To the editors:

In "Necessary Liquid Courage" (Opinion, Feb. 3), Melissa Rose Langsam makes some comments on drinking that are quite erroneous. Her premise for the reason why Harvard students, specifically first-years, drink is that they are so unhappy here that they have no other outlet for their built-up frustrations. While this may be true for her, it seems unlikely that this assumption is universal within the College.

Langsam seems to forget that for many of us, alcohol is not some outside "solution for coping with the environment and imposed ignorance of the cold system." In many cultures, alcohol is merely a part of daily life; that includes a college culture. Harvard is just a college, and as such, alcohol is a part of it.

Students are doing the best they can: let us think and act responsibly for ourselves. Drinking is part of the life of an average college student. I don't drink to escape pressure; I drink because I want to. NEIL R. BROWN '01   Feb. 4, 1998