Administrators Stress Safety at Alcohol Panel

A forum on Harvard's alcohol policy last night emphasized that student safety was the administration's chief concern--and that confidentiality was integral to dealing with alcohol-related problems.

"We take [drinking] lightly, but it's a matter of life-and-death," UHS Director David S. Rosenthal '59 told a mostly empty lecture hall in the Science Center.

The forum, sponsored by Project ADD, brought together representatives from the Harvard University Police Department, University Health Services (UHS), the Freshman Dean's Office (FDO) and undergraduate Houses to answer questions from students.

Though the panel was meant to help students understand the sometimes confusing policy, only about 20 students showed up.

Most of the hour-long forum focused on the consequences of a student calling for help.

The bottom line, speakers said, is that students' safety is the first priority.

Students should never hesitate to seek help for an intoxicated friend, officials emphasized, as no student in recent memory has faced disciplinary action for underage drinking alone.

"We will never take disciplinary action against a student solely for underage drinking," Assistant Dean of Freshmen Sarah B. Drummond

said.

That protection extends to any intoxicated friends who seek help for a friend, Drummond said.

However, if officials discover other violations related to the call for help--if they find a student is dealing drugs at a party, for instance, or assaults a police officer while intoxicated--it could lead to disciplinary action.

Once students arrive at UHS, they are protected by a strict confidentiality policy, Rosenthal said. UHS will contact the FDO or a senior tutor to inform them that a student has been admitted, but does not disclose the reason for admittance.

The only time that the doctor-patient confidentiality is not as strict, Rosenthal said, is when a student's life is in danger.

"If there is felt to be a life-threatening situation, the physician has to make a call [as to] whether parents or guardians are notified," Rosenthal said.

More students have been brought into UHS for drinking so far this year than in either of the past two years, Rosenthal said.

But he said that the increase could be due to students' increasing willingness to bring their friends in, not to an increase in drinking on campus.

"My hope is that this is a good-news story, not a bad-news story," Rosenthal said.

At least one clarification of the policy surprised the students in the audience, judging from their follow-up questions.

If a Harvard student is admitted to the emergency room at area hospitals, Rosenthal said, UHS requests to be notified by those hospitals. He said the policy was implemented after students were discharged from area hospitals without the means to get back to campus.

The administrators stressed that their involvement continues after a student's discharge from hospitals.

Drummond said she usually e-mails students after they leave UHS--for any ailment--to ask the student to meet with her.

The meeting is voluntary, and students have no obligation to tell her why they were treated, she said.

"I must reassure you all...the matter will begin and end with a conversation," she said.

She told the group that her concern is for the student's health, and she might refer a student to alcohol counseling.

Throughout the panel, the speakers stressed the need for students to be honest about alcohol-related problems.

First-year students should feel comfortable talking with their proctors about alcohol use, Drummond said, and proctors are under no obligation to report such confidential discussions to her.

"I would hope proctors can sit down to discuss the choices a student makes," she said.

With students' well-being at risk, administrators maintained that they were there to help.

"There are near-misses every weekend," Rosenthal said.