GW administrators are taking positive steps to combat the problem of alcohol abuse and underage drinking at local bars, particularly among young women.

In a disturbing trend, seven of the eight GW students treated for alcohol-related illness this year have been women. Mike Walker, senior assistant dean of students, cited advertising by local bars aimed at female students as part of the problem. These advertisements, often in the form of fliers and palm cards, are widely distributed in freshman residence halls, creating a general nuisance and encouraging underage students to patronize bars.

Walker and Substance Abuse Prevention Center Manager Candace Miller helped to create the Alcohol Advisory Committee, which will address the problem of local bars catering to underage students and alcohol issues related to gender.

This new committee can only increase GW’s recent success in helping to curb alcohol abuse by underage students. In the past three weeks, no students are known to have been treated for an alcohol-related illness. The total of eight students treated for alcohol sickness is far below last year’s amount at this point in the year. University officials are right to continue the momentum of this achievement by adding new efforts in the battle against abusive drinking.

Walker and Miller are enforcing the University’s alcohol policy in good faith. Instead of waiting for alcohol problems to arise before acting, they are building on this year’s success with new ways of fighting underage alcohol abuse, particularly among young women.

The alternative to tackling the issue of alcohol abuse head-on – waiting until a student is severely injured or worse – is unthinkable.