Anne Lambert and Shelia Lawning debate the problem of underage alcohol consumption on college campuses

Is underage drinking a serious problem on New Hampshire college campuses? Annually, 1,700 college students die from alcohol related deaths in the United States and over 600,000 assaults are reported stemming from alcohol abuse.

But Shelia Lambert, Coordinator of Well Education at Southern New Hampshire University, doesn't think that binge drinking on college campuses is as big of a problem as people think.

Lambert says that while college students are drinking, it's not in an abusive pattern. Citing, surveys from last Spring, most students have, "four or less drinks per week."

Lambert believes that alcohol education is one of the best ways of preventing binge drinking and that a reason for the positive statistics is that, "we aren't scared about talking about drinking anymore. In the 70's everyone knew that college students drank but no one talked about."

It's true, "students have been drinking since theirs been students," says Anne Lawning, the Senior Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of New Hampshire. Lawning is "increasingly worried" about the problems schools face regarding drinking.

For example, Hanover police were considering sting operations by sending in undercover cops to underage drinking parties and than busting them. This idea didn't go over well with Dartmouth students, community, or president, Jim Yong Kim.

Undercover cops at parties wouldn't be a new tactic used by police but a sting operation would cross the line and force underage drinkers into the dark and would make them consider calling an ambulance if a friend was in trouble.

Lawning is worried about the future of underage drinking saying, "We are concerned with a frightening amount of problems," that include "missing classes and dropping out of school." Problems that school officials like Lawning and Lambert are facing.