Colleges in the United States foster a "culture of drinking" that contributes to 1,400 deaths and 500,000 injuries among college students each year, according to a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism study released Tuesday.

The study's findings, such as the citation of 600,000 assaults and 70,000 sexual assaults related to alcohol each year, are shocking. But just as surprising are some of the researchers' suggestions to curb the problem.

Among other proposals, the study recommends reinstating Friday classes and exams and Saturday morning classes, expanding alcohol-free dormitories and regulating happy hours and alcohol sales.

The study called these suggestions "promising," and perhaps they do sound so to the researchers. But that is probably because they are not college students and don't seem to have a grasp on their targeted demographic.

This study is another example of how "adults" try to "help" college students' alcohol problems with plans that emphasize the problems and forget the students.

Any alcohol policy that treats college students like adolescent school children is not going to work. Attempts to curb college students' rights as independent adults are not the way to win them over.

Aside from how these policies will disengage students, these particular proposals have other implications, as well. Mandating weekend classes and exams impedes on students' personal lives. Many college students travel home or make other trips on the weekends. Others need to work to pay their tuition bills. Others celebrate religious holidays and Sabbaths.

Although students should have the option of living in alcohol-free dormitories, these living arrangements should not be mandatory.

If students are not of legal drinking age, they should not be denied this right in their homes. They pay rent to live there, and they should be allowed to do so.

The study's suggestion to regulate happy hours and drink specials is similar to a proposal at the University of Wisconsin.

But, as students in Madison objected to the city council's proposal, mandating altering drink prices most likely will thin students' wallets, not change their alcohol consumption.

Again, such a suggestion shows a lack of respect for college students.

If researchers want students to understand how serious alcohol problems can be, and we do not doubt that their hearts are in the right place, they must remember that their ideas will only get attention and respect from students if they show the same.