University Can't Control Campus Binge Drinking

Like any good drinking game, the ice flow can be the life of a party. It's simple, slightly eccentric and lets the vodka come down smooth and cold.

Brookline Ice and Coal supplies the styrofoam, the hose and the ice. And at minimal cost, they will set up the luge that is placed through the ice blocks, cooling the vodka as it flows.

"We chiseled a path down the ice and poured [two shots of vodka] in somebody's mouth," says a student at the University of Rhode Island, the nation's top party school according to Playboy. "This was an event set up for the consumption of alcohol."

Events like the ice flow party at U.R.I. are commonplace at campuses throughout the nation. In fact, 44 percent of college students binge drink, according to a recent study of 140 schools across the country by Henry Wechsler, a lecturer on social psychology at the School of Public Health.

Binge drinking, or consuming five drinks in a single occasion at least once every two weeks, plagues students at many colleges, says Wechsler--not just at the so-called party schools.

At Harvard, which was not included in Wechsler's original study, students say drinking centers around private parties. Some might even say Harvard students stick to the bare essentials.

"Normally when we play poker, it's strip poker, so there are normally people naked in the basement of the Fox [Club]," says Lucy, a sophomore who says she attends many of the club's functions.

Lucy and all of the undergraduates interviewed for this article requested that pseudonyms be used, either because of current administrative action or because of the illegal nature of their actions.

"I've seen six guys [alone] in the basement completely naked, which baffles me," Lucy adds.

But for those concerned with controlling, or even limiting, the consumption of alcohol on campus, it is the inability to curb the problem which is most baffling.

"I don't think regulation is the answer," says David S. Rosenthal '59, the director of the University Health Services (UHS). "It's more of an allout effort working together with students, understanding the issues."

Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 says he shares Rosenthal's concerns about under-age and binge drinking, adding that he doubts whether legal restrictions can steer students away from alcohol.

"I guess I'm not convinced that a legalposition that says that students are not going todrink at all... is a very realistic assessment ofwhat the mores of people are," Jewett says. "Iwould rather have policies which recognize thatpeople will have contact with alcohol."

Jewett says that occasional drinking is not theproblem. Rather it is students' abuse of alcoholwhich has the dean, as well as other Universityofficials, concerned.

"My hunch would be that people use [alcohol] asa way to enhance their social life," says RandolphCatlin Jr., head of the mental health services atUHS.

Catlin's hunch, students say, is not unfounded.

"It's a primary way to socialize," says Ralph,a senior who says he has drunk three pitchers ofbeer in one night and binge drinks roughly once amonth.

"I got friends that I think of as drinkingbuddies and people I just hang out with," he says.

Ralph, says his "drinking buddies" are peoplewho are fun to be around but that it "is hard toimagine them socializing without alcohol."

Diane, a first-year, says that alcohol is socentral to Harvard's social scene that when thekeg runs dry, the party dies.

"The reason we had alcohol [at her recentparty] is because it's the only way to have fun,"Diane says. "Realistically, it's the only waywe'll get people to come and get people to stay.It's not a reflection on us, it's a reflection onthem."

At Diane's party, she says everyone left in twohours because that was when the keg "got kicked."

Several students say they are concerned aboutthe levels of drinking, but Ralph is the onlyheavy drinker interviewed who says he is troubledbecause of the seeming importance of alcohol tohis friendship.

"[Drinking] is a good way to blow off steam,[but] it does bother me that alcohol can play suchan integral part in a relationship... it's notconstructive in many ways." he says.

Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III says theCollege cannot do much about the reasons thatstudents feel they need to drink.

"They drink because they think it facilitatestheir social life," says Epps. "That syndrome isnot a problem you can lay at the door ofcolleges."

Harvard, whose policy toward alcohol on campushad been termed liberal in the past, has beenforced by the state to crack down on underagedrinking in recent years.

The increase of the drinking age from 18 to 21and a new state law that prohibits 18 year-oldsfrom possessing alcohol--both enacted within thelast decade--have led the College to take atougher stance against underage drinking.

But Jewett says he is troubled by the lack offlexibility created by the need to enforce thestate's laws.

"The only worry I have is that to some degreeit creates an adversarial position between theCollege agents and the students," says Jewett.

