Letters to the editor

Medical amnesty policy lacks necessary data

To the Editor:

Having been at Santa Clara for three years now, I do not believe we need a medical amnesty policy at this time. It may have worked on other campuses, but it isn't necessarily a policy that the university needs.

In my understanding of the policy, medical amnesty isn't as straightforward as some may think. The policy doesn't simply state that if someone calls, they won't get in trouble.

If the policy were simply stating that students didn't get in trouble, there is a high possibility that anyone would call or say that they're sick, just so they don't get written up. This would jeopardize the EMTs ability to help seriously ill students.

I am not saying that in the future, when there is more data available to make a decision, we shouldn't talk about it again, but right now that information is not available. A full year hasn't even passed with the new sanctions in effect; therefore the data available is incomparable.

Without that, there is no way to fully see how the new sanctions have affected students' choices to call the EMTs. The article featured on Oct. 18 even stated that there have still been alcohol-related calls, though significantly less than in the past, and, unfortunately, without more information, there is no way to definitively tell what the drop-off in calls is a result of.

Many factors come into play and it could be something as simple as students being safer and drinking less. Santa Clara students have made the right decisions in the past without an amnesty policy, and hopefully students will continue to make these good choices and put the health of their friends first.

Eventually, students need to grow up and realize that there are better choices to make in their four years at college than drink themselves into blackouts and unconsciousness. I had my fun, and learned that there were better ways to spend my Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

Cristina Arolla

Marketing '09

Good Samaritan clause

To the Editor:

During last year's winter quarter, I wrote a letter to University President Father Locatelli, S.J., about my concern that the new alcohol policy would lead to students deciding not to help their friends. I mentioned various scenarios I had frequently encountered that showed that this was happening.

I urged the university to consider some kind of Good Samaritan clause in keeping with its community-oriented traditions. I am under the impression that I am far from the only student to have done this.

It was several weeks before I received a response. When I did, it consisted of vague assurances that these student concerns would be considered, along with a denial that the events I cited were factual. When I responded to refute this, I never heard back.

I hope that the current proposal, backed as it is by the EMTs, will receive more serious consideration.

Cally O'Brien

Political Science and Psychology '10