Dr. Lisa Webb, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of student life, and Rosie McSweeney, director of student conduct and community standards, spoke to Student Senate on Tuesday about the new ‘Call for Help’ program.
The program incorporates the Task Force’s recommendations for a medical amnesty and Good Samaritan policy at SMU.
The policies aim to encourage students to call for help without fear of having to face disciplinary action by the university.
“We don’t want there to be any barriers for those seeking assistance,” McSweeney said.
Medical amnesty applies to students seeking help for themselves when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The Good Samaritan policy applies when a student seeks help for another student under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Under the new policy, a student may be given an exemption for an alcohol or drug violation under the university judicial system if they are calling for medical assistance. This means that no discipline file on the drug or alcohol violation will be present in a student’s records.
However, the new policy does not give students exemptions for other SMU violations, such as physical harm to another person or destruction of property. The new policy also does not prevent police from issuing a citation, detaining a person or arresting a person within the legal system.
Both women stressed that in a serious situation, students shouldn’t worry about getting in trouble.
“For police, it’s about ‘how do we make sure the student is healthy?'” McSweeney said.
“We want you to get help,” Webb said.
Students who feel that the new policies apply to them must fill out a form available in the Dean of Student Life office or online at SMU’s Live Responsibly page. The form is then given to the Student Life office, where it is noted that student has requested amnesty.
Students must then meet with Webb to discuss the incident. If Webb feels that either policy applies, then a referral is made to the SMU Alcohol and Drug Prevention Center, who will determine what steps the student must take to complete the process. This may include sessions with a counselor from the Prevention Center.
To obtain amnesty, a student must complete all the requirements that they are given. If any requirement goes unfulfilled, the student will not be given amnesty and will face University disciplines or sanctions.
