A pharmaceutical giant is sponsoring a controversial mental-health campaign at Washington University designed to educate students about depression and methods of treating the disease.

For its visit to campus, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has planned 90-minute seminars featuring physicians and Cara Kahn, the young star of “Real World Chicago” and a WU alumna. Free screenings for depression will be available after the forums with referrals and information for those students determined to be at risk.

The planned presentations have sparked debate among college health officials regarding whether the forums are truly unbiased or if they are subtle advertising opportunities. Wyeth estimates that 1.6 million incoming college freshmen experience episodes of depression, which make universities a huge untapped market for antidepressant drugs.

Wyeth is making a massive effort to push aside these suspicions. There will be no signs or ads for the company or its own antidepressant drug Effexor when the company comes to campus, said Douglas Petkus, a Wyeth spokesman.

“The focus of the program is not on the commercial message,” he said. “Its intent is to educate a segment of the marketplace that doesn’t receive very much information about this topic.”

The company will be listed as a sponsor on the brochures given out during the presentation, which will be titled “Depression in College: Real World, Real Life, Real Issues,” and will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

The highlight of the forum will be Kahn, who takes Effexor for her own depression. She never made an effort to conceal her diagnosis or treatment on the “Real World,” and she is willing to speak to students about her experience.

“Mental health issues like depression can be under-diagnosed on college campuses, and I want to help promote awareness,” said Kahn. Although Kahn was initially concerned about the advertising implications, she said that she “made it very clear with Wyeth that I’m not a walking commercial.” She added that she’s promoting her story and mental health awareness, not a drug.

Dr. Laurie Reitman, director of Student Health and Counseling Services at WU, confirmed Wyeth’s intentions.

“The only way the name of the drug Effexor will be mentioned is if someone asks Cara the specifics about what she took, or students/media pose the question,” she said, adding that WU agreed to the forum since it is an educational effort to aid students and to raise awareness about depression.

“Hopefully, the presentation will help diminish the stigma around this particular mental health issue,” she said.

The university is not being paid to house the presentation.

However, some academics are still suspicious about a drug-sponsored educational event on campus. A representative from Harvard University stated this month in the Wall Street Journal that his university would not accept the offer had it been made, citing the risks for unintentional advertising and possible misdiagnosis of students.

WU freshman Quinton Lucas agreed. “The program and the screenings may result in people being coaxed into feeling that they have depression. If a person is told that he or she is at risk, then those certain psychological effects are inevitable. The student will be pushed into a mind frame that would certainly affect a future screening by a professional.”

Also, by using a celebrity speaker, Lucas said that the company is “starting to popularize a very serious issue.”

Reitman takes a different view. “I think that it’s great that a peer and TV personality like Cara can draw students to talk about the issue. If students can relate to her story, then that shared experience will make them feel less alone.”

She also emphasized that WU rejected the part of Wyeth’s offer that included a Wyeth representative speaking during the presentation. WU also insisted that one of its own psychiatrists speak rather than a Wyeth-selected physician.

Senior Glenda-Gayle Haskin, though not planning on attending the forum, said that the program is a good idea since many students have problems with their mental health. When asked about the motives of Wyeth, she stated that “perhaps I’m simply being optimistic, but I hope that the company is truly doing this for the education and benefit of college students nationwide.”

Sophomore Elana Graber agreed. “If there were a representative from the company speaking, then I would be suspicious, but I don’t think that by simply sponsoring the program the company is directly promoting its product,” she said.

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