Capital Region Residents Featured in New State Underage Drinking Prevention Video Attend Premiere

ALBANY, NY (10/19/2009)(readMedia)-- State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Services (OASAS) Commissioner Karen M. Carpenter-Palumbo will be joined by University at Albany President George M. Philip to premiere the statewide underage drinking prevention "Taking Action in Education" video featuring Capital Region residents.

The media event will take place on Wednesday, October 21 from 10-11 a.m. at the University at Albany, D'Ambra Auditorium in the Life Sciences Research Building, Uptown Campus, to coincide with College Alcohol Awareness Week (October 19-23). The event will increase awareness of the dangers of underage drinking and the importance of college students having a healthy lifestyle and education.

Seven out of 10 college students under age 21 drank alcohol in the past month and half are binge drinkers. Four out of 5 high school students had a drink by the time they were seniors, drinking before they even enter college. Here in the Capital District, one in three youth use alcohol.

To highlight the underage drinking problems happening locally and action they are taking to prevent underage drinking will be: State Police Technical Sergeant Douglas Paquette, Saratoga Prevention Council Executive Director Judy Ekman, and Jennifer Roman, graduate student at the University at Albany, and Outreach Coordinator of the Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program, part of the University Counseling Center.

Other Capital Region residents featured in the video and attending premiere include:

Lansingburgh High School Student Sheldon I. Silas;

Kevin Eidens, Manager of Wine Cellar at Stuyvesant Plaza;

Lenny Crouch, Staff Sergeant of Albany County Sheriff's Office and Administrator of Albany County Stop-DWI;

Harry Corbitt, Superintendent of New York State Police;

Robert Benedetto, Director of Enforcement for New York State Liquor Authority;

Davia Collington, Community Prevention Specialist of Rensselaer County Department of Mental Health; and

Kathy Jimino, County Executive of Rensselaer County.

The underage drinking prevention video was sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) and is designed to highlight the underage drinking prevention efforts in New York. The video also issues a call to action to elicit involvement from prevention, law enforcement, judiciary, colleges and community coalitions.

Note: Media availability will follow the speaking program. Parking is available for free in the visitor parking area near the Life Sciences Research Building.

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