A dramatic spike in alcohol infractions at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa last year was a direct result of stricter policy enforcement at the dormitories and does not mean that more drinking is occurring on campus, according to UH officials.

Alcohol violations in 2005 jumped to 666, nearly double the infractions in 2004, according to the university's crime statistics reported to the federal government as required under the Clery Act. The increase in violations is a direct result of a stricter alcohol policy that went into effect last fall term and called for, among other things, more diligent enforcement, said Jim Manke, university spokesman.

Nearly all of the alcohol violations — 664 — occurred at the university's resident halls, where a majority of the accommodations are considered "dry" dorms. Only students who live in the two high-rise Hale Wainani towers, with a combined occupancy of 650 students, may have alcohol in their rooms. Occupants of those buildings are required to be 21 or older.

Drug-related violations also more than doubled from 2004 to 2005, which is also being attributed to stricter enforcement. A total of 167 drug-related violations were reported last year, according to the report, as opposed to 67 in 2004.

"In 2005 (underage drinking at the dorms) became an issue. ... At that point, we began to encourage people to report incidents, provided additional training for resident advisers, and so we believe that the numbers reflect an increase in reporting rather than an increase in the number of incidents," Manke said.

Students say the numbers are the result of overzealous enforcement by resident advisers.

Grant Teichman, president of the Associated Students of UH-Manoa, said some residents complained to him that they were written up for possessing alcohol-related paraphernalia, such as shot glasses. They were never caught in the act of drinking, he said.

"If you're going to write a student up for an art project that uses a beer can — that's a little overzealous," he said. "The bottom line is that the school has expanded its definition of what an alcohol incident is."

He said he believes that the rate of alcohol consumption has not changed much, either for better or worse, but instead drinking has been pushed behind closed doors.

He criticized the university for its shortage of housing available to students who are of the legal drinking age. He said some students age 21 or older are placed in dorms considered "dry."

The university has acknowledged that students of the legal drinking age could get placed in alcohol-free dorms, even if they don't want to be there. They would still have to abide by the alcohol restrictions, according to the alcohol policy.

"If you put (21 or over students) in dorms that are dry and tell them they can't drink, it's going to happen regardless," Teichman said.

The stricter alcohol policy — now a year old — grew out of several developments, including a 50 percent increase in alcohol-related violations on campus from 2002 to 2003; the death of a 23-year-old student in 2002 attributed to a toxic mixture of alcohol and methadone; and rowdy weekend behavior early in the fall 2004 term that included campus security reports of students being taken to a hospital emergency room with alcohol poisoning.

There was a decrease in the number of reported incidents in other crimes on campus.

Two incidents of forcible sex assault occurred on campus last year, compared with three in 2004 and seven in 2003. Forty-nine incidents of burglary were reported last year, compared with 77 in 2004 and 128 in 2003.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.