Liquor law violations increased 78 percent this semester over last year, and more students are requiring medical attention, a University official said.

The University Police Department crime log lists 252 liquor law violations since the beginning of the academic year. This is up from 142 such violations in fall 2006.

“On the normal course of our (UPD) duties, more students have been identified in situations where they are violating liquor laws and more students are drinking excessively and requiring medical attention,” UPD Chief Dolores Stafford wrote in an e-mail.

Liquor law violations are the most prevalent type of crime on campus and represent about one-third of all crimes this fall. There were already 12 such violations in the first four days of December.

Alcohol violations are most common in underage student residence halls, especially Thurston Hall, GW’s largest freshman residence hall which consistently has the most violations each month. Thurston has five times as many violations as the next most active residence hall: Ivory Tower.

EMeRG vans are a common sight in front of Thurston on weekend nights. Despite the rise in alcohol violations, EMeRG spokesperson Marc Berenson said statistics were “in proportion with previous years.”