College Not Guilty of Being Complacent on Binge Drinking

To the editors:

The Crimson's editorial of Oct. 6 quotes a single sentence from an e-mail I sent on Oct. 1 in a way that misrepresents Harvard's position on alcohol abuse, suggesting that we may be guilty of "complacency about drinking at Harvard" and that I have "forgotten our precious final clubs."

In her inquiry to me your reporter asserted, concerning a recent Senate resolution on binge drinking, that "most of [the proposed measures] I have noticed, Harvard has addressed in some way," and went on to note "the increased emphasis on the dangers and consequences of alcohol use during Freshman Week, and in the past year in general." In my response I repeated neither her own assertions nor any part of the following message, which I had e-mailed to a Crimson reporter on Sept. 13:

"Harvard was part of Wechsler's study. Our numbers are somewhat lower than national averages, but by no means comfortingly low. Anecdotally, I would say that every year we have instances where students have put themselves in very serious medical jeopardy, often through consumption of mixtures containing unknown quantities of unknown alcoholic beverages.

"Anyone who has witnessed a young person on a ventilator because his or her ability to breathe has been suppressed by toxic quantities of alcohol would wonder how such a thing could happen to a Harvard student. But as the Scott Krueger death showed, even the brightest and most promising students coming to colleges like MIT and Harvard are not invulnerable, as immortal as they may feel in the excitement of being here.

"I would also note, as I have stated before, that almost every instance of serious behavioral misconduct at Harvard (physical violence, destruction of property, etc.) is associated with alcohol. Even when drinking is not to a potentially lethal level, it impairs students' judgment in ways that can have very serious long[-]term consequences for them, since we do not consider it exculpatory when a student states, as an excuse for some misbehavior, `I was drunk at the time.'

"A number of things have been done over the past couple of years to try to get at this problem in the places where it is most worrisome. There is quite a bit of education done for freshmen, including a pillow-dropped letter about alcohol that greets freshmen and their parents as they move in. Similarly, we sent a booklet of information to parents of all sophomores this year that mentions alcohol as a continuing concern. A lot of work was done with undergraduate organizations and teams last year to try to get the leadership to encourage responsible behavior.

"We are taking a tough stance with respect to the Final Clubs, which have been a locus of abusive drinking. We are cooperating actively with the City of Cambridge in its enforcement efforts (for example, someone from the Cambridge Licensing Board came to the Freshman Orientation this year). We are also seeing to it that UHS and the BSC have education and support programs in place to help students who are concerned about their own drinking. We have cooperated with a group of other universities that over the summer has been developing a mutually consistent set of policies.

"There is no single source to this problem and there is no single solution, hence our multifaceted approach. We are very fortunate in not having some of the things that other colleges have to deal with, fraternities in particular, which Wechsler shows are associated with almost universal binge drinking among their members. We are also fortunate that virtually all of our students live in Harvard housing. We will continue the efforts made last year to enhance alcohol-free social events, in Loker and elsewhere."

Finally, though I regret the highly selective quotation of my words on this subject, I applaud The Crimson's editorial board for its enlightened stance. Less than three years ago, in a staff editorial on Nov. 1, 1995, entitled "A Call for Moderation" written following the issuance of a statement on alcohol by the College, The Crimson urged, "Because a heavy-handed University crackdown on alcohol consumption would make the situation worse, we feel that a more effective policy would be for the administration to remain deliberately lenient in the enforcement of guidelines regarding the use of alcohol by underage students. When alcohol is used responsibly it can enliven many a social event." It is an indication of great progress that The Crimson has moved to the responsible position articulated in its Oct. 6 editorial. HARRY R. LEWIS '68   Dean of Harvard College   Oct. 6, 1998