PULLMAN, Wash. — Connections between alcohol abuse and campus violence will be explored by several national authorities during a teleconference being presented by Washington State University and transmitted by satellite to campuses and communities throughout the country.
The two-hour program, “Alcohol Abuse & Campus Violence: Rights, Rebellion & Responsibilities,” is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13, beginning at 10 a.m. PST. Video transmissions will originate from the campuses of WSU and the University of Wisconsin.
Colleges and universities across the country have experienced alarming outbreaks of violence in recent years, presenting university administrators, student leaders and law enforcement personnel with a new array of challenges, said John Thielbahr, teleconference organizer and director of WSU’s Conferences and Institutes office.
“Our hope is to stimulate a level of national debate on these issues to initiate the cultural change needed so that alcohol abuse and acts of violence are considered unacceptable behavior,” Thielbahr said. “These issues impact nearly all segments of a community or educational institution, and we’re hoping to hear from representatives of those segments who hold ideas about solving them.”
Two of the featured presenters on the panel program will be Richard Keeling, health services director at the University of Wisconsin, and Alan Lizotte, executive director of the Consortium for Higher Education Campus Crime Research at the State University of New York at Albany. These individuals are widely respected for their research into the causes and effects of alcohol abuse and crime and their work on solutions, Thielbahr said.
Other panelists include WSU President Samuel Smith; Jean Kim, vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Colorado; Karen L. Pennington, vice president for student development and campus life, Montclair State University, N.J., and liaison for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators to the National Criminal Justice Association; and Joseph Pelle, commander of the detective division and SWAT team, Boulder, Colo. Student leaders and community officials from both studio sites on the WSU and Wisconsin campuses will take part in the discussions. Questions can be phone or faxed from locations receiving the satellite feed.
Co-sponsoring the program with WSU is the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
Additional information about the teleconference can be obtained from the WSU Conference and Institutes office at 1-800/942-4978, e-mail: wsuconf@wsu.edu, or from the WSU or NASPA web sites.
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