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Harvard Study: White Males Cause Binge Drinking

White males cause each other to drink heavily. The fewer of them there are, the less likely they are to binge drink.

So says a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health and Social Behavior. The findings are published in the November issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - the big NPR patron – supported the study.

Yes, the evil white male is the new villain in America. Just as in the hit movie "Sum of All Fears," white men are to blame for society’s evils.

Just listen to this lovely statement by the researcher who conducted the study, Henry Wechsler, Ph.D.:

"If you have younger white males together to the exclusion of other groups, you're going to have fewer role models for lighter or nondrinking behavior," Wechsler told Reuters. "That may explain why fraternities have had such a high level of drinking problems."

So, not only do white males cause drinking, but they are also bad role models.

After looking at four years - a whole four years! - of data including 52,312 students at 114 colleges, the researchers found that the average number of binge drinkers among the colleges was 44 percent, with binge drinking defined as five drinks in a row for men and four drinks for women.

"The higher the percentage of minority, female and older students in a school, the lower the binge drinking rates for all students and for high-risk subgroups," Dr. Wechsler said. "In making decisions about admissions, colleges should recognize the many benefits of greater diversity on campus, including a possible decrease in problem drinking."

Well, four years' worth of data at 114 schools should be enough to prove that if there is "diversity" on college campuses - meaning fewer white people; and we're sure that quotas won't have any role to play in assuring "diversity" - then all campus problems would disappear!

"Self-selection may also be operating,” Wechsler admitted. "Colleges that have larger numbers of minority and older students and women may attract white, underage and male students with different attitudes about drinking.”

"May" attract. In other words, "perhaps, but forget about that." Wechsler would rather focus on the evils of the white male.

Oh, and don't forget that minorities are associated with liberals, whereas conservatives are supposedly all white men (don't tell that to Jesse Lee Petersen, Niger Innis, Laura Ingraham, Elizabeth Dole, Christie Todd Whitman, Armstrong Williams, Thomas Sowell ... need we go on?).

Don't be fooled. This study urges a step in the direction of uniformity of thought and deed on campus, of the left, and the only diversity the researchers and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation want is that of skin color.

The study outright recommends that "the student-body composition and demographic diversity should be examined by colleges wishing to reduce their binge drinking (read: all campus) problems."

Carol Boyd, director of the Substance Abuse Research Center at the University of Michigan, told the Washington Post: "This study contributes to a growing body of research showing that a diverse student body positively contributes to all aspects of student life and, in many cases, contributes to a climate that encourages less binge drinking."

But even she was skeptical: "Does having African Americans, Asians and women on campus encourage fraternity members to drink less?"

We doubt it. And check out this from CNN. In its article on the study, CNN made a subtle association. Think "Transitive Property of Equality."

CNN wrote: "Blamed for a range of ills from poor grades, vandalism and sexual violence to full-scale campus riots, binge drinking remains a major problem at U.S. colleges despite years of prevention efforts."

Patricia Mielke, assistant vice president for student affairs at the University of Maryland, took issue with the conclusion that a more diverse campus would lead to less drinking.

"They [Dr. Wechsler and Meichun Kuo, Ph.D.] were questioning the effects of the social norms campaign at universities, but I ask, isn't that what this is?" she said, referring to diversity. "It's a little counterintuitive."

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