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Party Time @
A Look Into Current Medical Amnesty Policies at the University of Pittsburgh & What Needs to be Done
By: Justin Becker

What are Medical Amnesty Policies and How do They Affect Me as a Pitt Student?
Lets face it; drinking happens on college campuses all over the country. Sometimes, students arent aware of their limits and wind up drinking to a point of endangering their lives. These situations can put bystanders, especially underage bystanders, in a dangerous and awkward position: should I call for help and put myself and my underage friend in danger of getting in trouble or do I just let them sleep it off? Medical amnesty policies are put in place to help encourage drinkers, specifically underage drinkers, to call for help when an alcohol-related emergency occurs. Amnesty policies can protect the caller, and sometimes the intoxicated person, from legal prosecution for underage drinking. Hopefully, with the fear of getting in trouble out

of the way, underage drinkers will feel more comfortable calling for help they need. In August of 2011, the University of Pittsburgh adopted the Responsible Action Protocol. This medical amnesty policy only protects the person who calls for help. Unfortunately, the intoxicated person will still get in trouble if they are taken to the hospital for medical treatment. Pitts Responsible Action Protocol is just a restatement of a bill Governor Corbett signed in July of 2011. These polices can be read on page 4. A full medical amnesty policy, as outlined on page 3, is what our campus needs because it would make people less afraid to call for help in an emergency; students would not be getting their friends in trouble just for trying to save their life.

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Does Drinking On College Campuses Really Happen?

Yup
It would be quite nave to think that drinking isnt a major part of college life. In fact, according to a 2010 Core Institute survey of close to 57,000 college students, 82.2% reported that they consumed alcohol in the last year. At the time of the survey, 69.2% reported drinking within the last 30 days. Of students who were less than 21 years old, 61.2% said they drank within the last 30 days [1]. It is clear that drinking happens and it happens a lot. For a good portion of college students though, consuming alcohol is illegal. In 1984, an amendment was added under the Federal Aid Highway Act, which required states to raise their drinking age to 21 or receive a 10% cut in highway funding [2]. Although the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and all other states now have a legal drinking age of 21, it does not seem to stop underage drinking. to pinpoint where to put the blame for these tragedies: are students just not educated well enough on the risks of drinking or is our culture encouraging this behavior too much? Are hazing incidents or peer pressure to blame? Either way, there are ways to help decrease these numbers. Medical amnesty policies help to encourage people to make the call for help when someone is in trouble. Oftentimes, we are too scared to ask for help just out of fear of getting in trouble. If the trouble part is taken out of the equation, hopefully more people will call for help in an emergency. Despite these unsettling statistics, thousands of students do drink responsibly and never will have to deal with an alcohol emergency. As responsible adults though, we cannot ignore the dangers associated with drinking. Unfortunately, these statistics dont just happen to other people. They can happen to you just as easily so be smart and dont be another statistic.

Drinking is Safe, Nobody Really Gets Hurt

Why do so many people drink? Because drinking can be fun. It can let you wind down after a long week or help you build up a little courage to go talk to that guy/girl you like. Drinking does, however, come with its risks. Emergency rooms across the country get over 500 hospital visits a day from underage drinking-related incidents [3]. Thats over 182,000 visits per year.

So if I Just Sleep it Off, Ill be Fine, Right?

Sleeping it off is also not always the answer. Alcohol slows down nerves that control involuntary functions such as breathing and the gag reflex, which prevents choking. People who drink in excess will sometimes vomit and if the gag reflex is not working, that person could choke on their own vomit. Because a persons blood alcohol content (BAC) can continue to rise even after drinking has stopped, sleeping it off is Sadly, alcohol has the power to kill. In the United not necessarily the safest thing to do [5]. You need to States, 4,600 youth (under the age of 21) die each year from excessive alcohol consumption [4]. It is impossible know the signs of an alcohol emergency and what to do in an actual emergency. Page 2

Be A Friend, Know the Signs, Call for Help

Signs of an Alcohol Emergency: [6] Heavy vomiting or vomiting while passed out Slow, shallow, or irregular breathing Unresponsive or unable to communicate Violent or threatening Cold, clammy, or blue skin Loss of bodily control Unable to stand or walk In an emergency, call the Pitt Police (412-624-2121).

What Type of Policy Do We Need?

A comprehensive policy is what the students at Pitt deserve. In addition to amnesty for the person who calls for help, the follow measures need to be taken to encourage students to call for help: 1. Amnesty for the intoxicated student for whom help is summoned. 2. Assurance that no citations would be given out to other underage students at the site of an alcohol-related emergency (i.e. parties). 3. A full marketing campaign to make students aware. These policies will not be helpful unless the student body knows about them.

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What Is Pitts Current Medical Amnesty Policy?

How Did It Come Into Being?

