Students can expect confidentiality and services to help them with drinking problems at NIU.

NIU Health Services does not ask students questions regarding alcohol-related issues or do blood work to screen for alcohol, said Christine Grady, director of health services.

Students who see a physician may be asked if they consume alcohol during a regular check of their medical history. If they answer yes, the physician may then educate a student on alcohol consumption. If the student does not answer, then it is assumed they do not drink. The information between a student and a physician is kept extremely confidential, Grady said.

Britt Voltz, junior computer science major, said he thinks it is good for health services at colleges to ask students if they are drinking.

“It really helps them figure out what is going on with your body,” Voltz said.

NIU Health Services rarely receive students for alcohol-related issues. The students who visit may be dehydrated or suffering from stomach problems from consuming medicine, Grady said.

NIU does not have a severe problem with students who drink, but each student who does have a drinking problem is important, said Steve Lux, health educator for NIU health enhancement.

According to NIU’s Spring 2011 National College Health Assessment, 69.7 percent of students reported using alcohol, Lux said. In the same survey, 60.1 percent of students said they consumed four or fewer drinks the last time they partied. Of the 392 students sampled, 6.6 percent of students reported drinking 11 or more drinks the last time they partied.

NIU Health Enhancement provides a program called BASICS to help students discover if their alcohol use may be cause for concern. The goal is not to reduce the number of students who drink alcohol, but to prevent alcohol from playing a harmful role in student life, Lux said. The success of alleviating alcohol problems for a student may depend on how they respond to problems their drinking may cause.

“It really depends on the person’s awareness of their behaviors…until you think you have a problem, you won’t act on it,” Lux said.