Good Samaritan Policy

The health and safety of students is always our highest priority at Purchase College. However, students or others may be reluctant to get immediate medical or other professional assistance or provide it to others, because of concerns that their own behavior may be a violation of the Community Standards Code of Conduct and/or law. To minimize any hesitation students or student organizations may have in obtaining help for themselves or others due to these concerns, Student Affairs has developed the following “Good Samaritan” approach:  

Although policy violations cannot be overlooked, Purchase College will consider the positive impact of reporting an incident when determining the appropriate response for policy violations. In such cases, any possible negative consequences for the reporter of the problem will be evaluated against the possible negative consequences for the student who needed assistance in determining responsibility and/ or potential sanctions. At a minimum, students or student organizations should make an anonymous report by calling University Police at (914) 251-6900 to get the student in need in touch with professional helpers.

Examples where this approach would apply include:

•A student is reluctant to call an RA/CA or University Police when a friend becomes unconscious following excessive consumption of alcohol because the reporting student is under the age of 21 and was also consuming alcohol.

•A student is reluctant to report that he/she has been sexually assaulted because he/she had been consuming alcohol and is under the age of 21.

•A student is reluctant to call University Police when another student becomes ill or unconscious following excessive consumption of alcohol at a student organization event, because the reporting student is afraid that his/her organization will get in trouble. 

Note:  Adapted from Buffalo University’s Good Samaritan Policy with permission.