ITGA Dateline

More that 200 institutions of higher education have join-ed Communities Talk: Town Hall Meetings to Prevent Underage Drinking, the 2016 national initiative from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Every two years, SAMHSA sponsors national Town Hall Meetings to educate com-munities about underage drinking and to mobilize them around prevention. Town Hall Meetings foster important community col-laborations among various campus and community leaders to adopt evidence-based solutions to address negative consequences of underage and harmful drinking. ITGA campuses that have already registered include Grinnell College, Indiana University, Oregon State University, Texas State University, UMass Amherst, University at Buffalo and West Virginia Univer-sity. SAMHSA supports Town Hall Meetings with extensive online resources. Click here for more information or attend the concurrent session on Tuesday, June 7, at 1:30 pm during ITGA's 2016 Conference.  

The Diamond Back, by Carly Kempler & Grace Toohey

University of Maryland and City of College Park officials announced Monday a new safety Ambassador Pilot Program, which aims to increase and enhance public safety through non-sworn, trained community patrols. The program is a collaboration between this university, the city and the College Park City-University Partner-ship. The initiative will focus on improving the city's safety and hospitality through six safety ambassadors who will patrol the area on foot and bicycle, said University Police Chief David Mitchell. "They will...not only be a visible sense of security, they will have police radios, act as eyes and ears of public safety,, they will be available for directions," Mitchell said. The program will begin focusing in the city's downtown area, but will also extend toward the College Park Metro and Route 193, Mitchell said. The pilot program hired the six safety ambassadors in late April. 

StarTribune, by James Walsh

A friend helped an underage and dangerously intoxica-ed party goer onto a gurney as she was brought to a nearby hospital after a house party the two were attending was broken up by St. Paul Police due to com-plaints by neighbors Friday night. This was the work of the St. Paul Police Zero Alcohol Providers (ZAP) detail, which zeroes in on the neighborhoods surrounding the five colleges in the cites' western half to discourage out-of-control parties, underage drinking and the noise and general bedlam that can follow. ZAP started 17 years ago to address the dangers associated with underage drinking and related issues in rental housing around the colleges. Police meet monthly with college officials to review calls for service, and students who are caught holding parties where underage drinking occurs can face school discipline as well as a ticket under the city's social host ordinance.

The Register-Guard, by Francesca Fontana

Eugene Mission development director Caitlin Vargas had noticed that she stands out from most of her colleagues. When gathered with other high-level administrators in the nonprofit sector, Vargas, 33, says that she is the youngest person in the room. As a young professional, she has found herself fighting against the negative connotations of laziness and entitlement of the "millennial" label. Brittany Quick-Warner, director of business advocacy at the Eugene Chamber of Commerce, is hoping to help other young people forge the same connection Vargas made in Eugene by helping organize the Eugene Young Professionals Summit. Quick-Warner wants to show young professionals that Eugene has a lot to offer. The University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business is the title sponsor of the event. "This is a network that's just waiting to be discovered," Vargas said.  

FSU News, by Ryan Beehler

This past Saturday the All Saints District hosted the first ever Culture Crawl, an all-day festival that includes musical performances, art galleries, dance classes, stand-up comedy, a bicycle race and several other regents taking place at participating businesses in the All Saints District. "As part of the hospitality major, you have to do an internship related to event planning. I didn't want to intern at a hotel or a restaurant, so when I learned about the opportunity to intern for All Saints, I got really excited," said Miranda. "I hope Culture Crawl becomes as popular as [local food event] First Friday. That would help businesses as well as local artists, which would be great for the All Saints District as a whole," said Miranda. Culture Crawl will continue to take place in the All saints District every month on the first Saturday. 

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The ITGA strengthens town and gown partnerships by providing a network of professionals and resources, identifying and sharing leading practices, innovative solutions and professional development opportunities for municipal and university communities.