Survey results reflect alcohol and drug use on campus

The results of a campus-wide alcohol and other drug use survey show the majority of Grand Valley students are aware of alcohol and drug policies on campus.

More than 4,000 Grand Valley students were selected at random to receive an email invitation to participate in a campus-wide alcohol and other drug use survey last February.

Eric Klingensmith, coordinator of the Alcohol Campus Education and Services office, said the results will be used to plan future services for the campus community. “We hoped this survey allowed students the opportunity to express their concerns and opinions about drug use on campus, and their responses will help us to know how to address areas of health and safety for the campus community,” he said.

Grand Valley’s results were compared to results from a reference group of more than 74,000 students from 169 institutions who completed the same survey. “We’re right on par with others,” said Klingensmith. “The amount of alcohol consumed by students on a monthly and yearly basis is about the same as the national average.”

Klingensmith said 85.5 percent of survey participants said they prefer not to have drugs available at social events or parties and 28.6 percent said they would prefer to not have alcohol available.

Survey results include:

- 11.9 percent reported using marijuana in the last 30 days, compared to the reference group of 17.3 percent;
- 72.7 percent reported having consumed alcohol in the last 30 days, compared to the reference group of 71.7 percent;
- 88.6 percent of Grand Valley participants know the campus has drug and alcohol policies;
- 61.8 percent of survey participants know the campus has an alcohol and drug prevention program;
- 86.3 percent of survey participants said the campus is concerned about the prevention of alcohol and drug use on campus.

The survey, created by the Core Institute at Southern Illinois University, was administered by ACES, an outreach program of the Counseling & Career Development Center. ACES will administer the survey again during the winter semester to a random sample to further examine trends.

“Making responsible lifelong choices is our goal,” said Klingensmith. “The outcomes of this survey will help us maintain a relevant harm reduction model for Grand Valley.”