Recently, the Student Government Association (SGA) took initiative to provide more information to Behrend students regarding Good Samaritan Laws in Pennsylvania, more specifically referred to as the Responsible Action Protocol on Penn State’s campus.

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The SGA distributed small wallet cards to the student population outlining the basics of the laws and the proper actions to take. The law offers legal protection to any individual seeking medical help for an incapacitated person, regardless of the caller’s state. The policies were put in place primarily to minimize injury and loss of life in alcohol poisoning cases, but in 2014, drug overdoses came to be included in the law as well.

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Campus policy states that a student actively seeking help for his or herself or another, or the individual for whom help is sought, will be not face charges. In order to avoid prosecution, the person calling must believe they are the first to contact emergency services, provide his or her own name to the emergency service provider and remain with the person needing medical assistance until dismissed. If the incident occurred on campus, the student will be required to attend substance education programs, such as either Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) or the Marijuana Intervention Program (MIP) through the university, free of charge. If the observed behavior at the time of the incident continues or displays other, more seriously unlawful aspects, there is a possibility for further disciplinary action. With regards to the idea of this small piece of retribution, SGA Vice President Andrew Sanford reminds students, “You may be required to attend a lecture of alcohol education, but you will be saving a life.” Sanford stressed the fact that utilizing this law could have saved the life of Tim Piazza, a University Park student who tragically passed from alcohol induced injuries in early 2017.

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Station Commander, Lieutenant Jim Amann, states that in his 17 years of work on the Behrend campus, he does not remember a single case in which the law had to be put into place on campus. Usually, in such a situation, Resident Assistants are the ones to make the call to emergency services, thus nullifying the amnesty as the individual under the influence was not actively seeking help. Whether the lack of utilization of the law on campus is due to a hesitancy to put the law into action or there being no need is unknown. In reference to the idea that there could be hesitation in utilizing the law, Sanford made the point that “The University cares so much about this law that they have even wrote it into the University Policy,” which should make students feel more comfortable to take advantage of the safeguard.

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Director of Health and Wellness Lynn Agresti emphasizes that the department is really trying to get the word out about the law. Through posters, freshman seminar class presentations, and advertising the offered education and intervention classes, the department aims to increase awareness and accessibility of the available help.

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Sanford took on the thought from the perspective of a student. “We are all students, I get it, but more importantly we are adults. You all need to make good decisions. If you choose to drink, then drink. But please educate yourselves on proper alcohol safety. If you choose to party, go ahead and party. But please be aware of the risks that come with it and know your Good Samaritan laws. If you do just those two things, you might just save a life.”

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The Good Samaritan Laws on and around campus are in place to protect the population from unnecessary harm, providing a way to assist a person in medical distress due to the consumption of illegal substances. Despite the heavy connotations in such a situation, it is much better to report the incident than to risk letting it go, as the Penn State community unfortunately learned not long ago.