News-Letter

In light of the recent revision of the University's policy on off-campus conduct, many students living in the greater Homewood area have called attention to the lack of clarity regarding how to handle instances of alcohol poisoning, especially cases involving underage drinkers.

While fraternity members are told by their national headquarters that they should bring any one who has drank too much to the hospital, they say that the school has never specifically told them what actions to take.

Undergraduates are also unclear as to whom the administration will hold accountable when the incident is brought to their attention.

"I was never specifically told as president ... the school's policy on this particular situation," said Brian Kinsella, president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

The Office of the Dean of Student Life has made efforts to educate students on the dangers of alcohol. However, they have no current plan to inform undergrads of how to handle this type of situation.

When asked how the school was going to inform students about its policy on this issue, Associate Dean of Student Life Dorothy Sheppard responded, "I don't know."

The policy has the same three-strike structure as the one regarding off-campus behavior. Sheppard said that the student who is brought to the hospital is held accountable unless the University finds that someone was forcing the student involved to drink, or that the people hosting the party were not following proper procedures, such as checking IDs.

She said, "If it's the first time, it's a warning [for the student brought to the hospital]. Second time, probation and some sort of alcohol counseling. Third time could be suspension."

Alian Joffe, medical director at the Health and Wellness Center, said, "The policy is labeled as a three strikes policy, but that doesn't do justice to the nuances; each situation is unique."

Sheppard added that the administration takes into consideration that students may arrive at a house already intoxicated. "Usually the student has been drinking in a couple of places, and you can't hold one party accountable," said Sheppard.

Students reported conflicting ideas of the University's stance on this issue. Traver Davis, president of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) has simply assumed that there is no procedure for handling this type of incident.

He said, "I know that they don't have a policy on this because I've never heard of it. And if they do have a policy on it, they don't do a good job of telling anyone about it."

"I know that I'm expected to do whatever I can to ensure the safety and health of guests at my partyc9 I also understand that I can/will be held liable for the student's safety. What specifically that means, I'm not sure on," said Aaron Landgraf, the president of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

Kinsella said, "My interpretation of the school's policy on the subject is that if you are helping out another student, you are not going to be subject to penalty."

Most party hosts believe that they will be held responsible. this is especially for faterniteis, which have received ttaining from national headquarters. Yet not all will choose to bring someone to get meidcal attention when necessary.

Kinsella said, "I feel that if the school does not have a policy along those lines [that those who help the student will not be punished], then students and organizations having parties will forgo helping a drunk student in fear of penalty."

"I guess I give too much credit to Hopkins students and think that most of them are pre-med and would reach out and care for a student who was in harm's way," said Sheppard.

"Don't let some one die or be sick in your house. There should never be a hesitation, and if there is, I think we have a serious morality issue on our hands."

Freshmen seem even less informed of the policies and procedures regarding alcohol at Hopkins. In response to whether the school had informed her of what to do if someone was very sick, freshman Jackie Wagdalt replied, "No they haven't at all; I've heard from other kids really."

Wagdalt added, "Honestly, I would call some friends first [before contacting Hopkins Emergency Response Unit] c9 and then if worse came to worst we would make the 911 call."

HERU, an important resource, is a student organization made up of qualified medical first-responders. Over one fifth of their members are EMT certified, and they are dispatched through security.

Chris Massa, operations lieutenant of HERU, said, "What we do is, we arrive and do our initial assessment c9 after that we talk to the patient and try to understand if they have any allergies or are on any medications.

Following that history (concurrent to it) we get a set of vital signs and their ability to respond to our basic questions. Take all that information, put it together and we make a decision on whether they're intoxicated enough so that we need to take them to the hospital.

When HERU goes out to a call, the reports go into the individual student's medical records. Only the student has access unless they give leave. Even if they're minors, not even the deans or their parents can access their files."

"In Maryland, there are explicit laws that minors under eighteen can consent to their own care regarding contraception, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, and drug and alcohol treatment," Joffe said.

Massa pointed out a nuance in Hopkins' alcohol policy: being intoxicated in the dorms is not against school policy, unlike drinking in the dorms; There's a difference betweenbeing drunk and getting caught actively drinking. That's a distinctionof which people should be aware.

He added, "In general, for people that are concerned about their friends, the biggest concerns are if someone is throwing up way more than you think is acceptable. If someone has been vomiting actively for greater than ten minutes they definitely should be going to the hospital. If they're zonked out on the couch and it doesn't seem like they're breathing as deeply as they should be [they should also be brought in].

The two simplest ways to die of alcohol intoxication are aspiration of vomit and respiratory depression and so the depressive effect of alcohol combined with lack of oxygen can actually cause a coma."

Investigation Coordinator Lieutenant Steve Ossmus said, "We work closely with the students and I want them to know that we're there for them: Our function is to make sure they get first aid and are taken care of."

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