'PARTY SCHOOL' LIST RANKS CU NO. 8

Indiana University was crowned the nation's No. 1 "party school" Monday
while the University of Colorado came in at No. 8, down three spots from
last year.

School leaders and medical experts derided the annual listing in the
Princeton Review as irresponsible and unscientific.

In addition to IU, schools ahead of CU in the latest rankings were: Clemson
University, the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa, Pennsylvania State
University and the University of Florida, State University of New
York-Buffalo; and the University of New Hampshire.

IU officials questioned the No. 1 ranking. The school, which didn't appear
on the list last year, has toughened its stance on student drinking since
the 1998 alcohol-related death of a student.

"I think there are some serious questions about the methodology of the
study and it really calls into question the credibility of the ranking,"
said Bill Stephan, the university's vice president for public affairs.

Last week, officials with CU's A Matter of Degree alcohol education program
said the rankings are misleading and give students an unrealistic view of
partying on campus.

The survey, conducted since 1992 and published in Princeton Review's "Best
345 Colleges" guide, ranks schools in 63 categories based on in-person or
computer interviews with 100,000 students. The party school designation is
based on student reports on alcohol and marijuana use, the amount of time
spent studying outside of class and the popularity of fraternities and
sororities on campus.

Princeton Review, a test-preparation and college admissions company with no
connection to Princeton University, defended its survey. On Monday, Richard
Yoast of the American Medical Association's Office of Alcohol and Other
Drug Abuse said the list ignores the dangers of high-risk drinking.

"College binge drinking is a major public health issue and a source of
numerous problems for institutions of higher learning," he said.

The AMA cited a study by the Harvard School of Public Health that found
that about 44 percent of college students binge drink. The study defined
binge drinking as four or more drinks in a row for women and five or more
for men.

Binge drinking at CU is declining - from 63 percent of students in 1999 to
54 percent of students last year - although students in Boulder still drink
more than the national average.