dily falling for the past twenty years. Recent studies have found connections between drinking and the prevalence of date rapes, hazing, and property damage on campuses. (Higher Education Research Institute, The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 1994, University of California, Los Angeles; William Celis 3d, "Tradition on the Wane: College Drinking," New York Times, Feb. 5, 1995, p. 1). This study, by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles, suggests that problem drinking may be isolated to a few students and that overall attitudes about alcohol are changing, at least among college freshmen.In 1994, the Institute surveyed 333,703 freshmen from 670 four-year colleges and universities as part of their annual poll of first-year students. In 1994, the number of first-year students who reported drinking beer occasionally or frequently in the past year reached its lowest point ever -- 53.2% (compared to 54.4% in 1993 and 75.2% in 1981). The percentage of freshmen that said they had drunk wine or hard liquor also fell to 52.5% from 66.7% in 1987 when the question was first asked as a part of the survey.Students interviewed for The New York Times article about the survey attributed the decrease in drinking to changing attitudes. According to one New York University student, on college campuses there "is just an increased awareness that drinking can become something hazardous not only to your health, but your academic life, your studies, your relationships."...
