<p>I addressed this issue in the thread started by Xigi about the Gordie Bailey movie but I believe this merits a separate discussion.</p>
<p>I had a chance to see the trailer of "HAZE, the Gordie Bailey movie" with my daughter the day she was going back to school for her third year and it made an impact on both of us. To me the critical aspect in the subsequent discussion with her was the fact that she was not surprised by the fact that the studetns failed to seek medical attention quickly.</p>
<p>Her school has a three-strikes-and-you-are-out policy for alcohol related offenses and according to my daughter this is at the root of the problem because there is no amnesty for medical emergencies.</p>
<p>This seems to me like a bad idea so I contacted the school to confirm that in fact there is no exception. I was happy to receive and explanation from the Dean of Students with an invitation to discuss the topic in more detail over the phone. I gladly accepted the invitation which will take place tomorrow. I must say the quick response is pretty much in line with what we have seen in the past. Although this is a mid-sized public university they have been extremely good at addressing our questions and concerns as parents.</p>
<p>Before I go into that phone call I would like to know more about related policies at other universities. I guess I could go to their web sites but I figured I could get faster feedback and valuable comments from parents in this board.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance of your help.</p>
<p>Sorry to intervein on your post, but I just became a member of this site and cannot figure out how to post my own threa? Any suggestions?</p>
<p>BlessingMoon,</p>
<p>At the top of the thread list in every forum there is a "New Tread" button. It will take you to a place where you can give your thread a title and enter its text.</p>
<p>Good thread. I will watch this one. My daughter's school also has a 3 & out policy, and according to campus police, if you are so intoxicated as to pose a danger to yourself or others, it counts as two strikes. So, in the event of a medical emergency = 2 strikes.</p>
<p>MIT has a medical amnesty policy. Students who go to the med center because of intoxication-related problems get a confidential follow-up with a dean, and get a screening test for alcoholism. If there's no other conduct issue (e.g. having caused property damage while drunk) they don't get in trouble for it. Students who bring another student to the med center for intoxication-related problems get amnesty unless there is some other conduct issue (e.g. hazing, sexual assault).</p>
<p>I think it's a decent policy. I was part of the group that drafted it (though I don't think it's hugely different from the previous policy). It also includes various educational efforts, including small signs posted in all living groups explaining what the danger symptoms are for someone who has been drinking and how to obtain medical help.</p>
<p>jessiehl,</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing this information. The approach sounds reasonable. Does the school do a good job publishing the policy and makings sure students understand it? In my daughter's case it seems that part of the problem is also that students do not have a good understanding of the policy in place.</p>
<p>What an idea! Students won't call 911 because they might get in trouble. Any policy which serves to encourage such behavior is bad. Way back when there was a big to do over a woman named Kitty Genovese (I think) in Queens NY. Neighbors heard her being stabbed to death in the street, but no one called the police. For a University to inadvertently encourage such is unconscionable. I think that not nearly enough is done about alcohol education in general, especially in light of the known abuses.</p>
<p>I am curious as to how your conversation went.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Way back when there was a big to do over a woman named Kitty Genovese (I think) in Queens NY. Neighbors heard her being stabbed to death in the street, but no one called the police.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I had always heard that was because everyone believed someone else would do it since everyone knew there were so many other people that would have heard what was going on.</p>
<p>Anyway, both my undergrad school (Carnegie Mellon) and my current grad school (Caltech) have similar policies to what jessiehl described for MIT.</p>
<p>Not to be overly dramatic, but years ago when I was in a car accident, many people called 911. It should be an instinct to do so.</p>
<p>anothermom2,</p>
<p>I had a good conversation with the dean. He was quite open to discuss the subject and in fact they are already looking into this issue.</p>
<p>I was happy to hear the issue is high in their priorities but it seems a Medical Amnesty approach like the one described by Jessiehl is not the way they will go. They are considering other approaches such a Good Samaritan exception.</p>
<p>I will continue following up but rather than becoming directly active in the discussion I arranged for my daughter to meet with the him to share her perspective. She and I reviewed this course of action ahead of time and she wanted me to push in this direction. I expect her to address the issue of communications, even while they are working on the new policy. It seems students do not even understand the current 3-strikes policy properly.</p>
<p>I'm a little confused about MIT's policy. OK, the student who brings the student for med help gets amnesty, but not the student brought in? I think if someone is near the 3rd strike, those friends will think twice about bringing their friend in if they know their friend will get kicked out of school. Young people are very very aware of not "ratting" out their friends. Perhaps I don"t have enough confidence in the decision-making process of young people in such situations. If a student needs help, how is threatening to kick him out of school helping? Does getting an underage-violation count as a strike?</p>
<p>As far as I understand, there is no Three Strikes policy at MIT. So the student brought in gets amnesty, though they do have to undergo the extra things jessie mentioned. What it's saying about the students bringing someone in means that even if you're intoxicated and you're not supposed to be, you'll get amnesty for doing the right thing.</p>
<p>Dunno if these policies extend to drug-related incidents. I don't remember CMU or Caltech saying anything about the circumstances being any different for drugs from alcohol, but they might have more stringent follow-ups with deans or health personnel.</p>