"I am a 'glass half-full' kind of guy, and I actually am impressed that almost three-quarters of our students know that a behavior which is clearly illegal under state law and contrary to College rules will ordinarily not result in disciplinary action," Lewis writes in an e-mail.

Applying The Pressure

Part of the confusion may arise from the fact that while the College's Administrative Board does not discipline students for seeking medical attention at UHS after alcohol-related incidents, they may be required to attend counseling or speak with assistant deans or senior tutors about their drinking.

A Kirkland House sophomore, who asked to remain anonymous, drank too much in a friend's room last spring and was taken by ambulance to UHS's urgent-care facility.

When she returned to the Yard the next day, both her proctor and Assistant Dean of Freshmen Wendy E. Torrance asked to meet with her.

"I was given the impression that there would be some undesirable consequence to my Harvard status if I didn't tell them everything I knew about where I had gotten the alcohol," the student says.

"My friends' names were given under duress," she says. "I just felt really bad about dragging my friends into it, but I knew that I would be causing problems if I didn't tell them everything I remembered."

The student says the assistant dean then contacted her friends.