History of the Responsible Action Protocol

Up until August of 2011, Pitt had a zero tolerance alcohol stance. Under the law, citations for underage drinking could be given to both the person who called for help and person suffering from an alcohol emergency. Unfortunately, calling for help could be hard to do knowing that you were going to get yourself and your friend in trouble. It took time for opinions to change and eventually, action was taken in Harrisburg. On July 7, 2011, Governor Corbett signed a bill that added an amendment to section 6308 of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statues [7]. The amendment reads: (f) Exception for person seeking medical attention for another.--A person shall be immune from prosecution for consumption or possession under subsection (a) if he can establish the following: (1) The only way law enforcement officers became aware of the person's violation of subsection (a) is because the person placed a 911 call, or a call to campus safety, police or emergency services, in good faith, based on a reasonable belief and reported that another person was in need of immediate medical attention to prevent death or serious injury. (2) The person reasonably believed he was the first person to make a 911 call or a call to campus safety, police or emergency services, and report that a person needed immediate medical attention to prevent death or serious injury. (3) The person provided his own name to the 911 operator or equivalent campus safety, police or emergency officer. (4) The person remained with the person needing medical assistance until emergency health care providers arrived and the need for his presence had ended [8].

So What Did Pitt Do?

Pitt followed suit and added a slightly revised version of this law to the student code of conduct [9]. It was named the byline Responsible Action Protocol and excerpts from it are Lorem Ipsum below: Responsible action under the Responsible Action Protocol includes seeking medical assistance for another person who is experiencing an alcohol emergency. In accordance with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania law, a student under the age of 21 would be protected from prosecution for the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages if law enforcement, including campus police, became aware of the possession or consumption solely because the student was seeking medical assistance for someone else. The requirements to receive this exemption mimic the Commonwealth laws requirements set forth above and only apply to the student seeking medical assistance for another person. As you have read, the current laws in place only protect the person calling for help, not the person suffering from the alcohol emergency. While these laws are a positive step forward, it still might be difficult to convince someone they should call for help, knowing they are setting their friend up for legal trouble. The laws need to be changed so that both parties can receive full amnesty from prosecution. Safety needs to be prioritized over making sure people get in trouble for underage drinking. Given that a majority of college students drink underage, we need to evolve as a state to recognize the dangers alcohol present and help ensure that tragedies do not occur just because someone was afraid of getting in trouble.

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Dont Medical Amnesty Policies Somewhat Promote Underage Drinking?

So I Can Drink All I Want When Im Under 21 as Long as I Claim That I Was in an Alcohol Emergency?
Not exactly. These policies sound like they are just protecting underage drinkers and allowing them to drink in violation of the law. However, most medical amnesty policies are not that simple. Just because legal action is not taken does not mean that an underage student will get off the hook completely. Institutions have many different procedures for dealing with medical amnesty and often times there is a catch. The catch, however, is usually a much better repercussion than dealing with legal action. Here are two examples of medical amnesty policies currently in place.

Appalachian State University

Other schools do not allow medical amnesty to be applied multiple times. At Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, this is the policy in place: Students who receive emergency medical attention may be granted medical amnesty only once while enrolled at Appalachian State University. Any subsequent violation will result in a referral to Student Conduct. In addition to this one-time only policy, the school reserves the right to notify the parents or legal guardians of the student who received medical attention [11]. This policy definitely puts safety first but it does take measures to protect against students abusing it. Even if parents or legal guardians are called, they tend to be more willing to forgive than the legal system.

University of Delaware
At the University of Delaware, both the caller and intoxicated student will be granted amnesty, if deemed appropriate. However, the intoxicated student (and perhaps the caller) can be referred to alcohol education or be given an alcohol and substance abuse assessment. With these sanctions as a result of calling for help, it does prevent the abuse of the medical amnesty policy. This policy does require the student to take responsibility for their action but does not require them to have a police record [10].

Whats the Verdict?

So do these medical amnesty polices promote underage drinking? If written properly, they can provide students with the safety nets they deserve without promoting underage drinking and completely disregarding the laws of the state.

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Drinking @ Pitt: The View From A Pitt Police Officer

When an alcohol emergency occurs on Pitts campus, the first people called are the Pitt Police. In a recent interview with Pitt Police spokesman Officer Ron Bennett, the topics of drinking on our campus and our current medical amnesty policies were discussed in great detail. will receive a paper copy. Off-campus students and commuters would have to look up the policies online. By the end of our discussion, I believe we both agreed that it would be beneficial for the University to provide other means of getting the information out on-campus. Perhaps posters on the Responsible Action Protocol could be put up in University buildings so more students could be reached.

