In his November radio address, President Martin Jischke addressed another approach to curbing underage drinking at Iowa State.

Jischke said he feels large purchases of alcohol should be tracked and recorded.

Simply, Jischke would like large purchases of alcohol to be recorded and made available to the university.

Although Jischke knows the administration could never implement this sort of plan, he is right about the problem of students who are not of legal age drinking on campus.

However, simply recording alcohol purchases is not going to deter students under 21 from obtaining alcohol.

In fact, if students were told that this idea would be implemented, they would find other ways of getting alcohol.

The university must get to the root of the problem. We don’t believe there is any way to stop underage drinking at ISU.

However, if students were better educated about the problems associated with underage drinking, maybe fewer students would take part in the drinking ritual.

Students should be aware of the laws and regulations related to underage drinking and legal-age students contributing to underage drinking.

Jischke said he has three solutions to help curb the amount of underage drinking on campus — education, alternative ways to have fun and strict punishment for those caught breaking the law. These are good ideas.

However, the only responsible method by which the university can safely help in curbing alcohol use by minors is to simply expand alcohol education on campus.

And although education may not benefit or change the actions of the entire student population, it is a step in the right direction.