The Medical Amnesty Policy is outlined in Part 12 of the Student Conduct System Handbook.
Syracuse University encourages all community members to care for themselves and others. Therefore, when a student or student organization initiates help from a campus or community resource for medical assistance related to alcohol and other drugs, the health and safety of the student at risk will be the University’s priority.
The student receiving medical assistance, and the student(s) or student organization who called for help, will not be referred to Community Standards for alleged violations of alcohol and other drug policies if the following apply:
- The students involved cooperate with staff and first responders by providing honest and complete answers to their questions; and
- The students involved meet with a member of Student Outreach and Support for a follow-up non-disciplinary (educational) meeting. Student Outreach and Support will reach out to students involved to set up a time to meet.
Failure to meet the two (2) requirements above may result in a referral to Community Standards.
A student receiving medical assistance, and the student(s) or student organization who initiates help, are eligible to use the Medical Amnesty Policy on more than one occasion. However, repeated use of the policy may be a cause of higher concern for an individual’s wellbeing. Students involved in repeated use of this policy may be referred to the Barnes Center at the Arch for evaluation or Community Standards for possible conduct violations depending upon the relevant circumstances, in the judgment of the Dean of Students or designee.
The Medical Amnesty Policy only extends to situations in which medical assistance is sought for substance-related concerns (alcohol and other drugs) and does not prevent referral to Community Standards for other possible violations of the Conduct Code.
For information on amnesty related to reports of sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking or dating/domestic violence, see Amnesty for Reporting Students in the Sexual Harassment, Abuse, and Assault Prevention Policy.