Alcohol Education at Pitt

The first point of discussion was alcohol education and how students become aware of Pitts Responsible Action Protocol. Officer Bennett claims that most of it is word of mouth. Information about these policies is also given out during freshman orientation and during the Alcohol-Wise program that all students must complete before their first semester. The Responsible Action Protocol is published in the student code of conduct; however, Officer Bennett states that Some students look, some people dont. If it doesnt involve them, they usually dont look. Resident directors (RDs) and resident assistants (RAs) also discuss these issues during floor orientations. While it seems that there are many means of getting this information out, a student has to be a freshman and/or living in a dorm to find out about these policies. Many students live off-campus or commute so they do not necessarily receive this information. Although the student code of conduct is available to all online, only students in dorms Page 6

Where do Alcohol Emergencies Occur at Pitt?

Despite the fact that drinking under the age of 21 is illegal in Pennsylvania, alcohol emergencies do occur on our campus. When asked where the majority of citations are handed out, Officer Bennett replied by saying that they are usually in the dorms. We get a call saying someone is passed out in the bathroomgo check on this person because they are not responding. Most calls are placed by RAs because it is their duty to ensure student safety. Officer Bennett did, however, make it explicitly clear that we dont care who calls. As long as we find out, we get them to the hospital. That is the main thing we are concerned about. Perhaps the most important point I took away from this interview was the priority of safety. Issues with legality are always placed second to student safety. Citations will get processed but only after the emergency is over.

we dont care who calls. As long as we find out, we get them to the hospitalour main concern is getting help.

What About Other Schools Like Carnegie Mellon University?

Many schools have medical amnesty policies and the exact protection each policy provides can vary from school to school. Some schools have policies where both the person calling for help and the intoxicated person are protected while other schools, like our own, provide amnesty only for the person calling for help. Our next-door neighbors at Carnegie Mellon University have a policy where both the caller and victim can be granted amnesty. Why? Carnegie Mellon is under a different codewhich gives them a little more leniency and a little more leeway on how they operate as far as dealing with incidences that occur on their property, Officer Bennett explained. The Pitt Police act under Act 120 which is a Pennsylvania state law. So why does Carnegie Mellon operate under a different code? Money. Carnegie Mellon is a private university and does not receive funding from the commonwealth. The University of Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is a state-related school meaning it receives funding from the commonwealth. Other schools in this same position are Pennsylvania State University, Temple University, and Lincoln University. Because of this state funding, the Pitt Police have to follow Act 120 and enforce the laws exactly as they are written by the commonwealth.

People Have Been Attempting to Get a Medical Amnesty Policy at Pitt.

The campaign for medical amnesty policies at Pitt is not new. Officer Bennett stated that for the last three years or so, people have tried to put a medical amnesty policy into place. As a member of Pitts Alcohol Task Force, Officer Bennett said the problem always came down to the enforcement part. The law, at the time, required citations to be given for underage drinking even if someone was calling for help. We kept saying We cant budge. So they (Student Affairs) understood it. Some of them didnt agree with it but they understood it. The passing of the new amnesty law in Harrisburg seemed to please the police department. In a way, we did agree with a lot of it (the law) because, again, our main concern is getting help. With this interview, the complexities of this issue were magnified. The University is powerless to make changes to its policy because it has to follow the laws set out by the commonwealth. Therefore, if change is to come to these policies, lobbying in Harrisburg is what really needs to happen. This is why we need to convince Pitt officials that a full medical amnesty policy is in the best interest of its students so that they may lobby on our behalf. Because student safety is the top priority, our policies need to reflect that. Our current policy can still make some students hesitant to call for help [12]. Page 7

Case Study: Cornell University

What Was Happening at Cornell University?

In recent years, medical amnesty policies have been a trending topic of discussion on college campuses. A decade ago, Cornell University in New York started the medical amnesty movement on its campus because research showed that students were not calling for help in emergencies. This caused university officials to spring into action and make a change. In order to combat the problem, a two-part strategy was introduced. The first part included increased education efforts and the second part was the creation of a medical amnesty policy. The medical amnesty policy was made to help achieve two goals: increase the likelihood that students would call for help in the case of an alcohol emergency and increase the use of post-emergency education to get students to think about their alcohol use so as to prevent future incidents from occurring. The new medical amnesty policy provided amnesty for both the caller and the intoxicated student in the event of an alcohol-related emergency.

How Did Information Circulate?

Beginning in the Fall of 2002, Cornell University performed an extensive marketing campaign to get the word out about the new policies. Posters were put in university buildings, advertisements were run in the student newspaper, and information booths were set up in dining halls to help get the word out. Even a catchy campaign motto was used: Get out of JA free. The JA is a term Cornell students are familiar with and it is an abbreviation for the Office of Judicial Administrator.
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So Did the Plan Work?

