Penn State will launch a three-year, nearly $600,000 program to target "dangerous drinking" at 20 Penn State undergraduate campuses, with plans that involve enforcement, alternate activities and possibly a push for more Friday exams.

Penn State is contributing about $344,000 and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) will donate a $250,000 grant to help fund the program.

Penn State's contribution will come from Student Affairs, which usually allocates about $110,000 per year to combat high-risk drinking, said Susan Kennedy, a member of the Penn State Commission for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) and associate director of University Health Services.

Brian Mauro, chairman of CSAP, said the amount of money the CSAP receives from Student Affairs each year will probably not change, it will just be complemented by the PLCB grant.

"When we found out that the grant was available we thought it was an incredible opportunity," said Amy Neil, a member of the CSAP, who also said the money would be used to create additional programs and to enhance programs already in place.

The PLCB could not be reached for comment.

The initiative will take an "environmental approach" in dealing with alcohol abuse, Kennedy said, which means it will consider several facets of student life that deal with alcohol abuse.

Mauro said some of the strategies that may be implemented include "education, enforcement, a social norm component to make people aware of how much others are drinking, alternative activities, maybe encouraging faculty to give exams on Fridays."

Neil said many students have inaccurate beliefs about how many drinks other students are drinking -- something that the social norm aspect will address.

"When you ask students how many drinks their friends are having, people respond 'Oh, they're having five.' In reality, they're only drinking two, so you don't need to have five," Neil said. "It makes students aware of reality."

Mauro said commonwealth campuses could previously apply for PLCB mini-grants as individual campuses, but not all of them choose to. He hopes this new university-wide funding will allow all campuses to combat alcohol abuse.

Each campus will research how high-risk drinking occurs at its particular campus, develop a plan for fighting high-risk drinking based on that research and then receive money from CSAP to carry out the plan.

"I think if there were any true real solution, you would see a national push towards that, and we haven't seen that," Jay Chamberlin, University Park Undergraduate Association president, said. "I think it's a step in the right direction. I'm glad that PSU is concerned about the health and well-being of its students."

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon could not be reached for comment.