Officials are considering banning drinking at more college activities, restricting the number of liquor licenses in neighborhoods surrounding campuses, and enhancing alcohol-education programs for students.

The changes are being considered after the Sept. 5 death of Colorado State University sophomore Samantha Spady, 19, and the Sept. 16 death of 18-year-old University of Colorado freshman Lynn Bailey.

Spady, who was found dead in a fraternity house, had a blood-alcohol level of .436 percent, more than five times the national .08 percent drunken driving standard. Bailey, who also died in a fraternity house, had a .328-percent blood-alcohol level.

"The blood-alcohol content of students checking into detox is on the rise," said Robert Maust, chairman of the standing committee on alcohol at the University of Colorado. "The profile seems to suggest that students have adopted a high tolerance. They are able to function well, right up to the point that their systems shut down."

Following Bailey's death, the Boulder City Council voted unanimously to examine zoning laws, alcohol-licensing policies, and code enforcement as a means of curbing college drinking.

"The problem doesn't stop at the edge of campus," said Gordon Riggle, a councilman in Boulder. "It's a problem that not any single organization can solve. There has always been an issue with college drinking, but it's reached a point where it is going to take a long-term commitment by several organizations to affect positive change."

According to a 2002 study by the Task Force of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 1,400 college students die each year from alcohol-related causes.

"There has been alcohol use and abuse for eons, but now the culture has shifted," said Linda Kuk, vice president of student affairs at Colorado State. "What's changed is the magnitude of student's drinking. When I was in college, students would get pretty drunk and fall asleep or maybe throw up, but it's at a whole different level now -- students are dying."

Kuk is co-chairing a 28-member alcohol task force that was formed after Spady's death. The task force is comprised of university officials and students, members of the medical community, city officials, and representatives from the public school system.

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