The ASUO Constitution Court approved the Medical Amnesty resolution last week, the same resolution that the ASUO Senate passed earlier this month.
The Medical Amnesty Resolution, also known as the Good Samaritan resolution, says that if an underage student is in need of medical attention due to alcohol consumption, a friend of that student shouldn’t hesitate to call 9-1-1.
In this case, both the caller and the person in danger falls under the protocol, and both parties will only be met with an educational sanction instead of getting kicked out of school.
According to Dean of Students Paul Shang,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Paul+Shang@@ the University will then take these cases from a conduct perspective and provide an educational sanction.
“Students don’t have to be concerned about being thrown out of school,” he said. “We just want them to understand their behavior.”
If a student is caught drinking on campus, the punishment will be a program held in the Counseling Center that deals with health and examines behavior.
The resolution was simply the position of the ASUO. According to ASUO Sen. Ben Rudin, the Senate cannot make such policy, but it can support the idea.
“This is a common-sense measure,” ASUO President Ben Eckstein said. “This thinks holistically about what students need.”
Eckstein explained that this is a harm-reduction approach that will be used to minimize risk for students.
Shang has been meeting with Sam Chapman,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Chapman@@ the creator of the resolution and chapter president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy,@@asuo.uoregon.edu/uploads/files/paragraphs/1290/ASUOGSPResolution.doc@@ for the past two years to discuss the policy. Now, they will work at finding the best way to implement it.
However, the administration has said repeatedly that this isn’t a “get out of jail free” card. If a student is caught by the Eugene Police Department, a minor in possession citation will will be administered. According to Shang, this resolution will have no pull off-campus or over state law.
Also, if a student breaks other conduct issues while drunk, such as vandalism or violence, he or she will still have to face the consequences for those offenses.
“We don’t want anyone to hesitate to help their friends,” Shang said. “But we don’t want them to think they won’t be held accountable.”
The policy states that if a student is found with alcohol, it will not affect a student’s standing in the school.
However, records of these incidences will be kept, and if a student exhibits a lot of harmful behavior, more serious steps will be taken.
A form of this policy exists, but Chapman is worried people don’t know about it.
“There is a massive hesitation to call for help,” he said. “This focuses on the health concerns, not the criminal concerns.”
He explained how the resolution deals with not only alcohol but drugs as well. He thinks this is important because most overdoses are caused by a combination of both alcohol and drugs.
However, the administration will only put its stamp of approval on a policy that only involves alcohol and does not mention drugs, which Chapman disagrees with.
“We can’t talk about one group of people and not another,” he said. “Overdose is most common when a combination of drugs and alcohol are at play.”
ASUO Vice President Katie Taylor explained that this will help keep the Department of Public Safety accountable.
“This is going to help protect students, not punish them,” Taylor said. “I’ve been working really hard to keep DPS accountable and empower students, and this is a step in the right direction.”
What it comes down to for Shang is that students should feel morally obligated to help their friends, regardless of impending punishments.
“It is not right to leave someone who is clearly inebriated alone,” he said. “A student is morally obligated as a friend and as a Duck to take care of a friend.”