With new university President Wallace Loh’s recent endorsement, proponents of a Good Samaritan policy have renewed optimism that this will be the year their goals become a reality.
As it stands now, the Promoting Responsible Action in Medical Emergencies Protocol shields dangerously drunk students who call for medical attention from disciplinary action, but officials still review incidents on a case-by-case basis. Loh said Friday he strongly supports the protocol be implemented as a full-fledged policy, which would extend protection in every case.
The University Senate began re-evaluating the protocol last month, and after a lengthy period of silence on the issue, some administrators said they would support such a policy if it were to materialize.
Though Loh was known for cracking down on underage drinking in his previous post at the University of Iowa, administrators and student leaders at this university said they weren’t necessarily surprised by his support of a Good Samaritan policy — especially because Iowa has such a policy.
“Both underage drinking and Good Samaritan policies go hand-in-hand,” Undergraduate Senator and Student Government Association Vice President of Academic Affairs Lisa Crisalli said. “I’m extremely pleased that he supports it and I hope that the rest of the senate will understand his perspective. I would hope they would take his opinions and advice seriously.”
Members of the senate’s Student Conduct Committee, which is reviewing the protocol, said Loh’s opinion would be taken into consideration. Vice President for Student Affairs Linda Clement said she backed Loh’s endorsement and thought it was likely to have a “positive influence” on the committee’s decision.
“I think it’s a good thing,” she said. “I think Good Samaritan was working well as a protocol, but people said students would feel more secure if it was an actual policy.”
Although some administrators have been hesitant to take a definitive stance on the hotly contested issue, Clement said she has long been supportive of the policy and had voiced such opinions to the SGA.
SGA President Steve Glickman said Loh had made his stance on the policy known to him and other student leaders early on, which Glickman said encouraged him to name the policy as one of his six goals in his State of the Campus address last week.
“He told us how it’s great that we have a Good Samaritan policy and we were just like, ‘Oh, we actually don’t,'” Glickman said. “He said, ‘I don’t understand why you wouldn’t have a Good Samaritan policy.’ It’s great to have the president on your side on this issue.”
Glickman said he and other student leaders recently met with administrators — including Clement and Director of the Office of Student Conduct John Zacker — to discuss the proposed policy, and reported they seemed to be very much “on the same page.”
Crisalli said ongoing discussions with administrators have been instrumental in finding a middle ground in what had long appeared to be a divisive debate between students and administrators.
“I don’t think administrators were necessarily against us [in the past],” she said. “It was less communication and misunderstanding of others’ points of view. I think they understand that students want a sense of security that will always be applied when they want to call for help. So over time we were able to communicate more.”
While Zacker has previously voiced his opinion that Good Samaritan is sufficient as a protocol, he said he approved of Loh’s stance and said he would support a policy if the senate were to adopt it.
“I don’t have any great stake in whether this is a policy or a protocol,” Zacker said. “I do understand that students see a significant difference between them and if we can reach an agreement to address any lingering safety issues, I would support it.”
But Zacker added there are a number of details the senate committee will need to sort out before senators could vote in favor of a policy, but he supports having that discussion.
“I have expressed concern over limiting our administrative discretion in evaluating such cases,” Zacker said. “But I have no desire to punish students when they were doing the right thing by calling for medical attention.
“It is great that the president has announced his stance on it,” he added. “Now we need to decide what it would look like.”
Clement said Loh’s stamp of approval can only have a positive impact on the future of this policy.
“I think it’s terrific,” she said. “[Loh] likes to discuss issues and debate issues, and I think that will be good for all of us.”
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