Imagine you are a college student at a party. There are a lot of people at the party, from freshmen to upperclassmen. Somehow there is alcohol and your friend wanders off. An hour or so later, you find your friend passed out in the bathtub, unconscious. Unsure what to do, you and several others wonder whether you should call the police or the hospital. But you're afraid of getting arrested yourself since you're technically underage at a party where underage drinking might be occurring.

Believe it or not, this scenario does occur on college campuses and other parties. In a previous post, we raised the debate around a proposed bill that would actually grant amnesty to underage students who call emergency responders about a friend in need of help. The law was recently passed and is once again a topic of discussion, especially since school is back in session.

The biggest question remains: will this new law protect underage students? It seems that the intent of the law is to do just that. The idea is that underage students will make the call to the police or hospital in order to help an intoxicated friend without the threat of an underage drinking charge.

But there are a few requirements. Specifically, in order for the law to protect against the underage drinking charge, the caller must:

  • Be the first person to make the call (cannot have notified someone else who then goes for help)
  • Call 911, University police, or EMS
  • Stay with the friend until help arrives

Additionally, the law does not protect the person who had consumed the alcohol. The law also does not protect the caller from other types of charges, like public intoxication or disorderly conduct. It just protects callers from underage drinking charges.

If the law does what it's supposed to do, intoxicated individuals will receive medical help right away, instead of much later or too late because their friends were afraid of getting in trouble with the authorities.

Source: The Rocket: "New law to protect underage students, promote safety," Steph Holsinger, Sept. 22, 2011