Jan 27, 2010 7:38:25 AM

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference is joining forces with a Boston-area organization in a campaign to discourage underage drinking and substance abuse.

The GNAC and the Allston-Brighton Substance Abuse Task Force (ABSATF), an organization based in the Allston and Brighton neighborhoods of Boston, formed the partnership to educate the community about the dangers of underage drinking and drug abuse.

"A lot of people don't talk about the issues of drug and alcohol abuse until a tragedy occurs," said Vaughn Calhoun, GNAC assistant commissioner. "We wanted to be involved with the task force to bring awareness and education to the people who are affected most by substance abuse – college students."

The ABSATF wanted to partner with the conference because many of the league's student-athletes live in or near the neighborhoods. GNAC members Emerson, Emmanuel, Lasell, Mount Ida, Pine Manor, Simmons and Suffolk are located in Boston or nearby communities.

"We are working with GNAC student-athletes who want to be positive role models for their peers and show that not all students choose to drink," said Elizabeth Parson, the task force's community coordinator. "We want to dispel the false notion that ‘everybody's drinking.'"

The GNAC will join the task force in conducting a social norms campaign to promote healthy lifestyles and promote the message that underage drinking is not the norm.

The conference and ABSATF are working to develop a slogan promoting the message to be printed on 1,000 T-shirts, which are expected to be given away at future athletics events. Student-athletes and fans attending those events will receive the shirts.

The six-year-old ABSATF seeks to educate people and raise awareness about substance abuse and change community norms; encourage alternative activities for youth; provide resources and support to families and community members; engage the community in efforts to effect positive change; and provide support, treatment and recovery services.

The seven Boston-area GNAC members are being encouraged to send student-athlete representatives to ABSATF's monthly meetings involving representatives of local universities and colleges.