Dartblog

I ran for Student Body Vice President this past spring, less because I thought I could win (I lost in a landslide) than that I wanted to raise a few “pet issues” that I actually thought the Student Assembly could help to change. One of these issues is the most classist policy on campus: the Good Samaritan Policy. The idea is that, when someone is beyond that which regurgitation cures, a friend can call and have that person safely taken to medical care without fear of trouble from Dartmouth’s Safety & Security. Naturally it doesn’t work like that.

The most commonly heard complaint you’ll hear on campus is the threat of arrest associated with making a Good Sam call. Those who are actually in need of a Good Sam call are the ones guaranteed to get shipped off to DHMC and subsequently arrested by Hanover Police’s kind Chief Giaccone or one of his officers. Having an underage possession charge on your record isn’t great:

Employer: So tell me about this underage possession charge on your record.
Student: Yeah—I drank in college.
Employer: Oh. Um…so did I.

But for some of the less well off on campus, it’s the financial repercussions that matter. Look at the whopping cost of a little vacation to Dick’s House.

The following information is from the FAQ sheet about the Good Sam policy passed out at the special Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors meeting for members of the Greek system that I attended Tuesday night. The lowest cost of a Good Sam call is $185, which comprises an observation fee of $110 and a doctor’s fee of $75 to $100. The cost is entirely covered under Dartmouth’s Health insurance plan. But some of us healthy young folk don’t purchase this robust plan. Still, the billing would stop at $185 if a student’s blood alcohol concentration were below 0.30% and the Dick’s House staff could perform a breathalyzer test.

However, if a student’s BAC is above 0.30 or the staff cannot perform a breathalyzer (due to the student’s unconsciousness, for example), the costs rise dramatically. Dick’s House calls an ambulance: that costs between $483 and $1,200. The bill for emergency room treatment has a price tag of between $277 and $1,666. Added on to this is the cost of an overnight stay in the hospital, the price of which was not given in the FAQ. Then, upon emerging, the student will be arrested by the Hanover Police and can plead guilty and pay a $360 dollar fine, or do the Diversion Program, which costs $400 dollars.

In summary, if you get ‘Good Sammed’ with a BAC above 0.30 (which is pretty much the only BAC you’d actually be Good Sammed for), you’re looking at a minimum of $1,305 in fines and fees, the cost for a hospital stay, plus a nasty little internal possession charge. In a worst case scenario a student could end up with a $3,476 bill and a conviction.

As a freshman, I was confused when I heard people say, “Don’t Good Sam me, I can’t afford it.” I had been sold on the Good Sam program by the College, whose social engineers never mention the policy’s associated costs. I also know people who would never feel comfortable Good Samming someone because they don’t want to be blamed for the costs incurred. Good Sam might make sense for well-off students — maybe not for them, either — but many of us just cannot afford this brilliant policy.

Drinking to excess isn’t without consequences. But it needn’t be a revenue generator. The students in Hanover already are. Why not impose community service or some such? After all, the goal is to protect the health and safety of the students, no matter what. Right?