A culture of preferential treatment towards intercollegiate athletes ranked as one of the top concerns of Air Force Academy cadets who responded to a wide-ranging survey released on Thursday.

Two out of five cadets also said underage drinking is a weekly occurence at the academy, while nearly two-thirds felt it happened at least once a month.

But whether past concerns of gender discrimination and religious bias linger is unclear because of a drastic drop in the number of cadets who participated in the 2012 Air Force Academy Climate Survey, which is administered every two years.

Fifteen percent of the cadet wing took the survey, well below the 47 percent that responded to the last poll two years ago, said Lt. Col. John Bryan, an academy spokesman.

Survey administrators were unable to segment the results based on class, gender, race or religion, the report said.

“We’ve got a survey here, we’ve got some results for this time around — this is our survey to deal with,” said Lt. Col. John Bryan, an academy spokesman.

The survey, which was administered from Oct. 31, 2011 through Feb. 10, typically offers a glimpse into the everyday lives of the academy’s cadets, faculty and staff — including insight into harassment, inclusion and the perception of safety on campus.

This year, 53 percent of respondents said that preferential treatment is given to intercollegiate athletes.

Twenty-six percent also said preferential treatment is awarded based on academy ability, while 22 percent said gender is a factor.

More than half of the cadets surveyed also said gender discrimination and hazing happen at least once a month, while 49 percent said bullying is at least a monthly occurrence.

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