"Research has demonstrated that students' perception of peer drug use norms may be substantially incorrect and that students may be negatively influenced by exaggerated perceptions beyond any influence of the actual peer norms," Perkins writes in his 1991 paper titled "Misperceptions of Peer Drug Use Norms Among College Students: Causes, Consequences and Potential Resolutions."

The approach advocated by Perkins, who has worked with Wechsler, criticizes the Harvard lecturer's model for overlooking part of the difficulty in simply emphasizing the harmful behavior of drunkards. Although Wechsler's behavior-based approach correctly focuses attention on the behavioral aspects of heavy drinking, it does not fully consider the "picture of peer influence through the eyes of the perceiver."

Wechsler seeks to make an example of drunkards who cause problems for their classmates, while Perkins' theory suggests that the high level of visibility given to problem-makers may distort students' misperceptions. Again referring to attribution theory, which Perkins cites as part of his theses, we have a limited perception of events around us. Despite this limited perception, like the two students who based their understanding of drinking on their past experiences, we are forced to make judgments--in this case to form a definition of moderate drinking.

At college parties where there is a heavy amount of drinking, each person will tend to attribute their peers' drinking to the environment, rather to the situation of the individual drinker. In other words, while normally a student drinks two shots of whiskey in an environment where it is perceived that others drink more, the student might drink to a level higher than otherwise intended. For heavy drinkers, the perception of this environment allows them to self-justify their drinking habits and perhaps exacerbate the problems associated with their drinking.

In a 1986 article in the International Journal of the Addiction, Perkins cites a study he conducted with psychologist Alan D. Berkowitz, also from Hobart and William Smith, which found that the gap of perception between "personal attitudes" and the "perceived norm" is substantial. In that study, Perkins and Berkowitz conclude: "Virtually no direct association between drinking behavior and perceived norms was found."

Wechsler assumes that students will be persuaded by the "second hand binge effects," but his approach neglects to set a definition or a norm at which students are bothered by drinkers. Wechsler's approach, therefore, seems to miss the most fundamental aspect of teaching students the affects of drinking: what the students themselves actually perceive about drinking.

Wechsler contends that the battle against smoking and the campaign against drunk driving have both overcome the vague definition of moderation. The success of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in curbing deaths has been substantial, but MADD was able to overcome the challenges created by misattribution by focusing their campaign on a particularly harmful action and emphasizing the effects drunk driving has had on mother-child relationships. Wechsler's "second hand binge effects," approach has not displayed that kind of specificity or rigor necessary to combat the difficulties posed by the effects of attribution theory on the perceptions and attitudes of drinkers.

Despite policies of increased enforcement that have occurred this fall at several colleges (most notably the University of Rhode Island), severity on the part of officials in dealing with drinking may temporarily curb the amount of drinking but cannot ensure that students' approach to drinking will change. Colleges persuaded to follow Wechsler's approach may quickly find that their student bodies' diversity is a detriment when trying to encourage both the "Animal House" crowd and the premed study group to speak out against their classmates' drinking habits.

Perkins' is the most viable solution. Making students aware of the "myths and misperceptions" of drinking on their campus enables them to make accurate decisions about how much they actually feel it is right to drink. That does not mean that students will not continue to get drunk, but at least those that continue to drink heavily may begin to realize that they make a conscious choice to do so and that this choice is not as accepted on campuses as they once thought. Wechsler's emphasis on "second hand binge effects" can affect change when students begin to have informed perceptions of their own actions and the actions of their peers. It is only when students are able to connect the drinker's actions with their own feelings that Wechsler's can work.

Instead of simply making an example of drunkards and hoping students will persuade each other to drink responsibly, colleges should aim to make students more aware of their environment, teach proper decision making techniques and cultivate cognitive processes that will play a role in