Drugs on campus

"UC Berkeley co-ops begin novel campaign on drugs," by Nanette Asimov
Friday, March 18, 2011 in the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/18/MNOC1I5TVT.DTL&type=education

After a student suffered a heart attach at the Cloyne Court co-op in Berkeley, the family of the student and members of the Berkeley Student Cooperative set in motion a public relations campaign to deal with this ongoing campus problem. The student, after a night of drinking and snorting cocaine, laid down in bed and suffered a heart attack. No one at the co-op called 911 for hours and the student, while alive is brain-damaged, cannot speak and needs constant care. The family sued, of course, and in response the BSC sent out a seven page letter to its 1,275 students saying that if for no other reason not to do drugs, they should consider the monetary effect it may have. Namely, the shutting down of school co-cops and the loss of savings for students that would mean. Co-ops charge only $6,600 a term for living while corms charge almost three times that.

The letter explains that for the benefit of all, students need to be aware of drug use problems, overdoses and addicition and at the very least be aware of when to seek help. In this case, a prompt call to 911 may have saved the student from becoming an invalid.

The parent of the Child, Madelaine Bennet said, "I would like to remind all co-op members that as a community, you should be responsible for what happens within that community."

This is a sad story because it could have been prevented. The school system is considering a good Samaritan policy that would not punish any student who reported a drug overdose of other problem. They would be exempt from legal or school related punishments.