Despite repeated attempts by college administrations -- including Dartmouth's -- to curb underage drinking and alcohol abuse, a recent Harvard University School of Public Health study found that underage drinking is flourishing on most campuses across the country.
Two out of three underage students reported drinking in the past 30 days, according to the study. These students reportedly pay less per drink than students over 21, and drink more per sitting.
"In these college settings, where about one half of students are under age 21, regular use and abuse of alcohol is part of many students' environments," said Henry Wechsler, Ph.D., lead author of the study and Director of College Alcohol Studies at SPH, in a previous interview.
The researchers polled over 7,000 underage college students across the country and 5,000 students between the ages of 21 and 23. The study found that although the latter group drank more frequently, they consumed far less than their younger counterparts.
More than 40 percent of underage students reported having five or more drinks at one time compared with 27 percent of the older students.
However, Margaret Smith, the coordinator of alcohol and other drug education at the College notes "it is usually 20 percent of the students drinking 60 percent of the alcohol."
"We focus on the students who drink heavily and forget about those who drink moderately or not at all ... We need to stop perpetrating the myth of abuse and start talking about how to drink safer," she said.
By its nature, Smith said the Harvard study focuses on drinkers, not abstainers. The study found that the majority of underage students taking part in the survey had they been drinking in the past 30 days, and also that it was "very easy" for them to obtain alcohol.
Most reported that alcohol was usually either free or cost less than a dollar.
While many underage college students said they had an "easy time" accessing alcohol, the study found those who reported that it was "very easy" are more likely to binge drink.
Beer -- the typical drink of choice -- was also found to be correlated to binge drinking.
"Easily obtainable cheap alcohol, especially beer, fuels binge drinking for underage college students," Wechsler said in the same interview.
The report supports preventative measures such as targeting happy hours and the sale of beer in kegs.
"Areas near college campuses are characterized by a high density of alcohol outlets, intense competition for customers, and high-volume, reduced-price sales," Wechsler said.
In light of the recently-announced deadline for the removal of all permanent bars and tap systems in Dartmouth Greek houses, and the reform of the Greek system in general, the implications of such a survey seem to have a special significance to Dartmouth.
Yet "the article focuses on prohibition, which has never worked," said Smith. "The College is attempting to lower the risks associated with drinking."
"Something we're working on with student activities is not getting rid of alcohol but making sure that students who are part of an organization can have alcohol safely," Smith continued.
The survey also found certain risk factors -- besides accessibility of alcohol -- are associated with binge drinking. It referred specifically to individual characteristics of students and their residences on campus.
Caucasian students, males and fraternity and sorority members are most likely to be binge drinkers, the research found.
Recent research at Dartmouth has appeared to support such a conclusion. John Pryor determined that most of the people who drink at greater levels on campus are affiliated with Greek Houses and participate in athletics.
"This does not mean that everyone who is an athlete or in a frat drinks heavily," Smith explained.
In addition, Smith seemed to disagree with the study's overall thrust of eliminating all alcohol from college campuses.
Instead "we need to talk about safety and the health of our students," she said. "We need to talk less about the choices people make and more about how people can make those choices healthier. Lets talk about changing that instead of picking on groups."Smith is particularly excited about the Social Norms Marketing Research Project, multi-site study to test the effectiveness of a social norms marketing campaign, Just the Facts, in reducing high-risk drinking among college students.
In light of what some see as the "failure of prohibition" as recommended by the Harvard survey, the Education Development Center of Newton, Mass. is attempting to examine the effectiveness of environmentally-based protection strategies.
They have found that college students tend to grossly overestimate the number of their peers who engage in high-risk alcohol consumption.
The researchers believe that this misperception influences students to drink more heavily by changing their perceptions of social norms.
The basic idea behind a social norms marketing campaign is to turn these misconceptions around using campus-based media to inform students about the true levels of alcohol consumption among their peers.
Smith sees this as one of the most valuable things Dartmouth can do to fight the abuse of alcohol.
"We are really trying to share the correct information about statistics here at Dartmouth. Lots of the time people say everybody is wasted here, but the reality is people are drinking moderately or not at all," Smith said.
"Lets give people the reality," Smith said. "I am tired of students being represented in a way that makes them sound negative."
The Harvard study appeared in the July issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The Substance Abuse Policy Research Program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the study.
