Several universities are working hard to correct some students' notions about the extent of drinking in campus, armed in some cases with detailed data on actual patterns in student drinking behaviors, the Charlottesville Daily Progress reported Aug. 11.

Officials at the University of Virginia have used results from 2001-2006 surveys measuring student alcohol consumption and its consequences to design a social-norms marketing campaign. Comparing 2006 numbers with those from 2001, the university found that about 2,000 fewer students were injured in alcohol-related incidents and 550 fewer students had unprotected sex.

At Virginia Commonwealth University, although surveys have shown that 25 percent of students don't drink at all and 70 percent don't drink at high-risk levels, many students believe the highly visible unhealthy behaviors they sometimes encounter reflect a wider phenomenon on campus.

"The majority who don't get hammered don't get seen," said Linda Hancock, director of the university's Wellness Resource Center. The university since 2002 has surveyed incoming freshmen about their perceptions of responsible alcohol use and safe sex; it also places statistics from student surveys on posters and in bathrooms across the campus.

It appears that several schools are intensifying their activity around social norms, as opposed to simply devoting one time of the year to such an effort. Florida State University has employed a multipronged strategy involving public service announcements, advertisements on buses and mandatory classes for students who have committed an alcohol-related violation.