Kegs, cases of beer and coasters at local bars now come with an added bonus -- a message about responsible drinking from the University Park Campus Community Partnership.

The partnership recently received a $20,000 grant from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States Inc. The money was used to pay for coasters, keg envelopes and other educational tools to convey the partnership's "party smart" message. The coasters were also funded in part by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

"We wanted to give the students something that they could have around and use that gives them our message," said Linda LaSalle, partnership co-chair and community health educator for University Health Services.

The coasters and keg envelopes are made of paper causing one student to disagree with the entire campaign.

"Killing trees -- what a waste of money," said Kate Moran (senior-psychology). "That will inspire me to drink more purely out of spite."

More than 100,000 coasters will be distributed to locals bars that are members of the Tavern Association of State College.

The keg envelopes will be distributed to anyone under the age of 25 who purchases a keg or a large amount of beer from local distributors. Tips for conducting a "trouble-free" party are included in the envelope.

This program evolved after several conversations on how to get the partnership's message across to students who may engage in high-risk drinking, LaSalle said.

The campaign uses a "social norm model," that assumes students overestimate the amount their peers drink alcohol. The keg envelopes and coasters will help "create a health-promoting normative environment," according to the partnership.

The U.S. Department of Education promotes the use of the social norm model, LaSalle said.

Some students believe that the campaign might not have an impact on the target audience.

"From my experience, I don't think this is worthwhile," Susan Wilson (sophomore-elementary education) said. "By this time, [students] make up their mind on what they want to do, but it's an admirable effort."

Drinking responsibly is the key to the campaign, LaSalle said. However, she noted that nearly 22 percent of Penn State students do not drink at all, according to the 1997 Pulse Survey. In addition, most students only consume zero to four alcoholic beverages a night, LaSalle said.

"This shows that most people overestimate how many students are engaging in high-risk drinking," she added.

Most people think binge drinking in State College is a problem because the people who do that usually stand out, LaSalle said.

"We tend to notice people who are calling attention to themselves," LaSalle said. "But if you think about it numerically, there is no possible way that 42,000 students can be downtown at the same time in bars or at parties."

Officer Tony Lopinsky of the State College Police Department agreed with LaSalle and supported the program.

"Overall, most students are here to go to school and go to work," Lopinsky said. "However, we do see problems from a percentage of people who cannot handle their alcohol and who do not drink responsibly."