MSA seeks to amend social host ordinance

Weeks after voting down a resolution to support the social host ordinance, which was approved by the City Council on Feb. 12, MSA will attempt to use the ordinance to provide medical amnesty to students.

Medical amnesty offers protection to people illegally using alcohol or drugs who call 911 on behalf of others who are suffering from alcohol or drug-related illness.

“We’re not trying to condone binge drinking,” said MSA member Martin Cech. “It’s reducing the harm if someone chooses to.”

MSA passed two medical amnesty resolutions Tuesday, which reflect the two approaches they are taking on this issue.

The first is to amend the student code of conduct and protect students from University of Minnesota repercussions, Cech said.

The second approach is to appeal to the Minneapolis City Council to provide legal protection to students.

Going forward, MSA representatives will now use the two resolutions in discussions with University administration and City Council members, said MSA member Marty Chorzempa. After passing in an MSA forum, the resolutions speak for the entire student body.

“It seems sensible to me,” said Jerry Rinehart, University vice provost of student affairs. “Waiving [the repercussions in the student code of conduct] is not a very big thing.”

Both MSA and Boynton Health Service representatives cited the same survey when asked about medical amnesty.

In the survey, students were asked how likely they would be to call 911 if someone passed out due to drug or alcohol use and could not be woken up. The 2007 survey reported that 54 percent of students said they would be “very likely” to call police.

“We don’t know if it’s because they are worried about getting into trouble,” said Boynton Public Health and Marketing Director David Golden. “I don’t know if amnesty is the answer. We don’t know if it will improve the rate at which people will call, we just know we want people to call 911 when they’ve got this kind of setup. Unconscious and not able to wake them up is the definition of calling 911.”

“We want to take the 50 percent of students who said they were very likely to call the police and turn that into 100,” said MSA member Sarah Shook.

The University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview was asked about the frequency of alcohol-related emergency room trips among students and their success rates.

“I would say on an average weekend we just see two or three [alcohol-related emergencies],” said Juli Thomas, director of emergency services at Fairview. “The likelihood, if they can get to the ER — I can’t say would be 100 percent — but 99 percent they would survive.”

The resolutions were modeled after medical amnesty resolutions passed at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Colorado’s resolution was in reaction to two alcohol-related deaths that occurred because 911 was not called, Shook said.

“As far as medical amnesty, it’s sort of a hot topic nationwide,” said University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner. “A lot of groups and universities are talking about it. In the end, it’s not going to affect us a whole lot.”

Miner said UMPD sees one case a week on average where someone needs to be hospitalized or taken to a detox facility for alcohol-related illness.

“What we’re looking for is going for the home run,” said Zachary Tauer, president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, who worked with MSA in creating the resolution. “The person who calls, the person who is sick and the organization or host, but we’re willing to work toward a middle ground.”

MSA’s resolutions would only secure amnesty for the social host, not the minor who was drinking under age, Shook said. “It is a way to get our foot in the door.”

“Ultimately what we want is a culture in which getting blasted or putting yourself in medical danger isn’t desirable,” Rinehart said.