The university is a dry campus, meaning alcohol is not allowed on campus without a permit for special events.
Students are at risk for citation from the University of Nebraska Police Department and educational sanctions, said Linda Major, assistant to the vice chancellor. They may also have to serve community service hours, she said.
The university tested a pilot diversion program on campus where students can get a first-time misdemeanor charge on select charges dismissed upon completion of the program. This includes a misdemeanor charge of a minor in possession of alcohol, according to the UNLPD website.
According to Major, every first-year student is encouraged to complete a web-based alcohol personalized profile as part of a feedback program that helps incoming students understand the laws and policies on campus regarding drinking.
"It is designed to correct misconceptions of students of drinking on the campus," she said.
One of those misconceptions students have is underestimating the students on campus who are adamantly opposed to drinking and driving, she said.
They also tend to overestimate the number of students who drink, Major said. Out of the students who filled out the profile, 45 percent choose to abstain from alcohol and 30 percent choose to drink in low-risk ways.
"We're trying to create an environment for students to abstain if they choose to do so and for students to drink in low-risk ways if they choose not to," she said.
The university works with the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska to create that environment.
Major worked with ASUN on the designated driver incentive program My Turn 2 Drive.
The program works as a punch system where every time a student or young professional older than 21 will get a card punched at the end of the night by the bar staff if they are the designated driver for the evening, Major said. Once that person has gotten enough punches, the card can be redeemed at participating bars for a variety of rewards.
ASUN also provides an emergency ride service called 475-RIDE.
"475-RIDE is a service UNL provides as a last resort if they (students) find themselves in a situation where they can't drive home because they were drinking and didn't have a ride home or if their designated driver has been drinking," said Kirsten Wallace, a student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and a member of the ASUN Alcohol Student Commission.
The service is only for students in emergency situations, she said.
ASUN is looking to continue working on My Turn 2 Drive and looking into a phone number that students can call if they see a person drinking excessively at a football game and feel unsafe, Wallace said.
The Lincoln Police Department serves in mostly an advisory capacity with UNL to curb dangerous drinking.
"We patrol neighborhoods for wild parties, particularly through those known to have a rental capacity," said LPD Public Information Officer Katie Flood.
There is an increase of patrols in these neighborhoods at the beginning and end of the semester where there are more parties, she said.
LPD also works with landlords, Flood said.
"If wild parties continue, that landlord can be ticketed," she said, "They need to be responsible even if they're not living there."
Flood said the LPD chief and Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner are working on communicating with parents of graduating high school seniors and encouraging them to not provide alcohol to their kids at graduation parties.
kimbuckley@dailynebraskan.com
is a member of the 
