Project Mile is hoping the University of Nebraska Board of Regents keep their current policy in place when it comes to alcohol sales at Husker games and other events on campus.
Executive Director Chris Wagner tells KLIN News they are very concerned about underage drinking. He says, “Sixty percent of undergraduate students are under the legal age but they are constantly in contact with those students that are of legal age. There is a big potential for big problems.” He says businesses sell to minors. Adults can also buy two beers at these venues and then give one to someone underage. People drinking at these events also get inside vehicles and drive home at the end of the day.
Wagner says there are enough problems in Nebraska. He says, “We have high binge drinking rates. Nebraska is 4th worse in the country as a state. The city of Lincoln is third worse as a city in the country, so we have a lot of issues around alcohol.”
Wagner says the University of Nebraska has done an excellent job at reducing underage drinking and fears the progress made will go away if the policy is changed. He says, “The University, when they put this ban in place was trying to address over 60-percent of the students on campus reported binge drinking in the last two weeks back in 1997. Through the really good work with the City and the Bridge, they have been able to get that down significantly. They have cut it by a third. It was 35% in 2018. They have made a lot of progress in the last few decades and that could all go away Friday. They could undo decades of good work.”
The Regents meet Friday at 8 a.m.