Through years of surveying Oakland University freshmen, Graham Health Center estimates that freshman will be drinking three to four times per week, upon starting classes on campus.

Dr. David Schwartz, Director of Counseling at Oakland University’s Graham Health Center (GHC) said that Oakland compares favorably to other universities across the country when it comes to freshman drinking expectations and overall substance abuse.

“We don’t preach,” Schwartz said. “We want people to be healthy and have a healthy relationship with alcohol.”

GHC’s approach to educating students on substance abuse is demonstrated during their “screenings” each semester.

Most recently, GHC engaged campus in an alcohol screening, taking place Wednesday Oct. 8.

GHC does several screenings throughout the year including those for depression and eating disorders.

These screenings have been going on for the last 15 to 20 years, but Schwartz said that with the help of student volunteers, participation numbers have doubled each year.

Originally enlisting the help of exclusively psychology undergraduates, Schwartz has extended the offer to sociology majors and more recently, undergraduates of the nursing school, in addition to the Psychology Honors Society and the Active Minds OU club.

In return for assisting GHC with the distribution of alcohol screening forms to students, the volunteers receive hands-on training with licensed psychologists, allowing them to obtain professional training on a personal and individual level.

This year with the help of Dr. Schwartz’s volunteers, 217 people were screened by taking the nationally utilized 10-question survey called “Audit.”

“It’s a fun way to approach alcohol screening,” Schwartz said, explaining that the survey consists of questions ranging from family history of addictiveness to alcohol, to drunk driving records, to personal struggles with alcohol-related issues.

“We’re getting people to think about their behaviors,” Schwartz said.

One alcohol screening takes place each semester: right before midterms in the fall and right before spring break in the winter.

In addition to these screenings, surveys are available online as well, for students who missed their opportunity while on campus.

While increasing student’s knowledge of how to live life healthily and engage responsibly in a relationship with alcohol, Dr. Schwartz says that one of the main goals of the screening is to get the word out to students about GHC and the services it offers.

“We encourage students to come see us, talk to us, come for one session to have to bounce ideas off of,” Schwartz said. “We have a great staff here, with licensed psychologists, [and] there’s something for everybody.”