By Lindsey Stokes
Staff Writer

Massachusetts is hoping to cut down on underage college campus drinking with a new initiative called Operation Safe Campus.

The initiative, launched by Mass. Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, primarily involves the monitoring of liquor stores and bars near college campuses that have had problems in the past with the illegal purchase of alcohol by minors using fake IDs, or through adults who purchase the alcohol for them.

Investigators for the commission say they contact the parents of any student caught trying to illegally purchase alcohol, the majority of whom claim they were not aware that their children were drinking.

The commission says last year alone 200 minors were caught illegally purchasing alcohol and 122 cases of beer were confiscated.

State Treasurer Deb Goldberg, whose office oversees the commission, says the program deters bars from serving and package stores from selling to minors which overall prevents underage drinking.