Wait, That's a Law??

Many people don't know of the Social Host Law, until they are found in violation of it. This episode covers some lesser known alcohol and drug laws and campus policies. We also discuss the importance of the Good Samaritan Policy, and why we have this life-saving policy on our campus.  

Transcript

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Intro: Welcome to the Last Call podcast! I'm Sarah Hartman, and my name is Marissa Whitaker. We're both alcohol and other drug educators, or AOD educators for short. Our job is to approach substance use from a neutral stance, based on science and public health. We educate students to help teach them how to make healthy and informed choices.

Marissa: On today's episode we’re cover a handful of different things; it's a bit of a catchall for campus policies and being a good bystander. We're going to talk about some of the lesser known policies that you should be aware of, and really focus a good chunk of this episode on our Good Samarian policy.

Sarah: Absolutely, and it’s important to know that on any college campus you can always find a copy of the Student Code of Conduct, either on the website or you can always request a paper copy, so that you can't say “I didn't know this was a rule.” So in these cases although you don't know the policy, ignorance is not bliss and you can still be held responsible for policies that you don’t know.

Marissa: So, let's hop into it with our first policy on both of our campuses, is the social host ordinance. What this is: if your name is on the lease to an off-campus housing, it can be held criminally responsible for hosting or providing an environment where underage drinking takes place. This is not just about providing alcohol, but providing a place where people can drink. Whether you're over 21, whether you're under 21- as long as underage drinking can occur on your residence you can be held responsible for that.

Sarah: I think it's also important to know that if you are 21 or older and providing alcohol to someone under 21, you could be held responsible for endangering the welfare of a minor. So that’s a big one, you might think like “hey it's just a party, not a big deal,” but that’s a charge that can actually stick with you and potentially ruin your chances of future employment, if you are convicted. 

Marissa: Yeah, so many people think, “Well cool I'm living off campus. It’s not going to be UPD and not my RA knocking at my door.” Well yeah, it's going to be the city police…you know misdemeanor violations. 

Sarah: I just want to throw it in there too it's important to know that you live in and off campus residences, you should be aware of noise ordinances. There are towns and villages and cities that have a certain crime when you have to “be quiet “ by, so if you're living at one of those places, and you think it’s cool to have a bangin party at midnight, the chances that you're going to have a noise violation are very high, and then moving forward you know you're on the radar if you have other parties after.

Marissa: Yes, off campus does not mean under the radar. Something else that is not off the radar are open container tickets. In New York State, it's illegal to drink or have an open container in a public place; we're not living in New Orleans - this is not an open container city. So, let's take a second to talk about what counts is open container. This is not an exhaustive list but: crossing the street, waiting for someone on the sidewalk, drinking from your water bottle on the way to the bar with your hot pink crystal light. This isn't a Poland Springs. Law enforcement can tell really easily what’s in that cup. Also, being in a car - open container. Even as a passenger or in a parked car.

Sarah: Even if the vehicle isn’t in motion, it’s important to know that you still can’t consume in any vehicle.

Marissa: And that goes for cannabis, too. It doesn't matter if you’re the passenger, it doesn't matter if you’re in the backseat. Alcohol or cannabis can’t be consumed in a car. 

Sarah: Absolutely. You brought up a lot of really great off campus points for us, and now I think it's important that we touch on one of the main things that I see on my campus a lot is smoke alarm tampering. So it doesn't matter what you’re tampering with your smoke alarm with - if it's a pizza box, t-shirt, plastic bag, socks - you still can't put anything on the smoke detector. So the reason why we take this seriously is because if you tamper with your smoke detector, even if take it down, you're taking chances the next time that you need that to actually work - in case of a real fire or real smoking hazard, it's not gonna work that time. It’s there for reason, so please do not tamper with it!

Marissa: You’re probably not fooling anyone when there's a sock around the detector – I’m trying to think of any excuse that’s feasible.

Sarah: Absolutely. Another huge thing – fake IDs. You cannot have a fake ID, so even if it's your older sister, or your own picture, or if it’s an ID that you have paid for to have made, you cannot have a fake ID. There are some pretty significant penalties that could come along with having a fake ID, that range from you know violation level to misdemeanor levels, so that’s important keep in mind. Another one of the most violated policies that I see are drinking games or drinking game equipment. What do we mean when we say this?

Marissa: So yeah, any drinking games that can facilitate binge drinking. So what we mean by that - anytime that there's like a game of chance, drinking contest, any other activity that could like induce or encourage - ultimately resulting in the rapid consumption of alcohol…that’s prohibited. So beer pong, flip cup, funnels, and things like that are going to encourage binge drinking, and that’s prohibited. Something else I wanted to talk about Sarah, so when you bring up the fake IDs… so aside from the, you know, the legal ramifications that you could face by obtaining someone else’s ID or a fake ID of you… If you're ordering this online from other country or from any outside agency, providing your actual address, and your information, and your face, you’re just giving information to somebody you probably don't trust, so keep that in mind when getting a fake ID. It's not just about being able to you know score alcohol, but like what are the after effects of having that? Now somebody has your identification, and your face. Something else that's a policy, and you know, this is been on the SUNY Cortland campus for a while, but this is new for your campus Sarah - we're both now on smoke free campuses so that includes tobacco, cannabis, anything vapeable, chewing tobacco… that's not allowed on either of our campuses.

