by Kathy McNamara-Meis

About the author: Kathy McNamara-Meis is a senior editor of Forbes MediaCritic.

Not only did the announcement confirm the worst about today’s college students, but it demanded action. According to a study by the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), released on June 7, 1994, by CASA chairman Joseph A. Califano, Jr., “binge” drinking has dramatically increased on America’s campuses, leading to a rise in its “disastrous consequences...including death, violence, rape, and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, such as AIDS.”

Media Hype on College Drinking

Such a disturbing message, coming from Columbia University and announced by no less than Joe Califano, a Washington superlawyer who served in the Lyndon Johnson White House and as Secretary of Health...