It may seem cool to post drunken pictures of yourself on your Facebook page, Belmore said, but such gestures of youthful rebellion can, and have, hurt those who do it. They become less employable than students who haven’t done so.

Another panelist, emergency room nurse Pam Wolters, told about the night a pretty blond girl was brought into the ER because of her high level of intoxication.

Wolters said she wishes a photograph could have been sent home with the girl the next day so that the next time she decides to become that drunk, she can look back and see how she appears with vomit in her hair, makeup smeared, and scratches and scrapes from falling down.

On the subject of rights and personal responsibility, Mankato Department of Public Safety Director Jerry Huettl said the right to drink is subject to forfeiture when someone engages in high-risk drinking.

“When your behavior imposes on other people,” he said, “or when you commit a crime, you no longer have that right.”

Huettl also said peers of high-risk drinkers need to do the right thing.

“You’ve got to do something,” he said. “You can’t just take them home and let them die.”

As a result of the summit, a coalition is to be formed that outlines action to be taken.