Sarah: It’s tough, especially you know thinking about people who are regular smokers that they feel like they should have a place where they are allowed to consume their tobacco products, and unfortunately on smoke free campuses, there is no safe place. The best thing to do is just go off campus and if you consume tobacco products, to do it there. Even e- cigarettes, I think that's something that has been kind of increasing in usage over the last couple of years. Just because you think no one can smell it, doesn't mean that you can use it. So, I’ve students in our student lounge at take a puff off of their e-cigarette. You're not allowed to have it on any campus building on or even off - even outside. That’s important, it doesn’t mean that’s allowed.

Marissa: Yeah, a friendly heads up - you probably aren't as discreet as you think you're being! I don't know how all these people suckling on their hoodie sweatshirts… we see that you have your Juul. You're not as discreet as you might think you're being. And there's one last thing that we want to briefly touch upon, and you know, we really could devote a whole episode to talking about hazing. Hazing is not allowed. There is an extensive explanation in your campuses code of conduct, but generally speaking, if you have to do something dangerous or degrading to be part of a group, that’s hazing. If you’re put in an uncomfortable situation or something you don't want to do, to be part of something else… there's a whole spectrum of what is considered hazing behavior, but hazing is not allowed on either of our campuses - for athletic clubs, social clubs, cultural, any sort of club - not allowed.

Sarah: I think it's important to note Maris, you kind of touched on this, but it's not just fraternities and sororities that haze. You know, sports team at other types of clubs that do hazing or type of activities because they want to make you feel like you're, you know, you worked your way into this important group. So important to know it's not just always fraternities or sororities.

Marissa: So now let's jump into the bulk of this episode. We really wanted to dedicate a lot of time and attention to talking about our Good Samaritan policies… So, whether you're on the SUNY Cortland campus or OCC campus, this is a SUNY-wide policy, so this applies everywhere. To briefly explain what this is: misuse of alcohol and drugs can create life threatening situations for people, that require a fast response from emergency services. We want to make sure those people in need get help.

Sarah: And again, this is a New York State law, so it’s not dependent on your campus having a policy, it's dependent on in New York State. No matter the size, everywhere.

Marissa: So that means even off campus counts, is that correct?

Sarah: Yeah, absolutely.

Marissa: Another caveat is that this doesn't have absolute immunity, but Student Conduct does work with students to mitigate, or to reduce, sanctions if you summon help for yourself or for somebody else. You might have to have a meeting with your alcohol and other drug educator, or talk to Student Conduct or a campus representative, but we really work with students because we want people to call for help. So, we worked very hard on our campus is to remove those barriers, so there's no excuse not to call for help for somebody.

Sarah: Absolutely, and know that when we say the word “life threatening,” it’s important to know that you don’t have to be a doctor. Whether it's your cannabis induced overdose or an alcohol induced overdose, or maybe your friend just forgot to eat that day and they can't stop throwing up…You don’t have to be a doctor, and no one is gonna say you shouldn’t have called in that situation. You felt it was a scary enough situation for you to have to call for outside help so that’s really important. It’s also important to know that absolutely doesn't happen if you’re not the one who intervenes. If you and your best friend went out for a night on the town drinking, and your best friend is puking in the bathroom, and your RA walks in and sees them puking and they're the ones that have to call 911, when you could have called in that situation… a lot of the time those types of situations are the ones there you know maybe that absolutely the doesn't necessarily fall into place.

Marissa: So, let's talk a little bit about when we should intervene for someone. So there's acronym that's used a lot in the prevention world, P.U.B.S. Think about this, just as Sarah said, you don't need to be a doctor to make these diagnoses, but here are some things that each person should look for. The “P” - puking while passed out. If somebody is overtly intoxicated and they're getting sick, while also passed out, they might need some aid for that. If someone is unresponsive, the “U” to pinching or shaking, it's also a cause for concern. What about the “B” Sarah, what is that?

Sarah: The “B” is for breathing; if it was slow, irregular, or has stopped. A way that you can tell if someone is breathing or not is to kind of put your hand underneath someone's nose. Again, you don't have to be a doctor but it should be pretty obvious that their chest isn't rising or falling with breath, or if you don't feel that breath. 

Marissa: The last one is “S” - skin. If someone’s skin is cold, blue, or clammy. Now a person doesn't need to meet all of this criterion, it’s not a checklist.

Sarah: Haha, any of these things individually could absolutely make for a life-threatening situation. Just as your said Maris, it doesn’t have to be all of them. It doesn’t even have to be more than one for you to think it’s a life-threatening situation.

