While recognition of a drinking pattern that may lead to a problem later on is relatively easy, acknowledgement of a problem is rare among college students. Alcoholism is "a disease of denial," Valle says.

Wechsler's study of college drinkers found that college students were relatively unconcerned about their drinking habits. Sixty percent of the men in the study said they were not worried at all about their drinking, while 69 percent of the women said the same thing.

Valliant says that a study he began in 1940 showed that students who formed drinking habits in college and continued to drink heavily after school suffered from increased health problems.

The study followed 268 Harvard College sophomores through their college years and then through later periods of their lives, recording such factors as drinking habits, health problems and marital problems.

The sample was split into three groups--a group of moderate social drinkers, heavy social drinkers and alcohol abusers. When the members of the sample were 50 years old, 35 percent of the group that was characterized as alcohol abusers suffered from deteriorating health in the previous 10 years. This was compared to 10 percent from the group labelled moderate social drinkers.

Six percent of the alcohol abusers said they had "clearly good marriages," compared to 35 percent of the moderate social drinkers.

Helping students to avoid the development of habits which can lead to such problems later in life is one reason why groups like Project ADD (Alcohol and Drug Dialogue) are popping up.

Project ADD is a two year-old, student-run group committed to education and outreach. According to organizers, the project visits freshpeople proctorial groups in an attempt to generate discussion about alcohol and drug-related problems.

James B. Kresberg '91, a Project ADD organizer, says discussion about drinking in college is necessary if problems resulting in alcohol abuse are to be avoided.

"The years people spend in college are formative years and experimental years," Kresberg says. "You're probably going to form a lot of habits, and drinking habits are important to keep in mind." Troubling Figures About College Drinking

A Look at Heavy College Drinkers In trouble with the authorities:  62% In physical fights as a result of drinking:  53% In alcohol-related auto accidents:  29% In other alcohol-related accidents:  27%

A Look at 50-Year-Old Harvard Graduates Who Drank Heavily When in College now alcohol abusers   now moderate drinkers Experienced deteriorating health in last 10 years:  35%  10% Have healthy marriages  6%  35%

Sources: "Extensive Uses of Alcohol Among College Students," by Henry Wechsler and Mary Rohman in The Journal of Studies on Alcohol, January 1981, and The Natural History of Alcoholism, by George E. Valliant, 1983.