TARGETING CAMPUS DRINKING

Those who put any stock in unscientific surveys should be happy to
learn that the University at Albany has lost its ranking as the
nation's No. 1 party school. Even more encouraging is that many
colleges and universities are planning aggressive campaigns this fall
to curb heavy drinking among students. It's about time more of them
took this problem seriously.

We're all familiar with the stories by now: student leaps off balcony
and breaks neck, or drowns in own vomit, or falls from gorge and is
killed as happened to a Cornell University student last year. These
tragedies are the consequences of binge drinking, a common occurrence
on too many campuses.

Colleges can't stop all drinking by their students, nor should they
try to. Most students can handle a couple of glasses of beer or wine
with no untoward effects. The problem is binge drinking, in which a
person consumes large amounts of alcohol in a short time. Such
boozefests, undertaken with the specific intention of getting drunk,
increase the chances not only of accidents but also serious crimes,
including sexual assault.

According to a 1998 Harvard University study, 43 percent of college
students surveyed had engaged in binge drinking within two weeks of
the survey (which is actually down slightly from 1993). The numbers
vary widely from campus to campus, but heavy drinking is especially
prevalent at schools where fraternities are popular and in the Northeast.

Various colleges have taken various steps in recent years to deter
drink, such as banning keg parties and establishing alcohol-free
dorms. After residents of the Pine Hills neighborhood complained about
loud and obnoxious students, the University at Albany reached an
agreement with bar owners to crack down on underage and excessive
drinking by students.

But this year there is a new level of attention - and, one hopes,
commitment - being given the problem. Many schools across the country
are planning a multifaceted approach that includes alcohol-free
parties, agreements with bars, and calls to mom and dad when a student
is caught violating alcohol laws (a tactic that the University of
Delaware has used with great success). There will also be an ad
campaign in national newspapers and on campuses.

The ads not only will warn students of the consequences of excessive
drinking, but let them know that, despite the popular perception, many
of their peers drink in moderation or not at all. Students shouldn't
feel they have to get drunk in order to fit in, and if the campaign is
successful, fewer will do so.