This approach is bankrupt, ineffective, hypocritical and even dangerous. We couldn't have made alcohol seem more alluring if we tried. At universities and colleges, you see compulsory programs for fraternity leaders, or punishment for being caught with alcohol. Yet every book I've ever read on effective teaching says such a punitive approach is doomed to failure. Virginia Tech recently played what might be the ultimate education trump card by calling on faculty to pile on the homework on weekends so as to curtail students' free time.
Some programs show promise.
Northern Illinois University has surveyed students about their drinking habits, and the results show that the real level of drinking is nowhere near what the students perceive it to be. The hope is that when students realize this, they will set more moderate standards for themselves, and it seems to work. In the aftermath of last year's drinking death at MIT, the mayor of Boston has called for radio spots and visual ads that show fashionably dressed college kids passed out by trash cans or clinging to toilet bowls, and, according to the Boston Globe, initial student reaction has been good. Indeed, the Harvard study, while reporting a slight increase in binge drinking, also reports a slight rise in the number of students abstaining from alcohol. The most promising strategies put students in charge of changing the environment that leads to abusive drinking.