The argument against such policies has always been that it pushes drinking underground. Harvard's Wechsler argues that administrators who say that are shunning responsibility. He maintains that there is less binge drinking on campuses where students are encouraged to focus on other activities. One reason could be that schools with such tough antidrinking policies attract fewer students who want to party. A number of students at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., said that the school's dry policy influenced their decision to attend the liberal arts college.
Consistent enforcement is key, as is filling students' days and nights with meaningful activities.
Friday classes are a joke on too many campuses, and grade inflation has allowed students to spend even less time on coursework. Keep them busy. In general, presidents of colleges in urban areas, where there are more recreational and cultural events to lure students, report lower binge drinking rates on campus than those running schools in less urban settings. Many experts agree that alcohol abuse is perhaps most rampant and causes the most trouble in places where colleges have little or no authority, such as the fraternity system. Studies show that residents of fraternity and sorority row are up to four times as likely to be binge drinkers as other students, and their leaders are the most likely of all.