The possibility of taking a night out on the town too far is as romanticized as much as it’s avoided. When limits have been crossed, a sophisticated and vulnerable girl can find the help she needs in a nurturing friend to walk her home, calm her down, take off her shoes, sing her to sleep, and feed her a sandwich. All are signs of unconditional friendship, but conceal a dangerous situation that can’t always be settled by your group’s most giving souls simply “taking care” of her.
Barnard is reevaluating how it interprets the Good Samaritan policy. This fancy phrase obliges individuals to receive medical assistance for a substance-induced problem without disciplinary repercussions for them (or those who reported trouble when they walked in.) Dean Hinkson and the Barnard SGA hopes to alleviate the universal fear of getting caught for rule bending and having to cope with unimaginably dark consequences. Fear interferes with the judgment to lean on the ultimate crisis-control force, aka CAVA, Public Safety*, etc. Word is they can be trusted—and (apparently) you can be too. Sometimes the girl on the ground is just not going to be okay without those emergency contacts, so please just take the three seconds to add them to your address book. They are not looking to handcuff the criminal hidden behind our fun-loving hearts, or an investigative reporting opportunity. Don’t be hopeful that tomorrow will cure the toxins; trust your intuition. The Dean’s email to students on January 28th directs them to the Res Life and Barnard Alcohol/Substance Awareness websites for details on recent policy changes, but the moral of the story is she wants us to feel protected and supported in circumstances we can’t always predict. But what she doesn’t need to remind us is how much we care about each other! Have a great weekend and always look forward to a tall glass of water.
*Can be reached at: 212-854-3362