How They Get Their Booze

The struggle between undergraduate drinkers andtheir prohibitionist University adversaries is notconfined to Harvard.

Local bars with lax carding policies, someliquor stores and of-age seniors provide underagedrinkers a means to bypass Universityrestrictions, students say.

"I have a friend who has a [fake] ID who buysit for me," says Fred, an underage sophomore whoprefers rum and vodka to beer. "Basically,whenever I want to drink, I drink, and I've neverhad a hard time with officials of the Universitytelling me not to."

Students say the Crimson Sports Grille, theSpaghetti Club and the Hong Kong are the mostpopular bars to enter with a fake ID.

"Earlier on when Dave the bouncer [at theGrille] didn't know me very well [I was notallowed to enter]," says Jane, now one of theGrille's "regulars."

"Every once in a while Dave will know whetherthe Alcoholic Beverage Commission [iscoming]...and he'll tell me to come back aftermidnight," she says. "People wouldn't still gothere if the Grille stopped serving [to minors]."

The Cambridge Licensing commission will revealthe results of an investigation of underagedrinking at the Grille on May 9. The commissionlaunched the investigation after it received ananonymous complaint. A similar investigationearlier this year found that one-third of theSpaghetti Club's patrons were underage.

Although several Harvard Square bars arefrequented by underage students, John Harvard'sBrew House is known to regularly turn away minorsby requesting back-up photo identification.

The Brew House's strict reputation may be dueto Club Control Incorporated (CCI), a privatecompany which provides bouncers who specialize incarding.

"You have to have [CCI]," says William McCarronof the Brew House. "We're basically required tocard everybody."

But one female student, Amy, said that despitethe bar's efforts, she has bought alcohol at theBrew House with a fake ID on several occasions.

Amy's fake ID, which she says she bought from afriend for $50, also gains her access to manyBoston-area liquor stores.

Like Amy, George has been using a fake IDthroughout his first year at Harvard to obtainalcohol from local stores.

George says that he has had the most success atChristy's and a "sketchy" liquor store onCambridge St.

But he adds that the Harvard Provision Companyis notorious among students for its strict cardingpolicy.

William McGuire, manager of the Provisioncompany, says he cards patrons who look like theymay be less than 30 years old. McGuire adds thathis employees are instructed to confiscate allfake IDs.

"If [the ID] was at one time a valid driver'slicense we keep it and depending on the situationwe notify the registry of motor vehicles or theappropriate people," McGuire says.

Yet some thirsty undergraduates manage to avoidliquor stores altogether.

Ralph, who is now 21, says that when he wasunderage, he used his older brother's ID to have akeg delivered to his dorm.

"I ordered a keg and realized when they gothere that I gave [the company] my real name," saysRalph. "The choice is pretty clear from [the kegcompany's] point of view."

Ralph says the company left the keg, despitethe discrepancy in names and photos.

Kegerator in My Closet

Having gotten hold of a keg, students,particularly yardlings, say the problem is gettingthe keg into their dorms.

The College's alcohol policy prohibitsfirst-year students from bringing kegs into theYard or their dormitory rooms.

But that policy, University officials say, doesnot adequately address the issues of abusive andunderage drinking.

Despite the tighter restrictions, Yardlingsdevise ways to skirt University policy.

"Harvard is not a police state and we do notconduct daily inspections of students' rooms,"says Dean of Freshman Elizabeth S. Nathans. "Sosome kegs will successfully elude us."

But Nathans insists, "Many--indeed, I think,most--will not."

One student who eluded the policy says he wasable to pass a keg by a couple of Harvard securityguards in broad daylight.

"We got the keg and we drove in through Widenergate," says George. "We saw some security guys andthey saw us...the [guard] came up to us and askedwhat we were doing."

"We said we were unloading luggage [and] hesaid 'Well, this car has got to be out of here in15 minutes' and he left," says George, who carriedthe keg into the dorm in a large duffel bag.

George's experience is not unique.

Larry, another first-year, says that he and hisroommates got the idea of holding their own partyafter going to several keg parties in other Yarddorms.

But Larry's keg party was discovered after abottle was thrown out of his window and theHarvard police were called.

