The Hanover Community Substance Abuse Advisory Council and Student Assembly members discussed possible changes to the town's alcohol policies in a meeting at Hanover High School on Monday. The meeting focused on reducing disincentives that may cause students to refrain from calling for help for their intoxicated peers, specifically looking at the role Hanover Police plays in the process.
Three Student Assembly members requested feedback from the council on the Assembly's proposal to increase the number of times that a student may be eligible for the alcohol diversions program, which the proposal says will encourage more students to place Good Samaritan calls.
After analyzing the results of a survey sent to 1,000 randomly selected students, the Assembly found that 94.4 percent of students who responded said that they at they considered potential legal ramifications when deciding to call help for a friend.
"At the moment when students most need help, students are being discouraged from calling for help," David Imamura '10, a Student Assembly spokesperson, said.
The possibility of police involvement discourages students from making Good Sam calls, Assembly members said. According to the Assembly's survey, 58.1 percent of students believe that people hesitate to call for help if a student appears excessively intoxicated, fearing that the student will be sent to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center instead of Dick's House.
Under the current policy, students who are unresponsive or have a blood alcohol content above 0.30 must be transported by ambulance to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Hanover Police is required by law to accompany the ambulance, which results in arrest if the student is under 21.
Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone, a member of the council, said police escorts are necessary in these situations, citing the example of an emergency responder who received a beating from a patient in an ambulance when a police escort was not present.
Campus security can take care of a situation verbally, Giaccone said, "but when it turns physical, Hanover Police is called."
While most Assembly members and the council agreed that allowing students to participate in the alcohol diversions program multiple times would likely increase the number of Good Sam calls, several council members expressed concerns that relaxing alcohol policy standards would negatively impact students' attitudes regarding drinking.
Assembly members disagreed, stating that punitive measures may discourage students from calling for help, but do not discourage them from drinking. Imamura cited the example of the College's decision to permit a student to be "Good Sammed" an unlimited number of times. Drinking at the College did not increase after this policy change, according to a 2009 Assembly report.
The council and Assembly members also discussed the possibility of providing an ambulance service through the College, which would allow for more flexibility in police involvement. Dartmouth cannot currently afford to implement such a program in light of the current budget cuts, Imamura said.
The group also raised concerns about alcohol-related incidents that occur during Summer term. Dick's House is closed over the summer, which means that all students who are "Good Sammed" must be taken to DHMC via ambulance, leading to their arrests if those students are under 21. No one at the meeting made any specific suggestions to address this issue.
