A group of Ames residents met Tuesday night to discuss the effects of underage drinking.

The Story County Prevention Policy Board held a town hall meeting at the Ames Middle School to address the rising rate of underage drinking.

Erin Kennedy, Ames Student Assistance counselor, began the panel with reasons why underage drinking rates have increased, including results from a youth survey on drinking. According to the 2002 survey, 22 to 50 percent of 11th grade students in Story County Schools drank within the last 30 days.

Some of the noticeable differences between the 2002 survey and the 2005 survey include an increase in use of alcohol by minors, a decrease in the perceived risk involved and a decrease in the disapproval of drinking by peers.

Kathryn Anderson, senior in elementary education, said a study has shown that more than 70 percent of ISU students have drank in the last 30 days, and nearly 40 percent of those students are under 21.

Mark Watson, Ames Police Department school liaison, said networking has become a strong factor with underage drinking. Watson said with so many Ames High School students attending Iowa State, it has become easy for the students to acquire alcohol through their friends who attend Iowa State, creating an even bigger problem.

“There was a student who – at school – smelled of alcohol,” Watson said. “When they checked the [Nalgene] bottle, it was full of alcohol.”

The final member of the panel was Lisa Griffiths, a registered nurse at Mary Greeley Medical Center, talked about the effects of underage drinking on the development of adolescents’ brains. Griffiths said that young people are unable to weigh the consequences of drinking.

“In 2005, there were 55 cases of people under the age of 21 admitted to Mary Greeley for alcohol intoxication,” Griffiths said.

After the presentation, everyone broke into small groups to discuss what they think should be done to help eliminate the problem of underage drinking. The groups shared their suggestions with the gathering.

The suggestions will be used in two more town hall meetings, which will take place within the next week in Nevada and Ballard.