Marissa: Right?! If my skin is blue, it doesn't matter if I'm throwing up or not, y’all should be calling. So, let's talk about some of the ways we can intervene. Okay, so we see this person, now what do I do? So first and foremost, don't even unconscious person alone. Real important. They’re not going to sleep it off, but someone's BAC can still rise, even if they are asleep. You might fall asleep with .12%, but if you've been drinking right up until that, your blood alcohol content is still gonna rise, despite the fact that you're passed out. What if someone’s vomiting Sarah, then what happens?

Sarah: Absolutely, so it's really important to keep them awake or sitting up; if you have to lay them down, it's important that you put them on their side. I’m not sure how many people are familiar with the rescue position, where you cross your arms over your chest and place the person on their side so the person doesn't fall over or roll over onto their front. Going back to one thing you said Maris, are really awful misconceptions that we hear about a lot is that you know if you put someone to sleep that they’ll sleep it off and they'll be fine in the morning… but those are the types of situations that actually 'cause, you know death, when you just let someone sleep it off. So you know we're not trying to be scare tactic-y, but it is important to know that if someone consumes a lot that going to sleep isn't necessarily the best option in most of these cases.

Marissa: Something that everyone should really pause to remember, is not to be afraid to get help! I think that for a lot of people, a big barrier is “I don't want my roommate, I don't my friend, I don't want them to be mad at me because I called for help.” I'd rather have a friend who's mad at me the next day than what the alternative to that situation could be. So, what does that look like to get help, you know once you've made the decision? If you’re on campus, you can call your RA, your RHD, your campus police - in an emergency call 911. What happens if someone is off campus, Sarah?

Sarah: I would say call 911, that’s the number one thing. I think another thing that we’re seeing are cannabis overdoses. Whether it’s a concentrate that they've never used before or other edibles where they’ve consumed too much…those are situations that can get really scary, and no you're not going to die from cannabis overdose, but you can get to a point where your anxiety is skyrocketing, your heart rate is high, and you feel like it is a medical emergency… Again, you don't have to be a doctor, but if you feel that it's serious enough never ever be afraid to call.

Marissa: Yeah, and when would you want someone to intervene on your behalf? So calling if you see someone passed out in a residence hall in a hallway, calling for them would be a Good Samaritan. What are some other examples that you can think of Sarah, that would count as a Good Samaritan? And this is not an exhaustive list.

Sarah: Absolutely. If you’re having a party on campus, and things get a little out of control… and it's also important to know that Good Samaritan also covers drug things, unless you have felony level amounts. If the police walk in, and it’s a dealing operation, then we might be talking about something different, but if it's small, under misdemeanor level amounts of drugs...The police are more worried about getting that person who needs life saving help the help that they need, and even if you’re at a party underage drinking the people there aren't going to get in trouble. What you WILL get in trouble for: if you don’t call for help, and then the police go back and they find out that you were there and could have called for help to save someone’s life, but you chose not to do so…

Marissa: And we're talking a lot about the legal aspects, but just keep in mind on a moral/ethical level... If I knew that I could have called for somebody, and I didn't, and the outcome was not a good outcome - just knowing that you could have called for help but didn’t… like I referenced before, I’d rather have a friend who's mad at me because they were awake and able to be mad at me then what the alternative could be.

Sarah: What I always tell people is it’s better to try, than not do anything.

Marissa: Yeah, so we just went over extensively all of the ways that you can intervene. Is there anything that you want to add Sarah, or anything that maybe I didn't think to talk about?

Sarah: The last thing that I just wanted to touch on is the SUNY drug and alcohol amnesty policy. So it’s along the similar mindset as Good Samaritan, but in situations where sexual violence, domestic violence, relationship violence is occurring…a lot of people are reluctant to come forward anyway, but people who are engaging in drug or alcohol activity are even less likely to come forward because they're worried that they're going to get in trouble for engaging in underage drinking or drug use, even if it happens in the commission of a crime. So, if drug or alcohol use does occur in those types of situations, the drug and alcohol amnesty policy is here because we're more worried about getting the person who potentially wants to report, or wants to get help in that situation, the help that they need, compared to maybe getting them in trouble for that drug and alcohol use in that situation.

Marissa: We covered a lot of heavy stuff here at the end about how to intervene, when to intervene…Let’s end the episode on a good note. What are some of the positives of intervening in these cases? I mean, I think first and foremost you could save the life. I think that's an obvious pro for calling to get help for somebody. What else, what are the good things about being a good bystander?

Sarah: We did talk a little bit about it not being full immunity when it comes to Student Conduct. Yes, you might have to face an educational meeting, but hopefully you’ll learn a little bit from that meeting and learn what you can do differently next time.

Marissa: Exactly; and if the worst-case scenario is you have to meet with one of us, I think that's a much better outcome than not getting help for yourself or for somebody else. So again, we try to remove the barriers and increase all of the reasons TO call for help for somebody. That wraps up the end of this episode, we hope you learned something about campus policies and being a good bystander. Thanks so much for joining us!

Sarah: Bye!