Unlike several other first-years whosuccessfully carried off their parties, Larry nowawaits a hearing before the Administrative Board,the board of Harvard administrators thatadjudicates student disciplinary cases.

Ralph, too, claims to have a foolproof strategyfor smuggling kegs in the Yard.

"Pick up a keg in a taxi and bring it in the[trunk]," Ralph explains. "[And] the time youdecide to have it delivered, get it late enough onFriday or Saturday night [so] that not many peopleare around."

Another experienced student says that a closetis a good hiding place for a keg and adds that afriend of his owns a kegerator to keep beer frombecoming warm and flat.

But while kegs in the Yard are strictlyforbidden, parties can be held in the Houses ifthey are registered with the senior tutor and aB.A.T. team is present, according to Universitypolicy.

Tom, a sophomore, says that while the studentswho purchase the kegs for parties are more than 21years of age, B.A.T. teams are seldom present andunderage students often drink despite theUniversity regulations.

"I've seen kegs delivered to the house onweekends," says Tom. "It's a little naive to saythat only people over 21 are going to get served."

At a nine-room "golf-party" earlier this yearin Kirkland House, organizers said $700 worth ofalcohol was consumed in 45 minutes. Although eachroom filed the proper forms, the party was shutdown within an hour.

And last month, Eliot, Winthrop and KirklandHouses organized a party which offered free beer,distributed by a B.A.T team according toregulations.

At that party, Alex G. Borun '96 administeredbreathalyzer tests as part of a study for hispsychology class.

Borun says that the drunkest person at theparty had a blood-alcohol level of. 152. When heconducted the same test at Wellesley College, thehighest level was.170.

In most states, including Massachusetts,drivers are legally drunk when their blood alcohollevel exceeds 0.1.

Strip Clubs

Public parties at Harvard, however, rarelyfeature the drinking games like U.R.I.'s ice flow.

Fans of such games are most likely to be foundat one of the Colleges nine finals clubs or twosororities.

"I was at Mezzo's one night," says Jane. "WhenI saw two friends of mine run out of the Fox, runout through traffic, run through the little greenin front of Grendel's, run through traffic bucknaked and run back into the finals club."

One finals club member, Sam, says policerepresentatives come to all parties but "if youwant alcohol you can basically have access to it."

"No one is forced to drink," says Sam. "Butit's encouraged. "Of course not all finals clubparties are fun and games.

But at least one student said he declined notto join a finals club because of its emphasis ondrinking.

Fred, who was punched by the Spee, dropped outof the punch because "everybody basically sitsaround and gets drunk and wears tuxes."

"I'm sure that's the primary activity," headds. "Everyone I know [in the Spee] is a prettyheavy drinker."

Heavy drinking has apparently caused problemsat the D.U. as well. In February, football recruitJohn Burnham attended a party at the D.U. finalsclub, as is traditional for new recruits.

Burnham allegedly became involved in a disputewith linebacker Sean Hansen '95, both of whomBurnham later said had consumed significantquantities of alcohol.

Burnham says he was beaten so severely that itrequired surgery to fix a blow-out fracture to hisleft eye socket.

The D.U. was subsequently closed by itsgraduate board for one month, and is currentlyrequired to shut down at 10 p.m. on Friday andSaturday nights.

Burnham has since withdrawn his application tothe College.

What Can Harvard Do?

College officials worried about incidents suchas the D.U. fight say they realize alcohol issometimes abused on campus.

"I think it's serious," Rosenthal says.

"There are many students who drink to besociable, but there are many that drink to getdrunk," he says. "That's the issue I'm talkingabout, the people who drink to get drunk."

Rosenthal linked drinking to a number ofproblems, including sexually transmitted diseases,accidents, date rape, arguments and conflicts,depression, irritability and low grades.

But Catlin, the head of UHS mental health, sayslevels of drinking are not as important as thereasons that students drink.

"Because Harvard does not tend to be a friendlyplace, I think there may be more anxiety aboutwhether people fit in or not, so they turn toalcohol to feel more relaxed," Catlin says.

Although Jewett disagrees with Catlin that thepressures of drinking at Harvard are differentthan those at other campuses, he agrees thatstudents are mistaken to think that they can onlyhave a good time if they drink.

