb in alcohol-related crime, Lutz said. He cited several statistics from police arrests and citations throughout the past year showing student alcohol use and abuse has increased in the last year.

Of the 1,200 arrests made by campus police in 2001, 452 cases involved alcohol. Comparatively, 341 of the 1,190 arrests made in 2000 involved alcohol.

Lutz also said the number of DUI arrests this year -- 12 -- is on pace to double the number of arrests made in 2001 -- 47. That high number, Lutz said, is cause for alarm among the university community.

"DUI arrests were down over the past several years, but they have been creeping up ... and we don't know why," he said.

Kendig called the rising numbers "unnerving," but said the university is equally concerned with all criminal incidents involving alcohol "across the board."

John Sowers (senior-biobehavioral health) said drinking has become socially acceptable at Penn State, yet some students continue to take drinking too far.

"Some people just drink to get drunk," he said, noting that to go see a movie or a sporting event, a group of friends must first down a few drinks.

The question on many onlookers' minds is what future measures, if any, Penn State can take to reduce the abuse of alcohol.

Kendig said the university continues to look for entertainment alternatives and programs such as HUB Late Night that allow students to partake in an alcohol-free social setting. However, contrary to popular belief, the university has no plans to become a dry campus, he added.

"The university is not anti-alcohol," he said. "We're anti-irresponsible drinking."

Area police said they will continue to strictly enforce alcohol laws in hopes of deterring student alcohol abuse. Lutz said Penn State police have been participating in classes and training the past few months to aid officers in recognizing problems before they occur, while Wilson said State College police are taking a different route.

"Nothing teaches like job experience," he said.

Meanwhile, Sowers said there is little the university can do to curb drinking.

"I guess it's a college thing where no matter what the administration does, it will always be there," he said. "It has always been there."

Nick Burke (senior-mechanical engineering) agreed.

"It's something people are used to ... they're going to do stupid things," he said. "But it's kind of self-regulating."