September 1, 2004

Random House Publishing
The Princeton Review
1745 Broadway, MD 15-2
New York, NY 10019
(800) 733-3000

Dear Random House:

The Princeton Review does a disservice to students preparing to apply to college this fall. The popular college handbook ranks the nation’s top 20 party schools, but fails to report the myriad problems that flow from alcohol abuse. In fact, 1,400 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die every year as a result of hazardous drinking, and a half million suffer unintentional injuries under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol use also contributes to campus assaults, academic failure, arrests, vandalism, sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy. Not surprisingly, schools with higher rates of binge drinking experience more alcohol-related problems. A Harvard study of 119 campuses found that the risk of rape was higher for women attending colleges that reported high rates of binge drinking.

Campus alcohol use can even disturb and endanger the lives of students who do not drink. Such “secondhand” alcohol effects include disruption of sleep and study time, “babysitting” drunk roommates or neighbors, and sexual assaults and injury from the unsafe behavior of intoxicated students.

We think the Princeton Review owes its readers—and their parents—the whole story about alcohol on campus and so-called party schools. The next edition of the college handbook should include a thorough discussion of campus alcohol problems (see www.MarinInstitute.org and http://www.alcoholpolicysolutions.net/) and identify the programs and policies some colleges and universities are employing to reduce alcohol’s toll. Any student can become a victim of campus alcohol problems, but families with a history of alcoholism may be particularly interested in assessing the drinking culture on different campuses. The Marin Institute would be delighted to help you identify an appropriate author for a chapter that would add valuable information to your college handbook.

Sincerely,

Mark Pertschuk, Executive Director
The Marin Institute