Good Samaritan will face steep opposition in fall

Student activists never succeeded in establishing a Good Samaritan policy, and even with the University Senate's upcoming review of the nonbinding protocol this fall, advocates will still have several hurdles to clear before it's written into university bylaws.

The Promoting Responsible Action in Medical Emergencies protocol — which was put in place in lieu of a full-blown policy and allows students to seek alcohol-related medical attention for themselves or a friend without fear of university sanctions — will be reevaluated in the fall to determine its effectiveness during this academic year. Because the protocol, which was implemented last April, is not an official policy, administrators are not required to follow it.

The Office of Student Conduct will evaluate data collected throughout the year about the number of students who called for medical help and how many received disciplinary relief from the university because of the protocol. It will also review a student survey of the measure's usefulness, said John Zacker, the office's director.

Once the data are collected, Zacker — who has previously voiced opposition to a policy — and his office will make a recommendation to the Senate Executive Committee. After that, the process becomes even more complicated.

If the senate's most powerful committee sends the proposal to the senate and it passes, the university president would need to approve it. Because the president is yet to be named, it's impossible to know how likely that would be.

If the protocol makes it off the president's desk signed, the Board of Regents — 17 gubernatorial appointees who oversee the University System of Maryland — would also have to approve it because it constitutes a change to the Student Code of Conduct, Zacker said. The regents have also been skeptical of adopting such a policy in the past.

Zacker said early data show more students were transported to hospitals for alcohol-related medical attention than last year, and survey results show the protocol has been successful in removing the stigma of calling for help.

"We believe that it is certainly productive in terms of reducing the perception amongst our students that they shouldn't call because they might get into trouble," he said. "That's the ultimate goal: to reduce that perception."

Zacker said his office will evaluate whether the spike in hospitalized students was due to the protocol or increased drinking. If they find the protocol is helping, they will "support its implementation as an actual practice."

But some students said it's unrealistic to think the protocol contributed to an increase in drinking.

"It's completely absurd," said undergraduate senator Irina Alexander, who has been a vocal advocate as president of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy. "No one gets together and decides to overdose on alcohol. There's never a party where people say, ‘Oh, there's a Good Samaritan protocol in place. Let's drink ourselves to death and then someone can call for help.'"

Alexander said administrators should have gotten all the validation they needed in 2008, when a Student Government Association election referendum showed 93 percent of students would be more inclined to call for help if they knew they wouldn't get into trouble.

Zacker said the protocol was established because the senate wanted immediate action and implementing an official policy would have taken too long. Some officials were unsure of how a policy would differ from a protocol, he said.

"For me personally, if the basis of the protocol and what it provides stays intact, I don't know that I see much difference," said Vice President for Student Affairs Warren Kelley. "What would a policy do that's different from what it would do right now?"

Alexander maintained that it's an issue of trust because as long as it's considered a protocol, the Office of Student Conduct can change it as they see fit.

"If administrators can't trust we won't abuse the policy, why should we trust the protocol will protect us?" Alexander asked. "There should never be a case where you get in trouble for calling for help. All drug use is a health issue, not a criminal issue or a judicial issue."

Senate Chairwoman-elect Linda Mabbs and others involved with the issue said they can't predict the final outcome.

"We'll have to wait until the [Student Conduct Committee] comes up with their report," she said. "Once we get that report, I'll probably have an idea."

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