A plaintiff must give a defendant access to private postings from two social networking sites that could contradict claims she made in a personal injury action, a Suffolk County, N.Y., judge has ruled.

Acting Justice Jeffrey Arlen Spinner (See Profile) of New York’s Suffolk County Supreme Court held that precluding defendant Steelcase Inc. from accessing Kathleen Romano’s private postings on Facebook and MySpace “not only would go against the liberal discovery policies of New York favoring pretrial disclosure, but would condone Plaintiff’s attempt to hide relevant information behind self-regulated privacy settings.” (more…)

September 28, 2010
By Brendan McNally and Emily Battaglia

Penn State freshmen gathered in the HUB-Robeson Center auditorium Monday night to learn about the Office of Judicial Affairs’ Code of Conduct — and some said they were surprised by what they learned.

Assistant Director of the Office of Judicial Affairs (OJA) Gary Miller led an hour-long presentation covering some of the most common violations of the university’s Code of Conduct — a set of rules that Miller said students are expected to follow both on and off-campus.

Miller, who spoke to a crowd of about 40, said that academic integrity problems, copyright violations, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct, and harassment are some of the most common violations his office deals with. (more…)

By: Courtney Nickle
The Online Rocket
(Slippery Rock University’s online student newspaper)
9/24/10

This semester, two programs will be implemented to help prevent and reduce binge and underage drinking among freshmen.

The programs are part of a new statewide initiative set forth by PASSHE (Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education) targeting first-year students. SRU was awarded a two-year, $500,000 federal grant in October 2009. The other 14 state system schools were also awarded money.

The overall goal of the grant is to reduce binge drinking by seven percent, according to assistant professor, Alcohol and Other Drug program director and representative for SRU Chris Cubero. (more…)

By Tricia Pursell
The Daily Item

September 22, 2010

A state senator wants to decrease underage drinking by increasing fines.

But university and borough officials in the Valley don’t think a higher fine in itself would make much difference.

State Sen. Jake Corman (R-Benner Township, Centre County) introduced three bills Friday that would increase the maximum fine for underage drinking and public drunkenness to $1,000, make repeated underage drinking a misdemeanor, and would allow university towns to charge an additional $100 fee for alcohol-related convictions. (more…)

by Lauren Boyer
September 21, 2010

STATE COLLEGE — A study presented at Monday’s Borough Council meeting recommends increasing rental permit fees and decreasing the number of unrelated residents per rental house.
This month, the borough released a Sustainable Neighborhood Report, which offers steps toward limiting what it deems “studentification” of areas near campus.
Between May 2009 and June 2010, the zoning office issued six new permits authorizing single family homes to be used as student homes — an increasing trend in the borough, said Planning Director Carl Hess, who presented the report Monday night. (more…)

9/17/2010 —
Penn State Brandywine has been awarded a grant from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) to support initiatives targeted at the prevention of under-age and dangerous drinking.

Friday, September 17, 2010
University Park, Pa. — The fall 2010 semester marks the renewal of a sustained, broad-based campaign to reduce the negative consequences of alcohol in the Penn State community, according to Damon Sims, vice president for Student Affairs, during a presentation today (Sept. 17) to the University’s Board of Trustees.

“The challenge of dangerous alcohol misuse among college students reaches nationwide and is far from new,” said Sims, who also co-chairs The Partnership – Campus and Community United Against Dangerous Drinking with Borough of State College Manager Tom Fountaine. Sims and panelists Fountaine; Linda LaSalle, University Health Services’ associate director for educational services; Joe Puzycki, Student Affairs assistant vice president; and Max Wendkos, Interfraternity Council president, outlined the campaign’s efforts during their presentation. (more…)

PA Liquor Control Board Awards Nearly $1 Million in Grants to Aid Fight Against Underage, Dangerous Alcohol Use

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 15 The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board today announced 72 organizations throughout the state were recently awarded grants totaling $903,522.37 to support initiatives aimed at preventing underage and dangerous drinking.

“It is really important that we, as an agency, support our community leaders and educators as they work to discourage underage and dangerous drinking,” said Liquor Control Board Chairman Patrick “P.J.” Stapleton. “We couldn’t be more proud to invest in programs that will improve and protect the lives of young Pennsylvanians.”

Since 1999, the PLCB has awarded more than $4.5 million in grants to 246 organizations to fund prevention programs focused on underage alcohol consumption, as well as initiatives supporting under-age drinking law-enforcement investigations. (more…)

September 14, 2010
by Adam Smeltz for StateCollege.com

Leaders spanning the public and private sectors converged Monday in State College to endorse tougher penalties for underage-drinking and public-drunkenness offenses in Pennsylvania.

A two-hour hearing by the state Senate Majority Policy Committee convened inside the borough municipal building, drawing testimony from representatives of three college towns — including State College; from two Penn State student representatives; and from two bar-and-restaurant operators.

Nearly all of those testifying gave unqualified endorsements of three bills introduced last week by state Sen. Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte. One bill would raise the maximum fines for summary underage-drinking and public-drunkenness offenses to $1,000, up from the current maximum of $300. The current maximum was set in 1972 and no longer serves as an effective deterrent or covers law-enforcement expenses, officials testified. (more…)

By Lauren Boyer
September 14, 2010

STATE COLLEGE — One by one, officials unbottled pent-up frustration surrounding penalties they say aren’t strong enough to deter the increasing population of excessive drinkers committing alcohol-related crimes in college towns.

At a two-hour hearing Monday, State College officials joined representatives from Indiana and West Chester at the municipal building, echoing similar concerns before the state Senate Majority Policy Committee about the municipal financial burden of alcohol violations.

“There doesn’t seem to be any real solutions, per se,” said committee member Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon. “When you’re dealing with people’s behaviors and actions, it’s difficult to legislate those aspects of their internal being.” (more…)