A university senator has proposed shielding students who seek medical help for someone who has overdosed on drugs or alcohol from university punishments.
Junior communication major Stacia Cosner wants to create a “good Samaritan” policy in which students who call for emergency service in an alcohol- or drug-related incident would not be charged with violating the student code of conduct.
Yet the proposal – which could be years away from implementation – faces some opposition from officials who say students who call for emergency services in such situations are not harshly punished under current rules and that a good Samaritan policy could be abused by students who repeatedly abuse drugs or alcohol.
“I don’t know why I’d get opposition to this,” said Cosner, who introduced the proposal to the university’s most important policymaking body last month. “It’s not about drugs. It’s about students’ lives. It’s about calling 911 and not getting in trouble for it.”
Though the proposal does not include details, a good Samaritan policy on some university campuses protects both the victim of alcohol and drug use and the student who called 911 for medical help.
Associate Director of Resident Life Steve Petkas said he thinks a good Samaritan policy will make drug use appear acceptable to students who would call for help without fear of repercussions for their behavior. He also said internal campus studies show that a change in policy is unnecessary because punishments for students who call emergency services for situations involving alcohol or drugs are usually lenient.
“If they are drinking with that person, there are very minor penalties,” said Petkas. “Nobody has ever lost their housing for picking up the phone, even when the violation was an A-level violation.”
A-level violations, which include illegal drug use in the dorms and supplying alcohol to minors, are punished more harshly by the Office of Student Conduct. A-level violators typically lose housing if convicted.
Petkas said between 25 and 30 on-campus students are hospitalized for alcohol use each year. He said in his history at the university, no students living on the campus have been hospitalized for harder drugs. The most serious incident of drug abuse on campus occurred when basketball star Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose in Washington Hall.
John Zacker, director of the Office of Student Conduct, said the office traditionally examines incidents in which a student is hospitalized due to alcohol or drug abuse on a case-by-case basis. A blanket good Samaritan policy would prevent them from tailoring appropriate punishments, he said.
Petkas agreed.
“They are much more complex than originally meets the eye,” he said of blanket policies like the good Samaritan rule. “These amnesty policies are a mixed bag. They come with a number of unintended policies, not all of which can be seen.”
There are other drawbacks as well. Cosner examined a comprehensive essay written in 2005 by Robert Chapman of Drexel University, a professor in the university’s behavior health counseling department. Among the pros and cons he discusses, Chapman writes that a good Samaritan policy provides an opportunity for students to invoke it no matter how often they use drugs or alcohol.
Cosner said she hopes the number of 911 calls does rise if a policy is implemented.
“If you’re calling 911 because you’re overdosing, you have a problem with drugs, but I don’t think you have to kick them out of housing. They should be in counseling,” she said.
The Student Conduct committee exploring the proposal intends to have a recommendation for the senate by spring. It may be months or even years before a proposal reaches the senate for a vote. Even then, administrators could strike down the senate’s decision.
cohendbk@gmail.com
