Even Dean of Freshmen Elizabeth Studley "Ibby" Nathans, known for her hard-line stance on drinking in the Yard and strict enforcement of College policies, says preserving students' health is of the utmost importance.

"The law grants us the latitude to encourage a response which focuses on health issues or on treatment in cases of repeated or habitual substance abuse," Nathans writes in an e-mail message.

Administrators downplay discipline and stress the protective aspects of the College's policy, framing restrictions on alcohol use as safeguards to stop students from drinking themselves to death. They emphasize the College's efforts to place students with problems into alcohol counseling.

The general sense among Harvard students is that the College's policy is fair.

In a Crimson poll of 353 undergraduates, only 30 percent said they thought the drinking policies should be less restrictive and a majority were satisfied with the status quo.

But a significant number of students are nonetheless skeptical of the College's priorities in enforcement. Less than a third said they would be likely to notify a proctor or resident tutor in the event that a friend had too much to drink, and less than tenth said they would be likely to tell another College administrator.

Stories of alcohol crackdowns permeate the College, making students--particularly first-years--wary of uneven enforcement on the part of some administrators.