For two years, I had the honor of serving the Student Government Association as a College of Engineering and Information Technology Senator. It was an experience unlike any other, and my only regret is that I did not wait until my fourth year of college to join. When you’re on senate, you get an opportunity to work with some of the best and brightest young leaders Georgia Southern has to offer. A majority of them were honors students, and many of them did not have much of a desire to participate in the night life aspect of Statesboro. I found myself becoming a voice for those who did, at times when needed, and I found my niche to be student safety on various issues. At this point I had seen it all, and I had gained enough experience and respect to speak freely with our administration.

All too often on campuses across the nation, students engage in underage drinking, and it’s not news at all. Unfortunately, at that age some do not know their limits or how to go about drinking responsibly. I’m not here to speculate on reasons why, but I do know it’s a fact that sometimes a student or a friend may be in a situation where they need medical attention. Due to potential legal or school related consequences, students under 21 often are too scared to do the right thing and seek help. They are too scared of getting in trouble to do the right thing. It’s a shame, but it’s the reality, and kids die because of it sometimes.

While it always has been my wish that students had the same blatant disregard for the rules when asking for help as they did when committing the acts that got them in that situation in the first place, now they do not have to. Georgia Southern has passed a Medical Amnesty A.K.A. “Good Samaritan Policy” in our student conduct code. If you are in a bad situation and you do the right thing, you will be protected. Here is the policy taken from the Student Code of Conduct:

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I really recommend all students take the time to read this.

I am so proud of our Dean of Students and staff for doing this. I owe a big, "Thank You," to Dean Jackson and Dr. Whitesel. We really have a terrific staff that goes above and beyond to do everything they can to make college at GSU as safe as possible. While I know that they would prefer no one under 21 would drink, they accept the reality that it’s not the case. They are more concerned about your safety than setting a high score on alcohol strikes in a semester.

Please do not read this policy and think it’s OK to go get hospital drunk, it’s not. Take care of yourself, your fellow students, and above all else, never be afraid to do the right thing. Also, know that if you have concerns about something at our school, the administration will listen to you. They take the “small feel” motto seriously and it really shows. You have no idea how thankful you should be to have an opportunity to go to a place like Georgia Southern. Please share this with the younger crowd, especially the freshmen. I had them in mind when I proposed this.