Universities and booze

I read something interesting in "The Badger Herald" our local student newspaper. A group called "Sober Students on Campus" had their first meeting from 9pm to 1 am last Friday night. They had games, movies and free food. Why does this matter? Am I advocating a Teetotalling lifestyle? Hardly! I've certaintly had the odd drink or two, and have spent the odd next morning recovering from said drink.
This being said, I've lived in two college towns and have seen both Universities try very hard to crack down on underage drinking. So, they bust the odd frat party and crack down on bars that serve underage drinkers; They essentially take the wrong tactic.

Students want to go out. They want something to do late at night, they generally want it to involve members of the opposite sex, and they want it to be cheap.
Some students want to only go out and drink. Fine, if you make it difficult for them, they'll just try harder. You can't do much about it. Some students don't want to drink at all. You don't have to worry about them. It's the ones in between that you can influence.
They'll follow the previously mentioned rules to find things to do. If there are fun, non-alcoholic things to do, they'll choose those sometimes, and sometimes choose ones that do involve booze. But, if all the local hang outs shut at 11..They'll find something else to do: namely, go to parties and get drunk.
So, how do universities solve this problem: Open the student unions late. Serve food late, and have fun things to do. Free movies, dancing, music, comedians...Whatever. Penn State did this my senior year, and it was a brilliant idea. At least one student organization is trying it at Wisconsin, and it's good to see. Hopefully the university will support it and make more events like it.
alcohol isn't something that should be feared or shunned, and at a University, at least most people don't have to drive. It's generally an ok place to experiment. But, there should be alternatives. Like post college life, you should be able to get along with and without it. Finding alternatives is a good start.