On Friday, Tech's Campus Alcohol Abuse Prevention Center plans to open a complaint hotline residents and students may use to report ongoing alcohol-related problems, center director Steve Clarke said. Call 231-4813 to reach the Blacksburg Alcohol Hotline.

"We believe that is the basic right of every member of the Blacksburg community (students and full-time residents) to live in an environment that is free of abusive drinking and its negative side-effects, such as noise, litter, vandalism, and public intoxication," Clarke wrote in an e-mail.

The idea for the hotline came from discussions with Blacksburg officials, landowners, rental management companies and residents concerned about binge drinking, noise and other alcohol-related issues, Clarke said in an interview.

It is being offered in cooperation with the Blacksburg Community Coalition on Alcohol and the Town-Gown Community Relations Committee.

"Anything that Virginia Tech can do to help with off-campus behaviors is very much appreciated," Blacksburg Deputy Town Manager Steve Ross said.

Town officials also work with students through programs offered through its housing and neighborhood services office, Ross said.

Over the years, lifestyle conflicts between off-campus students and residents have escalated in several neighborhoods. Residents often see a call to the Blacksburg Police Department as their only recourse, but Clarke said the hotline provides a new opportunity for resolution.

"It can be a police issue," he said. "But it can also be a neighbor-to-neighbor issue."

Nonemergency complaints will be handled through Clarke's office. For students, a first complaint will generate a warning letter. A second complaint could result in a phone call or visit from officials. Further complaints could lead to a case before Tech's Office of Student Conduct, Clarke said.

Clarke said he hopes the process will educate students about the dangers of alcohol abuse and teach them how to be good neighbors.

The hotline will not replace police response to emergency situations or criminal activities. Anyone needing immediate help should call law enforcement, Clarke wrote.

The hotline concept will be discussed at the Blacksburg Community Coalition on Alcohol meeting today at 6 p.m. in the Graduate Life Center on Otey Street and at 7 p.m. at the Town-Gown Community Relations Committee, also at the graduate center.