McCardell is respected national figure in the public discussion about higher education and student life, and the founder of Choose Responsibility, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to engage the public in informed and dispassionate debate about the effects of legislation mandating a legal drinking age of 21.

Fourteen institutions have joined the Collaborative to date. In addition to Sewanee, they are: Boston University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Frostburg State University, Northwestern University, Ohio University, Princeton University, Purdue University, Stanford University, Stony Brook University, University of Wyoming, and Wesleyan University. The Collaborative will accept additional schools through May 20.

"Binge drinking is a serious public health challenge, leading to injury and in some cases, death, for hundreds of thousands of college students each year," said U.S Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "HHS agencies have tackled this issue over the years, strengthening the evidence base and identifying interventions that work to reduce binge drinking. The Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking is a promising initiative that will implement evidence-based practices at college campuses around the nation. We look forward to partnering with college leadership on this effort."

Dedicated teams from each school in the Collaborative-composed of students and administrators-will convene for a series of face-to-face meetings beginning in June and lasting through July 2012, after which the group expects to publish its findings.

"Close to 40 percent of college students in the United States engage in binge drinking, and that number has remained virtually unchanged for decades," said Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim, a leader in the effort. "By collaborating on this issue, comparing our experiences, and learning from each other's best practices, we believe we are much more likely to make meaningful and lasting progress than if each school attempts to tackle this critical issue on its own."

Almost 2,000 college students in the United States die each year from alcohol-related injuries, including motor vehicle accidents. An estimated 600,000 students are injured while under the influence, according to research from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. In addition, research has consistently shown that binge drinking often leads to sexual abuse and unsafe sex as well as academic problems.

The Learning Collaborative methodology was developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, MA, and is aimed at spreading and adapting knowledge to different settings in order to address a given problem or health concern. This model has already been used successfully hundreds of times in medicine and public health. A centerpiece of the methodology is its focus on measurement; data will be shared and compared among participant institutions with the goal of both lowering the rate of binge drinking and reducing the incidence of the harm associated with this behavior.

The Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking is the inaugural effort of the National College Health Improvement Project (NCHIP), a joint undertaking between Dartmouth College and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. NCHIP aims to bring population health improvement methods to bear on problems affecting student health and plans to organize future collaboratives on other health issues.

Notably absent from these universities are other leading Christian universities and colleges across the country including Heritage Christian University, Judson College, Southwestern College, John Brown University, Azusa Pacific University, Bethany University, Biola University, California Baptist University, Concordia University Irvine, Fresno Pacific University, Hope International University, La Sierra University, Master's College, Pacific Union College, Point Loma Nazarene University, Westmont College ,William Jessup University, Colorado Christian University, Luther Rice University, Palm Beach Atlantic University ,Pensacola Christian College Southeastern University, Trinity Baptist College, Warner Southern College, Covenant College, Luther Rice Seminary University, Northwest Nazarene University, Greenville College, Judson College, Lincoln Christian University. North Park University Olivet Nazarene University, Trinity Christian College, Trinity International University, Wheaton College, Anderson University, Bethel College, Taylor University, Dordt College, MidAmerica Nazarene University, Asbury College, Kentucky Christian University, Gordon College, Calvin College, Cornerstone University, Spring Arbor University, Bethel University, North Central University, Mississippi College, College of the Ozarks, Evangel University, Missouri Baptist University, St. Louis Christian College, Southwest Baptist University, Grace University, Houghton College, Roberts Wesleyan College, Gardner-Webb University, Bluffton University, Cedarville University, Cincinnati Christian University, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Oklahoma Baptist University, Oklahoma Christian University, Oral Roberts University, Mid-America Christian University, Southwestern Christian University, Southern Nazarene University, Concordia University, George Fox University, Eastern University, Messiah College, Bob Jones University, Columbia International University, North Greenville University, Carson-Newman College, King College, Lee University, Lipscomb University, Southern Adventist University, Tennessee Temple University, Trevecca Nazarene University, Union University, Abilene Christian University, Concordia University, East Texas Baptist University, Hardin-Simmons University, LeTourneau University, Lubbock Christian University, Southwestern Assemblies of God University, Wayland Baptist University, Eastern Mennonite University Liberty University, Regent University, Northwest University, Seattle Pacific University and Whitworth College...to name but a few.

It is exceedingly troubling that a Christian university, especially an Episcopal one, admits they have a drinking problem on campus. The bigger question is why would donors continue to give money to drunks to keep getting drunker?

A Sewanee insider has told VOL that the drinking situation is known by its own administrators as creating a dangerous environment for teens. "How can they justify the admissions spin that Sewanee changes lives for the better, when everyone knows the opposite is true. How can donors continue giving when their money only enables more harm, often of their own children and grandchildren?"

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http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2207730622&v=info

Nationally recognized for drunkenness: http://tinyurl.com/382dz6p

University of Georgia
Ohio University
Penn State
West Virginia University
University of Mississippi
University of Texas at Austin
University of Florida
University of California - Santa Barbara
University of Iowa
DePauw University
Florida State University University of Wisconsin - Madison
University of Alabama
Sewanee - The University of the South
Indiana University - Bloomington
University of Colorado - Boulder
University of Missouri

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