Alcohol amnesty may not protect all underagers

An alcohol amnesty bill passed by the state Senate, if approved, might not protect intoxicated… An alcohol amnesty bill passed by the state Senate, if approved, might not protect intoxicated underage students from university-sanctioned discipline.

The bill, called the Good Samaritan Bill, will grant amnesty to the person who calls emergency services, but not to the person in need of medical attention. It does not protect either person from university judiciary systems, but stipulates that the person who calls must provide his name to emergency services and stay with the intoxicated person until medical help arrives.

Pitt continues to remain mum on its position with respect to the bill, as spokesman John Fedele said the University has no comment on the issue, although its passage would bring about a change in Pitt’s policy. University officials have said that if Pitt police come across an underage student drinking, the student will be cited, and possibly referred to the Student Judiciary Board — regardless of whether the minor was seeking medical attention at the time.

The bill, which the Senate passed in May, was sponsored by Republican legislators, including state Sen. John Rafferty (R-Montgomery) and state Sen. Jane Orie (R-Allegheny and Butler). The measure will need approval from the state House and governor before becoming law.

Sean Moll, legislative assistant for Rafferty, said that based on the Senate’s legislation, immunity is only specifically given to the person who dials 911 because the lawmakers wanted to help save lives.

“Life and death — it really comes down to someone doing the right thing,” Moll said. “‘Well I don’t know if I should call — I won’t get in trouble but they will:’ At that point, they have to use their good judgment and call despite that.”

The intoxicated person might also face disciplinary action from his school. “It’s university discretion whether the person will be prosecuted. Ultimately, immunity will be to the person who dials 911,” Moll said.

A Cornell University study found that after implementing an alcohol amnesty program on campus, calls to emergency medical services and hospital emergency rooms due to alcohol intoxication increased. The study did not find that drinking on campus increased.

According to the study, alcohol-related EMS calls increased by 22 percent over the first two years of the amnesty program. In 2000, before the policy was in place, 3.8 percent of students said that they did not call EMS for help with an intoxicated friend because they did not want to get their friend in trouble. This dropped down to 1.5 percent in 2004, two years after the program started.

Orie said that she co-sponsored the bill because of the stories she often hears about minors drinking, becoming unconscious and sometimes dying while no one calls for help because they fear legal repercussions.

“The whole point behind this, although I’m not encouraging drinking, is to protect the welfare of students on campuses and encourage students if they feel that person is in need of medical attention to notify emergency services,” Orie said.

Orie said the bill will ensure that the preventive measure is implemented in colleges and universities across the state. As of now, Carnegie Mellon and Temple universities both have amnesty policies in place, while Pitt does not.

Moll said this bill was first introduced in 2009 after legislators held a hearing with some of the schools and colleges in Pennsylvania, including Pitt. They had a hearing on different alcohol topics and decided to act upon a blanket amnesty policy.

Kristin Kanthak, a political science professor at Pitt, said that conservatives are pushing this bill through because they see it as a public safety issue.

She compared this alcohol amnesty bill to other amnesty bills that could also be said to overlook lawbreaking.

“I know there are a lot of different types of amnesty legislation that are aimed at trying to get people to behave appropriately in situations when appropriate behavior would reveal that they were doing something they shouldn’t have,” Kanthak said.

The alcohol amnesty bill could be said to help people in the same way.

“Although it seems like we are ignoring the law, what’s more important to Sen. Rafferty is that a person gets help. If they’re in that much trouble, we certainly don’t want them to pass away because they’re afraid of an underage drinking fine,” Moll said.