"I would suspect the motivations for studentshere are not any different than they are at otherplaces," Jewett says. "I think some of thembelieve you can't have social activity without[alcohol and] that's obviously not a positivesituation."

But one student also disagrees with Jewett,saying she believes Harvard's environmentencourages abusive drinking.

"My personal feeling is that Harvard is atraining ground for alcoholics," Jane says. "Maybeit has to do with the pressure of being at Harvardand doing well and being smarter than everyoneelse, but when people drink at Harvard they drinkexcessively."

Jane adds that her "boring" social life wastransformed when she started drinking in thespring of her first year.

"I literally had nothing to do on weekends,"she says. "And then second semester I decided toget a life, so I got myself a fake ID and I askedmy...roommate to take me out."

"The only regret I have now is that [drinking]is all I ever do--it's the only way I go out andhave fun," Jane says.

Rosenthal says the University must helpstudents overcome these feelings.

"Alcohol is probably one of the major healthproblems on this campus and all other campuses,"he says.

"It causes a lot of accidents...there is almosta death a year on a campus due to alcohol,"Rosenthal says. "We've been fortunate but we can'twait for a crisis."

Wechsler, the author of the binge drinkingstudy, suggests two solutions to the alcoholcrisis on college campuses.

The first, he says, requires a long-term changein social norms of students.

"It is a long-term strategy and is probably thebest approach to the problem, but schools have notbeen doing much with that," Wechsler says.

The second strategy is to get the heavydrinkers into recovery programs, but Wechsler saysthis approach has not proved very effective.

"Schools have aimed their programs at thedrinkers and have tried to educate them...butpeople who drink heavily are not likely to listento these kind of appeals," he says.

No Meaningful Dialogue

But according to Catlin, the administration hasthus far been unable to discuss alcohol policy ina meaningful way.

"[The issue] must be talked about in a way thatis meaningful to the students...this [must be] putin a context of the kinds of treatments that areavailable: the physiological and the organicchanges," Catlin says.

In fact, Rosenthal says it is difficult toaddress the issue of binge drinking at all,because underage drinking is prohibited by law.

"You can't teach people to drink responsibly,because it's illegal," he says.

Nathans echoes Rosenthal's concern.

"When the law allowed the College more easilyto talk with underage students about responsibledrinking and related issues, I suspect thatconversations could be more open and alcohol usewasn't by definition always a `we/them' issue,"says Nathans.

But perhaps the positions of students andadministrators need not be so adversarial. Bothstudents and administrators admit that it isdifficult to positively affect student drinkinghabits through University regulations.

The state mandated policy has left both partiesdissatisfied, and has not adequately addressed theissues of binge and underage drinking, they say.

"My concern," explains Jewett, who says heenjoys drinking responsibly, "is to understand theproblems of abusive drinking and to [havestudents] be responsible if they are going to usealcohol."CrimsonAnna-Marie L. TaborStudents say the vodka bottle is a staple inmany Harvard rooms.

"I guess I'm not convinced that a legalposition that says that students are not going todrink at all... is a very realistic assessment ofwhat the mores of people are," Jewett says. "Iwould rather have policies which recognize thatpeople will have contact with alcohol."

Jewett says that occasional drinking is not theproblem. Rather it is students' abuse of alcoholwhich has the dean, as well as other Universityofficials, concerned.

"My hunch would be that people use [alcohol] asa way to enhance their social life," says RandolphCatlin Jr., head of the mental health services atUHS.

Catlin's hunch, students say, is not unfounded.

"It's a primary way to socialize," says Ralph,a senior who says he has drunk three pitchers ofbeer in one night and binge drinks roughly once amonth.

"I got friends that I think of as drinkingbuddies and people I just hang out with," he says.

Ralph, says his "drinking buddies" are peoplewho are fun to be around but that it "is hard toimagine them socializing without alcohol."

Diane, a first-year, says that alcohol is socentral to Harvard's social scene that when thekeg runs dry, the party dies.

"The reason we had alcohol [at her recentparty] is because it's the only way to have fun,"Diane says. "Realistically, it's the only waywe'll get people to come and get people to stay.It's not a reflection on us, it's a reflection onthem."

