Very few would confuse Grand Valley State University for a big party school. Students, especially underclassmen who fear minor in possession charges, have long considered GVSU to be one of the driest campuses in the state, but a new survey administered by Alcohol Campus Education and Services draws a different image.

According to the survey of 4,000 GVSU students, 73 percent self-reported consuming alcohol in the past 30 days, slightly above the national average of 72 percent.

Eric Klingensmith, coordinator for ACES, said the results are used to plan future services for the campus with regard to alcohol and illegal drugs. “Their responses will help us to know how to address areas of health and safety for the campus community,” he said.

The survey was developed by the Core Institute at Southern Illinois University and is administered to college students nationwide via email to show trends in drug and alcohol use. Results are compiled out of 74,000 students nationally from across 169 institutions. According to its website, the Core Institute is the largest database for alcohol and drug use statistics in the country.

The survey asked students questions concerning their own use of alcohol and illegal drugs over time periods ranging from one week to one year. It also asked students if they were aware of their particular campuses’ substance policy, how many other students they thought used alcohol or illegal drugs and other questions.

“We are right on par with others,” said Klingensmith. “The amount of alcohol consumed by students on a monthly … basis is about the same as the national average.”

For GVSU junior Cassie Dietrich, the statistics don’t add up.

“(It’s) extremely surprising for Grand Valley, because it’s not what I observe,” Dietrich said. “If it was a different college I would believe it.”

Though GVSU doesn’t have a “party school” image, some students like Senior Sam Springli said they can believe the statistics.

“I can understand why, Allendale isn’t a place with stuff to do on the weekend,” Springli said. “That number doesn’t surprise me.”

The survey also said 12 percent of GVSU students self-reported using marijuana in the past 30 days, lower than the national average of 17 percent.

Deitrich said the marijuana usage numbers did not seem reflective of what she has seen during her time at GVSU.

“It’s sad, but I feel like everybody here smokes pot.”

The survey will be administered again during the winter semester in a continued effort to track Alcohol and drug use at the university.

“I feel from having been at the University of Nevada and at community college out west, I’m surprised by the low level of drug use out here,” Springli said. “I go to very few parties here where marijuana is available, back home in Idaho it seems to be everywhere.”

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