In 1993, Henry Wechsler and a group of associates from the Harvard University School of Public Health embarked on the most extensive nationwide survey of college drinking ever conducted.
"We wanted to get a national picture of the extent of college student alcohol consumption and associated problems," Wechsler said.
Eight years later, the survey results include three separate studies conducted in 1993, 1997 and 1999 that he harvested data from 140 schools and over 14,000 students.
Frequent binge drinkers now comprise 22.7 percent of college students — an increase of 14.5 percent since 1993. This was accompanied by an increase of abstainers from 15.4 percent to 19.2 percent. The polarity between heavy drinkers and those who do not drink has been growing since the initial survey, Wechsler said.
When first released in 1993, the study stunned a number of college administrators and prompted a succession of alcohol crackdown initiatives around the country.
It categorized two out of five college students as binge drinkers and one in five as frequent binge drinkers.
Critics of the survey contest that the definition of binge drinking that was used in the study labeled too many students as problem drinkers. Wechsler's survey categorized binge drinkers as men who had five consecutive drinks or women who had four consecutive drinks.
The critics were also suspicious of the lack of consideration for body weight, alcohol tolerance and timing between drinks.
Wechsler defended his definition by pointing out that though binge drinking does not indicate drunkenness, it is the standard for measurement used by many secondary school and college communities.
Furthermore, those classified as binge drinkers are prone to increased alcohol-related problems, such as injury, poor academic performance, violence and sexual harassment.
"People, who regularly drink at the 5/4 level, comprise 23 percent of all students," Wechsler said, adding that those 23 percent "account for 72 percent of all the alcohol college students drink, and 60 percent of all the major alcohol problems on campus."
In response, colleges across the country have become more attentive to campus alcohol policies. In many instances, universities have initiated alcohol policy reforms and create support programs for problem drinkers.
Princeton unveiled its own program at the start of the 1999-2000 academic year. According to Bishop Frederick Borsch '57, the trustee chair of the University Student Life, Health and Athletics Committee — which spearheads the university's alcohol initiative — said the purpose of the effort is to promote discussion about alcohol abuse on campus.
"The real hope is to get people to talk about the issues," Borsch said. "We trust, once they are informed, that Princeton students will be mature people and act in a way that will not be dangerous to their health or that would be injurious to others."
"Public attention through media coverage of study results and student deaths" were the reasons Wechsler provided for the recent renewal of alcohol control initiatives. He also cited the "fear of lawsuits and liability" as reasons for the increase.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology issued a list at the beginning of this school year detailing changes to housing and educational prevention programs — all targeted at alcohol control.
In particular, the new policies were extremely strict toward fraternities and sororities, requiring members to "complete educational programs on the physiology of alcohol use, sage use of alcohol, emergency medical response and CPR and liability and risk management practices."
MIT's record with alcohol, however, is particularly public.
The death of freshman Scott Krueger in 1997 from overconsumption of alcohol at a fraternity caused nationwide unrest and drew widespread, detailed media coverage.
Florida State University has also recently taken action, instituting the Partnership for Alcohol Responsibility in 1998.
PAR's objective is to rid students of the belief that college drinking and binge drinking is the norm.
PAR also informed local bars and alcohol vendors about the school's alcohol policy in hopes of discouraging advertising that promoted college drinking.
Wechsler's proposals addressing alcohol-related problems on college campuses focus not only on college initiatives, but also on parents, alcohol suppliers and even alumni.
Wechsler said parents should not believe alcohol is the lesser of potential evils.
He warns, "Realize that in high quantities, beer can become as dangerous as illicit drugs."
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