At Diane's party, she says everyone left in twohours because that was when the keg "got kicked."

Several students say they are concerned aboutthe levels of drinking, but Ralph is the onlyheavy drinker interviewed who says he is troubledbecause of the seeming importance of alcohol tohis friendship.

"[Drinking] is a good way to blow off steam,[but] it does bother me that alcohol can play suchan integral part in a relationship... it's notconstructive in many ways." he says.

Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III says theCollege cannot do much about the reasons thatstudents feel they need to drink.

"They drink because they think it facilitatestheir social life," says Epps. "That syndrome isnot a problem you can lay at the door ofcolleges."

Harvard, whose policy toward alcohol on campushad been termed liberal in the past, has beenforced by the state to crack down on underagedrinking in recent years.

The increase of the drinking age from 18 to 21and a new state law that prohibits 18 year-oldsfrom possessing alcohol--both enacted within thelast decade--have led the College to take atougher stance against underage drinking.

But Jewett says he is troubled by the lack offlexibility created by the need to enforce thestate's laws.

"The only worry I have is that to some degreeit creates an adversarial position between theCollege agents and the students," says Jewett.

How They Get Their Booze

The struggle between undergraduate drinkers andtheir prohibitionist University adversaries is notconfined to Harvard.

Local bars with lax carding policies, someliquor stores and of-age seniors provide underagedrinkers a means to bypass Universityrestrictions, students say.

"I have a friend who has a [fake] ID who buysit for me," says Fred, an underage sophomore whoprefers rum and vodka to beer. "Basically,whenever I want to drink, I drink, and I've neverhad a hard time with officials of the Universitytelling me not to."

Students say the Crimson Sports Grille, theSpaghetti Club and the Hong Kong are the mostpopular bars to enter with a fake ID.

"Earlier on when Dave the bouncer [at theGrille] didn't know me very well [I was notallowed to enter]," says Jane, now one of theGrille's "regulars."

"Every once in a while Dave will know whetherthe Alcoholic Beverage Commission [iscoming]...and he'll tell me to come back aftermidnight," she says. "People wouldn't still gothere if the Grille stopped serving [to minors]."

The Cambridge Licensing commission will revealthe results of an investigation of underagedrinking at the Grille on May 9. The commissionlaunched the investigation after it received ananonymous complaint. A similar investigationearlier this year found that one-third of theSpaghetti Club's patrons were underage.

Although several Harvard Square bars arefrequented by underage students, John Harvard'sBrew House is known to regularly turn away minorsby requesting back-up photo identification.

The Brew House's strict reputation may be dueto Club Control Incorporated (CCI), a privatecompany which provides bouncers who specialize incarding.

"You have to have [CCI]," says William McCarronof the Brew House. "We're basically required tocard everybody."

But one female student, Amy, said that despitethe bar's efforts, she has bought alcohol at theBrew House with a fake ID on several occasions.

Amy's fake ID, which she says she bought from afriend for $50, also gains her access to manyBoston-area liquor stores.

Like Amy, George has been using a fake IDthroughout his first year at Harvard to obtainalcohol from local stores.

George says that he has had the most success atChristy's and a "sketchy" liquor store onCambridge St.

But he adds that the Harvard Provision Companyis notorious among students for its strict cardingpolicy.

William McGuire, manager of the Provisioncompany, says he cards patrons who look like theymay be less than 30 years old. McGuire adds thathis employees are instructed to confiscate allfake IDs.

"If [the ID] was at one time a valid driver'slicense we keep it and depending on the situationwe notify the registry of motor vehicles or theappropriate people," McGuire says.

Yet some thirsty undergraduates manage to avoidliquor stores altogether.

Ralph, who is now 21, says that when he wasunderage, he used his older brother's ID to have akeg delivered to his dorm.

"I ordered a keg and realized when they gothere that I gave [the company] my real name," saysRalph. "The choice is pretty clear from [the kegcompany's] point of view."

Ralph says the company left the keg, despitethe discrepancy in names and photos.

Kegerator in My Closet

Having gotten hold of a keg, students,particularly yardlings, say the problem is gettingthe keg into their dorms.

