Over the years, the culture of drinking on United States college and university campuses has gained widespread attention. In addition, recent studies show that students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU's) and African-American students in general drink alcohol far less, thereby suffering fewer consequences than those students at predominantly white colleges and universities. There are only 102 HBCU's in the United States and they have been identified as centers for leadership development in the African-American community due mainly to the religious affiliation of many campuses. HBCUs’ emphasis on character development has had a strong influence in reducing alcohol consumption rates on campus. Strong religious affiliation is often a major factor in African-American students’ decisionmaking and behavior on campus. Limited research has been conducted on illicit drug use at HBCU's and among African-American students in general. However, a 1999 study of nearly 14,000 students found that nearly 11 percent of African-American students used marijuana 30 days prior to the study compared to 17.3 percent of White students. Additional research is needed on the use of illicit drugs by African-American students attending HBCU's and other institutions. Given the low rates of alcohol and other drug use on campus, HBCU's are in a good position to offer insight into alcohol and other drug prevention. References