A survey by the Core Institute shows that Sacramento State students fall below the national average rate for binge drinking and number of drinks consumed per week.

The institute, based at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, conducts alcohol and drug use surveys on college campuses nationwide.

“Students think that other students on campus drink more than they do,” said Heather Dunn Carlton, Chair of the University Alcohol Advisory Council. “The perception is that the majority of students drink once a week or more.”

The spring survey found that Sac State students, on average, consume 2.6 drinks per week, compared to the national rate of 5.6, and, that 28.9 percent of students here engage in binge drinking (consuming five drinks or more at a sitting) compared to 42 percent nationwide.

Student perceptions about peer drinking don?t match reality, however.

Nearly nine out of 10 of Sac State students believe the average student drinks once or more per week, while only 16.9 percent actually do so.

“We are certainly happy to see that our students are healthier than their peers nationally, but we?ll continue to work to further reduce the numbers of high-risk students,” said Dunn Carlton.

The survey revealed that white and Hispanic students and those ages 21 to 22 are more likely to binge drink, putting them in a higher risk group.

Citing the survey, Dunn Carlton said that “20.5 percent (of Sac State students) never drink, almost 14 percent drink six times a year and eight percent drink only once a year.”

Among the other results of the survey: Slightly more than half of underage Sac State students had consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days.

A third of students would prefer not to have alcohol available at parties they attend and 83.9 percent would prefer not to have drugs available; 64.7 percent said the campus? social atmosphere does not promote alcohol use and 83.6 percent said it did not promote drug use.

In addition, 69 percent said their friends would disapprove if they binge drank, 59.5 percent said their friends and 89 percent said their friends would disapprove if they smoked marijuana occasionally and 86 percent said their friends would disapprove of them experimenting with harder drugs such as LSD or cocaine.

The survey also found that marijuana use among Sac State students is also lightly lower than the national average: 15.7 percent of students reported smoking pot in the past 30 days on the survey, compared to 19 percent nationally, and other illegal drug use was also slightly lower here.