Alcohol, Tobacco Ads Topic of CSUN Talk

Efforts to curb billboard advertising of tobacco and alcohol will be discussed Thursday at the Northridge Community Coalition meeting at Cal State Northridge.

The coalition will join with other community groups to draft legislation seeking to restrict billboard advertising of alcohol and tobacco products to specific areas, said CSUN health educator Carol Baxter, who will preside over the meeting.

“I don’t think tobacco and alcohol billboard advertising should be eliminated everywhere but I don’t think it belongs opposite churches, schools and youths centers,” Baxter said. “We’re trying to create some sort of guideline.”

A progress report on new and existing on-campus alcohol and drug abuse programs and workshops, made possible by a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, will also be discussed, she said.

“It’s to let people know what the university and the immediate community is doing, where we’re going and the progress that we’ve made,” Baxter said.

As a message to CSUN students on the dangers of drinking and driving, a wrecked car was placed in the middle of campus a week prior to spring break by the California Highway Patrol, said Fred Strache, CSUN vice president for student affairs.

“People have stood around the wrecked car in stunned silence,” Strache said. “I think for the people who come by and see it, it’s a good reminder.”

Also on the agenda is a report on the daylong Ending Violence Against Women Conference, held on campus March 26.

The public meeting will take place from 1 to 2 p.m. in the conference room of the Student Health Center. For parking or other information, call the center at (818) 677-3690 or (818) 677-3666.