The College's alcohol policy prohibitsfirst-year students from bringing kegs into theYard or their dormitory rooms.

But that policy, University officials say, doesnot adequately address the issues of abusive andunderage drinking.

Despite the tighter restrictions, Yardlingsdevise ways to skirt University policy.

"Harvard is not a police state and we do notconduct daily inspections of students' rooms,"says Dean of Freshman Elizabeth S. Nathans. "Sosome kegs will successfully elude us."

But Nathans insists, "Many--indeed, I think,most--will not."

One student who eluded the policy says he wasable to pass a keg by a couple of Harvard securityguards in broad daylight.

"We got the keg and we drove in through Widenergate," says George. "We saw some security guys andthey saw us...the [guard] came up to us and askedwhat we were doing."

"We said we were unloading luggage [and] hesaid 'Well, this car has got to be out of here in15 minutes' and he left," says George, who carriedthe keg into the dorm in a large duffel bag.

George's experience is not unique.

Larry, another first-year, says that he and hisroommates got the idea of holding their own partyafter going to several keg parties in other Yarddorms.

But Larry's keg party was discovered after abottle was thrown out of his window and theHarvard police were called.

Unlike several other first-years whosuccessfully carried off their parties, Larry nowawaits a hearing before the Administrative Board,the board of Harvard administrators thatadjudicates student disciplinary cases.

Ralph, too, claims to have a foolproof strategyfor smuggling kegs in the Yard.

"Pick up a keg in a taxi and bring it in the[trunk]," Ralph explains. "[And] the time youdecide to have it delivered, get it late enough onFriday or Saturday night [so] that not many peopleare around."

Another experienced student says that a closetis a good hiding place for a keg and adds that afriend of his owns a kegerator to keep beer frombecoming warm and flat.

But while kegs in the Yard are strictlyforbidden, parties can be held in the Houses ifthey are registered with the senior tutor and aB.A.T. team is present, according to Universitypolicy.

Tom, a sophomore, says that while the studentswho purchase the kegs for parties are more than 21years of age, B.A.T. teams are seldom present andunderage students often drink despite theUniversity regulations.

"I've seen kegs delivered to the house onweekends," says Tom. "It's a little naive to saythat only people over 21 are going to get served."

At a nine-room "golf-party" earlier this yearin Kirkland House, organizers said $700 worth ofalcohol was consumed in 45 minutes. Although eachroom filed the proper forms, the party was shutdown within an hour.

And last month, Eliot, Winthrop and KirklandHouses organized a party which offered free beer,distributed by a B.A.T team according toregulations.

At that party, Alex G. Borun '96 administeredbreathalyzer tests as part of a study for hispsychology class.

Borun says that the drunkest person at theparty had a blood-alcohol level of. 152. When heconducted the same test at Wellesley College, thehighest level was.170.

In most states, including Massachusetts,drivers are legally drunk when their blood alcohollevel exceeds 0.1.

Strip Clubs

Public parties at Harvard, however, rarelyfeature the drinking games like U.R.I.'s ice flow.

Fans of such games are most likely to be foundat one of the Colleges nine finals clubs or twosororities.

"I was at Mezzo's one night," says Jane. "WhenI saw two friends of mine run out of the Fox, runout through traffic, run through the little greenin front of Grendel's, run through traffic bucknaked and run back into the finals club."

One finals club member, Sam, says policerepresentatives come to all parties but "if youwant alcohol you can basically have access to it."

"No one is forced to drink," says Sam. "Butit's encouraged. "Of course not all finals clubparties are fun and games.

But at least one student said he declined notto join a finals club because of its emphasis ondrinking.

Fred, who was punched by the Spee, dropped outof the punch because "everybody basically sitsaround and gets drunk and wears tuxes."

"I'm sure that's the primary activity," headds. "Everyone I know [in the Spee] is a prettyheavy drinker."

Heavy drinking has apparently caused problemsat the D.U. as well. In February, football recruitJohn Burnham attended a party at the D.U. finalsclub, as is traditional for new recruits.

Burnham allegedly became involved in a disputewith linebacker Sean Hansen '95, both of whomBurnham later said had consumed significantquantities of alcohol.

