(U-WIRE) LOS ANGELES ö Can putting out a list of party schools help lead students to believe that hard-core alcohol and drug use is OK? The American Medical Association thinks so and wants The Princeton Review, author of just such a list in an annual publication about the best colleges in the United States, to cease and desist.

The AMA recently condemned the review's list of the top-20 party schools in the United States as based on shoddy science, presented out of context and contributing to the acceptance of binge drinking and other forms of heavy drug use.

"The Princeton Review should be ashamed to publish something for students and parents that fuels the false notion that alcohol is central to the college experience and that ignores the dangerous consequences of high-risk drinking," said Dr. Richard Yoast, director of A Matter of Degree, a high-risk drinking prevention program, and the director of AMA's Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse.

The AMA states that the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study found that 44 percent of college students engage in binge drinking. Binge drinking means drinking four to five drinks in an hour. Further, a study commissioned by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's Task Force on College Drinking found that excessive drinking accounts for 1,400 deaths, 70,000 sexual assaults and 600,000 assaults on campuses every year.

The University of Southern California does not appear on this year's list of top party schools. Laurel Baker Tew, director of USC's Office of Admissions, agrees with the AMA's stance on the party list. Tew said USC has succeeded in building an ever-stronger reputation as a school that admits only top students and is a first-rate academic institution.

The Princeton Review's Web site section on parties, which provides the lists found in the annual publication, begins by asking if "the social scene on your campus (is) jumpin' or nonexistent." It then breaks down the listings into "Party On"-type schools, including party schools and schools where marijuana, hard liquor and beer is prevalent, and schools where "The Party has Left the Building," including stone-cold sober schools and schools where there is a low use of drugs and alcohol.

"They refer to stone-cold sober schools as study-a-holic schools," said Danny Chun, communications director for the AMA's A Matter of Degree program. "In other words, they put a negative connotation on schools that don't have partying ... which again reinforces the notion that it isn't a great college experience if you don't have the partying."

Robert Franek, editorial director for the Princeton Review's annual publication on U.S. colleges, agrees there is a problem with binge drinking on campus but said the list of top party schools isn't contributing to the problem.

"This list ... in no way glorifies or promotes drinking on college campuses," he said. "Our policy is to not shoot the messenger ... (The lists) are supposed to be used as resources, and they're supposed to be fun to read ... Nothing more or less ..."

Many students at USC appear to agree.

Such a list would probably only influence those already headed in a problematic direction, said Lou Young, a USC sophomore majoring in engineering.

"I'm sure there are some morons out there who are looking for a party school to go to, and they probably hit that list when they're applying, but I think it's a low percentage," he said.

Stephanie Kop, a USC freshman majoring in communication, had the same opinion.

"I don't think (the list) would promote (excessive partying) if you list it," Kop said. "It's a big thing for people who want to know that sort of stuff. I don't see how an article is going to affect their choice ... if anything, it would be kind of like a deterrent from going there."

Stonish Pierce, a USC senior majoring in kinesiology, added that he thought the list might "play a factor ... in choosing a college, but ultimately it will come down to the reputation of the school. People come here for a degree, not for the partying and drinking, I would think."

Franek believes that the AMA has an axe to grind.

"Dr. Yoast ... has 10 campus partner schools that work with him on making recommendations for alcohol policies," he said. "Six out of those 10 partner schools over the past five years have appeared in The Princeton Review's best party school list, two of them in the No. 1 position, one of them in the No. 1 position for two years."

However, just how schools arrive on the list is also a matter of contention. The surveys are random, based on an average of 300 students per campus and rely on questions that the AMA feels lack a scientific basis.

"The Princeton Review has said publicly that they come up with the party school list on the basis of three questions," Chun said. "One question asks how much beer, hard liquor, marijuana is on your campus. A lot, a little, whatever. The (second) question they ask is how much time do you spend studying? Their logic is, if you don't study, you must be partying. The third question is how active are sororities and fraternities on your campus. On the basis of those three questions, they develop the party list."

Franek, though, feels that the sample size is adequate and representative of campus populations. He also points out that, though there are three categories, there are seven to nine questions asked within each category.

"We were looking for things that are going to effect students in a social environment," he said. "We picked things from across the spectrum ... I feel that (the questions are) a good cross-section of what could determine how socially active students are on a specific campus. (However), this is without question a qualitative, anecdotal survey."

The rankings in the 2003 edition of the book, which comes out every August, are based on surveys of 100,158 students at 345 colleges in the 2001-02, 2000-01 or 1999-00 school years.

The bottom line, Chun said, is not about condemning drinking entirely.

"We're not advocating prohibition," he said. "What we're concerned about is high-risk binge drinking...High rates of drinking are dangerous...Nowhere does The Princeton Review talk about that."