By the Spring of 2003, the education campaign had seen great success. In an end-of-the-year survey, 63% of respondents reported being at least somewhat familiar with the new medical amnesty policy. One year later in the Spring of 2004, that number increased to 80%. In addition to increased awareness, the medical amnesty policy slowly began to work. In a Spring 2000 survey (pre-medical amnesty policy), 18.7% of respondents thought about calling for a severely intoxicated person at some point during the year. On that same survey, 4.5% did call for help. One year after the enactment of the policy (Spring of 2003), 20.1% of respondents thought about calling for help and 6.8% actually did. The number of calls to Cornell Emergency Medical Services increased by 22% over the first two years of the policy, more than likely due to the fact the that the fear of getting in trouble was gone. While this change isnt night and day, it clearly shows a push in the right direction. Students also became more comfortable with the idea of calling for help. In the Spring 2000 survey, 3.8% of respondents said they didnt call for help because they didnt want to get the person in trouble. This response was only second to I wasnt sure the person was sick enough. This means roughly 1 out of every 5 people who thought about calling, but did not, were afraid because of legal ramifications. By Spring of 2003 (one year after the medical amnesty policy was put in place), this number went down to 2.3%, then to 1.5 % in the Spring of 2004. While this does not seem like a dramatic shift, only roughly 20% of respondents thought about calling for help in the first place.

Medical Amnesty Policies Do Work!

What Can Pitt Learn?

This study at Cornell University is not necessarily the answer to every problem Pitt faces in terms of getting a more comprehensive policy, but it certainly highlights the fact that medical amnesty policies can work. Cornell University is a private university in a different state so for a similar plan like this to occur at a public school in Pennsylvania, current laws would need to be amended first. Only then could a policy at Pitt get off the ground. This study, however, has much we can take away from it, like how to set up a marketing and education campaign [13].

To read the full study, visit this website:

http://www.gannett.cornell.edu/cms/pdf/aod/upload/Safety1stcornell Medamnesty.pdf Page 9

What You Need to Do!

It is time to unite as a student body and tell Pitt officials that we want a more comprehensive medical amnesty policy. They have power in Harrisburg than no one student processes. Other schools do not deserve better policies just because they pay more to go there. Entire states, like New York, have complete medical amnesty policies for all its citizens, not just college students [14]. Sign the petition and lets make a change in Harrisburg! www.fakepetitions.org/pittmedicalamnesty The safety of people should never be determined by money or what state you live in.

References
[1] "CORE ALCOHOL AND DRUG SURVEY LONG FORM - FORM 194 ." Core Institute, 13 Apr. 2012. Web. 18 June 2012. <http://core.siu.edu/pdfs/report10.pdf>. [2] "Title 23 United States Code." Web. 19 May 2012. <http://epw.senate.gov/title23.pdf>. [3] "Alcohol." Above the Influence. Web. 1 June 2012. <http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/_pdfs/drugfacts/ATI_DrugFacts_ALCOHOL.pdf>. [4] "Alcohol and Public Health Fact Sheets." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 July 2010. Web. 01 June 2012. <http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/mlda.htm>. [5] "Alcohol Poisoning." Loyola Marymount University. Web. 20 June 2012. <http://www.lmu.edu/Page25064.aspx>. [6] "Be a Friend, Know the Signs, Call For Help." University of Pittsburgh Student Health, n.d. Web. 16 June 2012. <http://www.studentaffairs.pitt.edu/shsbeafriend>. [7] "Corbett Signs Medical Amnesty Bill into Law." Onward State. Web. 16 June 2012. <http://onwardstate.com/2011/07/08/gov-corbett-signs-medicalamnesty-bill-into-law/>. [8] "Crimes and Offenses Title 18." Web. 16 June 2012. <http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/PDF/18/18.PDF>. [9] "University of Pittsburgh Student Code of Conduct and Judicial Procedures." 19 Aug. 2011. Web. 1 June 2012. <http://www.studentaffairs.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/PDFsandForms/StudentAffairs/2011studentcodeofconduct.pdf>. [10] "Medical Amnesty/Good Samaritan Protocol." University of Delaware. Web. 18 June 2012. <http://www.udel.edu/amnesty/>. [11] "Appendix A: Alcohol Medical Amnesty Policy." Appalachian State University. Web. 18 June 2012. <http://studentconduct.appstate.edu/pagesmith/122>. [12] "Interview with Officer Ron Bennett." Personal interview. 4 June 2012. [13] Lewis, Deborah K., and Timothy C. Marchell. "Safety First: A Medical Amnesty Approach to Alcohol Poisoning at a U.S. University." 7 Feb. 2006. Web. 4 June 2012. <http://www.gannett.cornell.edu/cms/pdf/aod/upload/Safety1stcornellMedamnesty.pdf>. [14] "New York Good Samaritan Medical Amnesty Law." Web. 20 June 2012. <http://www.nymedicalamnesty.com/>.

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