NWDA video on dangers and consequences of underage drinking to be shown at UMass freshman orientation Sept. 3-4

Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan and Deputy District Attorney Janice Healy, both graduates of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, along with other NWDA staff have collaborated with Greenfield Community Television and the Everywoman's Center to produce a short video  (on the NWDA's Facebook page)  to be shown to incoming University of Massachusetts freshmen, Sept. 3-4.

Among the data  Sullivan cites in the video is that the UMass and Amherst police departments charged 1,422 students with alcohol-related criminal offenses prosecuted by the NWDA  last year.

Nationally, more than 1,800 college students die each year from alcohol-related injuries with more than 600,000 students injured each year while under the influence of alcohol, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Alcohol-related criminal charges students could find themselves facing run the gamut from minor in possession of alcohol to motor vehicle homicide caused by drunken driving, Sullivan explains. A felony conviction immediately disqualifies students from many jobs and can jeopardize federal financial aid. Virtually all alcohol-related criminal charges carry loss of license penalties, the most serious being the penalties for operating under the influence of alcohol.

Everywoman's Center staff members seen in the video note that the risk of sexual assault and violence is dramatically increased with execssive drinking and that alcohol is involved in 75 percent of all sexual assaults on college campuses. Everywoman's Center staff urge students to be responsible bystanders and intervene, when safe, if they see someone whose well-being they are concerned about.

Sullivan also addresses the negative impact underage and extreme drinking can have on others, including residents who live near campuses and are subjected to noise from rowdy parties and the effects of inappropriate behavior.

"While you're attending UMass you are part of our community," Sullivan says. "Extreme drinking prevents you from seeing how your behavior is affecting others."