I'LL HAVE A CAUCASIAN

Holy crap, I have internet at my house! Long story, anyway...

Paul catches a story from the WashPost that, as he put it, might make Ward Connerly's head explode:

A Harvard University study released yesterday found that "binge" drinking by college students was significantly lower on campuses with more female and more black, Asian and other minority underclassmen.

The study, to be published in the November issue of the American Journal of Public Health, said that "the student-body composition and demographic diversity should be examined by colleges wishing to reduce their binge drinking problems."

Previous studies have shown that younger, white male students, particularly fraternity members, are at higher risk for binge drinking, which is defined as having five drinks in succession for men and four for women. The Harvard study does not conclude that the presence of minority students directly results in less binge drinking, but rather that there is a correlation between diversity and less heavy drinking by students.

"This is a very interesting finding," said Carol Boyd, director of the Substance Abuse Research Center at the University of Michigan. "In fact, 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."

Binge drinking has been a continuous problem on college campuses, said the study's principal researcher, Henry Wechsler, director of college alcohol studies at the Harvard School of Public Health.

"It's the number one public health problem that college students face," he said. "Many colleges are trying a variety of actions respond to this problem. Our research suggests this possible approach to correcting the problem" -- meaning greater diversity -- "has not been discussed."

[spock]Fascinating[/spock]

Of course, this is precisely the sort of study that Ward himself was trying to keep Californians from launching in the first place. But of course, we showed him the door.