The College can use two mechanisms to mandate action from an uncooperative student that do not fall under the disciplinary heading, Director of Counseling and Health Services Mark Reed explained. In the short term, if a student is in need of more intensive psychiatric treatment than Dick's House's house is able to provide and he refuses to go to a hospital, doctors can issue an involuntary emergency admission.
"If they refuse to go to the hospital, we fill out these papers and work with the police to get them to a secure facility," Reed said. "We did use it twice last year and I don't think we've used it this year."
On a long-term scale, Reed explained that if there is a serious danger to self or others, or a gross disruption of the educational community, the College might invoke a policy of involuntary medical leave.
This decision, Reed said, is made by the dean's office, but it happens rarely because students who might be subject to the policy usually agree to voluntarily leave the College for a term.
"The policy is crafted in a way that really tries to balance the needs of a community to be safe and to carry out our education mission, but at the same time protects and safeguards the rights of individuals," Acting Dean of the College Dan Nelson said.
Reed said that there have been more examples of students who are threats to themselves than of those who are a danger to others, estimating that there are two to three suicide attempts per term.
Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said that police rarely speak directly with health services -- most communication goes through Safety and Security. There are, however, certain cases in which the police do become involved.
"If the student issues a threat to either the healthcare provider or a general threat, there is a state law that the authorities be notified," Giaccone said. He added that in such a situation the police would send an officer from the senior command staff because of the potential complexity of the circumstances.
"If there is a student who is really struggling, it is really helpful to have someone in uniform, it sets people at ease," Reed said of involving the authorities.
College Proctor and Director of Safety and Security Harry Kinne said that Safety and Security is a part of a "safety net" that provides support for students.
"I feel like we're in a great location, with health services and us being right next to each other," Kinne said. "Dick's House being open 24 hours a day is a huge part of the safety net."
Reed also stressed the importance of Dartmouth's infirmary as a safe place for a student to decompress if he or she is going through some kind of hardship.
"It gives us an extra option of support for our student, where they can get a little more observation and care," Reed said.
One of the main goals of the counseling department is to get students who need help to see the appropriate professionals.
"Once we have somebody in our office, at least we have the opportunity to speak with them and ask these questions," Reed said. "One of the greatest things about Dartmouth is that we're a very small community and we're very well connected so it's hard for someone to fall through the cracks."
Giaccone echoed Reed's sentiment, emphasizing the role that all students can play in making sure the right people get help.
If you're talking about prevention, that's going to come at the ground level, at the student level," Giaccone said. "The people that live amongst them that exhibit the signs, they are essentially going to be the first responders in the sense of responding when the see a problem. You can't have a cop in every corner."
