College drinking problem

Not a problem at UM-Rolla - it's their claim to fame. Which isn't all that notable, except in the State of Missouri. Now University of Wisconsin at Madison - these guys are famous.

But, I'm going tangential. The problem of college drinking does exist. This particular study is not addressing the very serious issue of drinking and driving, which has generally and successfully been whitewashed and ignored in this country. Except I did read an article recently about a 25-year-old Florida man who was sentenced to 22 years (yes, 22 years) in prison for killing two women he hit while driving under the influence.

This particular study is about the incidence of binge drinking on college campuses.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has estimated that 1,400 college students die from alcohol-related injuries each year, the study said. Other national studies have shown that two of five students are binge drinkers.

...A Harvard University study released yesterday found that "binge" drinking by college students was significantly lower on campuses with more female and more black, Asian and other minority underclassmen.

The study, to be published in the November issue of the American Journal of Public Health, said that "the student-body composition and demographic diversity should be examined by colleges wishing to reduce their binge drinking problems."

... [The authors] concluded that "white male and underage students" drank less when more minorities were present on campus and that "students who do not binge drink in high school are more likely to start binge drinking at colleges with fewer minority and older students."


Now isn't that interesting. Females and minorities correlated with reduced problems. My, my, my.

The Harvard study does not conclude that the presence of minority students directly results in less binge drinking, but rather that there is a correlation between diversity and less heavy drinking by students.

Okay, that's not exactly double-speak. What it says is that there could be another cause of the lowered binge drinking on diverse campuses that is coincidental with the presence of females and minorities. More study needed. Where are these non-diverse campuses and are there diverse campuses in the same areas that could be used for comparison? What is studied at these non-diverse campuses and are there diverse campuses with the same studies that could be used for comparisons. You get the idea.

Still, it's an interesting find that will no doubt be used in many a college campus debate and policy formation.

Such an approach could add a twist to the affirmative action debate raging at predominantly white universities and education think tanks nationwide. In July, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that colleges and universities may consider race in admissions.

Click here for more about college drinking.

And here for the Princeton Review's listing of top party colleges that the AMA is objecting to.

....or do what you want....you will anyway.