Burnham says he was beaten so severely that itrequired surgery to fix a blow-out fracture to hisleft eye socket.

The D.U. was subsequently closed by itsgraduate board for one month, and is currentlyrequired to shut down at 10 p.m. on Friday andSaturday nights.

Burnham has since withdrawn his application tothe College.

What Can Harvard Do?

College officials worried about incidents suchas the D.U. fight say they realize alcohol issometimes abused on campus.

"I think it's serious," Rosenthal says.

"There are many students who drink to besociable, but there are many that drink to getdrunk," he says. "That's the issue I'm talkingabout, the people who drink to get drunk."

Rosenthal linked drinking to a number ofproblems, including sexually transmitted diseases,accidents, date rape, arguments and conflicts,depression, irritability and low grades.

But Catlin, the head of UHS mental health, sayslevels of drinking are not as important as thereasons that students drink.

"Because Harvard does not tend to be a friendlyplace, I think there may be more anxiety aboutwhether people fit in or not, so they turn toalcohol to feel more relaxed," Catlin says.

Although Jewett disagrees with Catlin that thepressures of drinking at Harvard are differentthan those at other campuses, he agrees thatstudents are mistaken to think that they can onlyhave a good time if they drink.

"I would suspect the motivations for studentshere are not any different than they are at otherplaces," Jewett says. "I think some of thembelieve you can't have social activity without[alcohol and] that's obviously not a positivesituation."

But one student also disagrees with Jewett,saying she believes Harvard's environmentencourages abusive drinking.

"My personal feeling is that Harvard is atraining ground for alcoholics," Jane says. "Maybeit has to do with the pressure of being at Harvardand doing well and being smarter than everyoneelse, but when people drink at Harvard they drinkexcessively."

Jane adds that her "boring" social life wastransformed when she started drinking in thespring of her first year.

"I literally had nothing to do on weekends,"she says. "And then second semester I decided toget a life, so I got myself a fake ID and I askedmy...roommate to take me out."

"The only regret I have now is that [drinking]is all I ever do--it's the only way I go out andhave fun," Jane says.

Rosenthal says the University must helpstudents overcome these feelings.

"Alcohol is probably one of the major healthproblems on this campus and all other campuses,"he says.

"It causes a lot of accidents...there is almosta death a year on a campus due to alcohol,"Rosenthal says. "We've been fortunate but we can'twait for a crisis."

Wechsler, the author of the binge drinkingstudy, suggests two solutions to the alcoholcrisis on college campuses.

The first, he says, requires a long-term changein social norms of students.

"It is a long-term strategy and is probably thebest approach to the problem, but schools have notbeen doing much with that," Wechsler says.

The second strategy is to get the heavydrinkers into recovery programs, but Wechsler saysthis approach has not proved very effective.

"Schools have aimed their programs at thedrinkers and have tried to educate them...butpeople who drink heavily are not likely to listento these kind of appeals," he says.

No Meaningful Dialogue

But according to Catlin, the administration hasthus far been unable to discuss alcohol policy ina meaningful way.

"[The issue] must be talked about in a way thatis meaningful to the students...this [must be] putin a context of the kinds of treatments that areavailable: the physiological and the organicchanges," Catlin says.

In fact, Rosenthal says it is difficult toaddress the issue of binge drinking at all,because underage drinking is prohibited by law.

"You can't teach people to drink responsibly,because it's illegal," he says.

Nathans echoes Rosenthal's concern.

"When the law allowed the College more easilyto talk with underage students about responsibledrinking and related issues, I suspect thatconversations could be more open and alcohol usewasn't by definition always a `we/them' issue,"says Nathans.

But perhaps the positions of students andadministrators need not be so adversarial. Bothstudents and administrators admit that it isdifficult to positively affect student drinkinghabits through University regulations.

The state mandated policy has left both partiesdissatisfied, and has not adequately addressed theissues of binge and underage drinking, they say.

"My concern," explains Jewett, who says heenjoys drinking responsibly, "is to understand theproblems of abusive drinking and to [havestudents] be responsible if they are going to usealcohol."CrimsonAnna-Marie L. TaborStudents say the vodka bottle is a staple inmany Harvard rooms.