Make the call

Springfest 2008 has come and gone, raising the issue of alcohol use and abuse. With every student who drank responsibly, there are two who drank irresponsibly, and I think it's time that we consider how this college can better ensure the safety of its students. Recently many colleges have enacted a medical amnesty program, which pardons students from judicial action if they or a friend calls for medical attention due to alcohol related emergencies. This sort of program therefore encourages responsible action, to ensure that these kind of problems are handled properly. So I ask, is this something that Bridgewater State College should consider?

Although we are officially a dry-campus illegal consumption of alcohol does take place, as it does on any college campus. We all know that people drink and we all know that people get themselves in trouble with their drinking. But what if something so bad happens that it requires medical attention? What would you do?

Hopefully you would do the right thing and call for emergency care, but not everyone would be responsible enough to do such a thing. Just as many students would try and take care of the issue by themselves, possibly fearing that if they were to call for emergency care, they themselves would get into trouble.

That's where the amnesty program would come in. Instead of risking the possibility of students not calling for help, an amnesty program would ensure that students could call for care without fear of getting in trouble.

Some critics of programs set up in other schools, claim that such a program makes it easy for students to "get away with drinking" and not deal with the repercussions of their actions. I however, disagree and feel as though such a program is a necessary step to ensure student safety. If an amnesty program meant making sure that more emergencies were handled properly, then I am in favor of such a program.

An example of this sort of program would be at Cornell University. In 2002 the university implemented a Medical Amnesty Protocol. Under this protocol, a person who calls for medical attention on behalf of another person would not be subjected to judicial action, and more importantly, a student in need of medical help would not face judicial punishment if the student completes a psycho-educational intervention. Students at Bridgewater State College who are found to be in offense of the alcohol policy are already required to take part in an educational assignment. A program such as the one at Cornell would reinforce the idea of educational intervention, while still making it more likely that students, who need medical attention, receive such care.

I'm not familiar with how often medical emergencies take place on Bridgewater State College campus. I do however, know that BSC has no such amnesty program, and believe that in order to further ensure that students are safe, such a program should be created.