"Just on the basis of the Wechler data and anecdotal information, I do consider the severe and extreme abuses of alcohol as dangerous for the students as affected as an important and serious issue for the College community," Lewis said.

"I don't think this is a simple problem with any single silver-bullet solution, and I will want to work with a variety of people at Harvard over the summer to develop a number of coordinated approaches to the problem," he added.

Lewis has already begun to consult with Director of the University Health Services David S. Rosenthal '59, who said he has tried to inform Lewis of the problems that the College faces in trying to curb campus drinking.

"I gave [Lewis] a lot of information and literature," said Rosenthal, who will continue to meet with Lewis over the summer. "I think our first meeting to discuss this was a very good one."

Rosenthal said that he is interested in focusing on prevention and dealing with the second-hand effects of underage drinking.

"[We] are trying to deal with the issues of more and more students that are having difficulty dealing with the second-hand effects of alcohol," said Rosenthal. "On the medical side, what we are trying to do is to help the College deal with the prevention issue."

Rosenthal suggests that a solely educational approach to underage drinking is not sufficient because students do not need to be told not to drink. Instead, the College should try to present alternatives to binge drinking for students.

"We know that teaching students about the adverse effects of alcohol--students don't need that," said Rosenthal. "[We are] trying to find acceptable alternative behavior."

Another difficulty the University faces in reshaping its alcohol policy is that state law prohibits College officials from suggesting alternative drinking strategies to students. The law mandates instead that Massachusetts colleges only advise their students to abstain from any use of alcohol whatsoever.

The Problem of Public Service

Lewis will also be charged with selecting a new assistant dean for public service and director of Phillips Brooks House (PBH), a position created by his Report on the Structure of Harvard College (please see story, page B-1).

The report, which he co-authored with Administrative Dean of the Faculty Nancy L. Maull, recommended fundamental changes to the structure of public service at Harvard: the creation of the assistant dean post and also of a faculty standing committee on public service.

But the search committee contains none of the faculty members PBH recommended.

"I never got an explanation of what happened," said Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities Robert Coles '50, one of the people the students on the PBHA (Phillips Brooks House Association) suggested. "I've wondered out loud and it has never been explained to me."

Since the search committee was still taking last-minute applications as of last week, the list of members will not be finalized before Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett steps down July 1.