When I read President Gibralter's letter to the editor a couple of weeks ago, asking for community cooperation in solving Frostburg University's student drinking problems, it occurred to me that we adults, parents and grandparents of the college generation, have to accept some of the blame for alcohol abuse. We like to think that peer pressure is a major factor, but often the students are more influenced by what they see as acceptable adult behavior.

Here in America there is an increasing idea that social events require alcohol in one form or another. At a wedding it is champagne; for a barbecue, beer; for a book group discussion, wine and cheese. The end-of-the-year banquet for a corporation or a non-profit group includes an open bar. Television programs are interrupted by beer commercials, and one sit-com after another shows characters with glass in hand.

For responsible adults, such beverages accompany an event, but students think that partying means drinking. They are not so much concerned with the taste of what they down as they are about the effect it has on their behavior.

There, again, we adults are at fault. We have all watched plays on stage or screen, or turned on TV episodes which involve a naive individual - innocent young girl, country bumpkin, or strait-laced maiden aunt - who is unaware that the punch bowl contains more than fruit juice and gingerale. We laugh at the fumblings and misunderstandings that follow. Is it any wonder that students think it hilarious to re-enact that scenario at a fraternity party on Bowery Street, here in Frostburg?

Students think that alcohol in itself is an attraction, an idea tht is also found in much of the adult population. When we set about saving the Palace Theatre, for instance, we were told that the first step would be to throw a cocktail party. If we invited the wealthy people of Allegany County and served them generously, we could offer to rename the theatre in honor of the one who gave the most money. That plan had worked in Frederick - but you may remember that we ignored that advice, asking ordinary citizens to contribute small amounts; it has been a community auditorium, mortgage-free, for more than 13 years.

There are other adults who think that alcohol is the key to success. A local politician explained to me that to obtain state funding for the town or the university, it is important to entertain members of the General Assembly, and "be sure there is plenty of liquor." That attitude filters down to college students, who hope to entice new members to their group or fraternity by providing ample alcohol.

I've been told that some of the student alcohol abuse results from the fact that there is nothing else to do in Frostburg but drink. It is true that we do not have a convenient Disney World, or the Smithsonian complex, or a major league ball park, but we can hike and bike safely, and there are all sorts of outlets for talents and interests and volunteer services.

And that's where we, the adults in our community, come in. We need to show students that adults can work and play together, talk and laugh and socialize, without using alcohol as a prop. And it is up to us, being older, to make the first move to get to know our student neighbors. It is not our job to prohibit or punish student activities, but we have an obligation to offer alternative forms of socializing and to set an example in welcoming young people into our adult world.

Betty VanNewKirk is curator of the Frostburg Museum.