When senior Ryan Miga went to a party his freshman year at Ithaca College, things went sour fast. His friend, who he describes as a star student with a perfect record, got sick and needed medical attention. After carrying her from their location off campus to near the entrance of the college, Miga called the school’s public safety for help.
“She had too much to drink,” Miga said. “She got really sick, passed out and could barely walk. Public safety picked us up and took us to the health center. I remember talking to the guy and asking if there were going to be any judicial consequences, and he said there wouldn’t be.”
However after spending the night in the college's Hammond Health Center, Miga said his friend ended up getting a notice that she had been written up judicially.
“I found out later that if you can get yourself to the health center you have medical confidentiality,” he said. “However, if public safety picks you up you don’t get that confidentiality, and they can throw the book at you.”
Senior Gretchen Duerr is the president of the college’s chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy. The group’s main goal this semester has been to create a Good Samaritan policy at Ithaca College to protect students from the fear of getting into judicial trouble when seeking medical help while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“People are so afraid they’ll get into trouble if they are caught doing drugs or underage drinking that they are afraid to come forward,” Duerr said. “The Good Samaritan policy would basically say that the people who have drank too much or overdosed wont get into trouble along with the people who call in for help or are otherwise involved.”
Duerr and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy don’t just have their sights set on Ithaca College though. They said that they want to use a study done at Cornell University after they implemented their own Good Samaritan policy to convince the town of Ithaca into adopting the policy.
“When Cornell put their policy into effect they did a study,” Duerr said. “It showed that drinking did not go up at all but the amount of calls to 911 doubled. Once we get the Good Samaritan policy passed at Ithaca we’re going to talk to the town and see if they can accept the policy too.”
Mike Leary, head of Judicial Affairs at Ithaca College, said that while he is supportive of the Good Samaritan policy to help students get the support they need, there would be restrictions if the intoxicated student breaks other rules such as vandalism or committing acts of violence. He also said that even though the policy is not in effect yet, students should still put their medical safety first.
“I would still encourage that person or their friend to contact a resident assistant or public safety,” he said. “Of course, if a resident assistant or public safety is called, they have to do a report and the student is seen judicially. However, normally for a first time violation a student is given a written warning and has to take an alcohol education class.”
Miga said he worries that the college’s administration is putting students at risk by not having the policy in effect.
“The administration is gambling with students’ lives,” Miga said. “Even if only one person’s safety is put in danger because they couldn’t get themselves to the health center and they didn’t want to call public safety for fear of judicial consequences that’s too much. The administration should be enabling people to get the help they need.”
