One of the reasons for the increase is that this is the first time in several years that both Penn State University Police and the State College Police Department are fully staffed, said Clifford Lutz, university police supervisor. Also, liquor laws in the state have changed, he said.

Currently, an officer can cite a person if a breathalyzer test determines there is alcohol in their system. Lutz also said police are more likely to cite people and release them to a friend for public drunkenness rather than arrest them.

The rise could also be a result of the new off-campus misconduct policy, in which students cited for underage drinking off campus are referred to Judicial Affairs, John McCarthy, a Partnership chairman, said.

Once the off-campus misconduct policy went into effect, Judicial Affairs started receiving reports they had not received before, which had a big impact on the increase, Judicial Affairs Director Joe Puzycki said.

"It's not that students weren't drinking before, but university officials weren't responding," Puzycki said.

The increase does not indicate that things are getting worse, Linda LaSalle, a chairwoman for The Partnership, said.

"Just because there's an increase doesn't mean there's more drunks but that enforcement is higher," she said.

Police do not target people who are drinking underage; they cite people who attract attention to themselves, McCarthy said.

"We do have a serious alcohol problem; people are drinking too much too often," Lutz said.

Even though The Partnership alcohol campaign will take a long time to become effective among students, Lutz said it is a positive move because it will have the same effect the tobacco campaign has had over the last 10 years.

Too often the university and police are the only ones involved in trying to decrease the problem, State College Police Chief Tom King said.

"We need our whole community to get involved: businesses, taverns, fraternities, which is where most underage drinking occurs, and apartment buildings to enforce the rules," King said.

He also said police want everyone to follow the law or face legal action because many do not realize the dangers they are causing themselves and others when they abuse alcohol.

"Most people do foolish things, which end up getting them arrested, not because they've had two beers, but because they've abused alcohol consumption," King said.

He added that they don't want students to drop out of school or lose their lives because of alcohol related problems. "I'm not saying not to drink, but just be responsible," Lutz said.