Health and Safety Amnesty Policy

Whitman College considers the health and safety of community members to be a core priority. In an effort to ensure that students take appropriate responsibility for the health and safety of themselves and others—even in circumstances that may involve violations of alcohol or drug policies—the College has adopted the following protocol.

• All community members are encouraged to seek assistance on behalf of those who seem to be in need.
• Any student who has been involved in an alcohol or drug related emergency will have the option to discuss that incident with staff from the Counseling Center or Student Health Center, rather than have a conduct hearing for potential violations of the alcohol or drug policies that may have occurred during that incident.
• In order to make use of this option, the student must
  • Remain present at the scene of the incident after they have sought assistance, until given permission to depart by a College official.
  • Agree to comply with any recommendations resulting from their conversation with staff from the Counseling Center or Student Health Center
• This option is meant to apply to minor incidents related to alcohol or drug consumption and will not be applicable in circumstances where drugs and alcohol are being sold for gain and massive consumption is at issue. Such matters will be dealt with as violations of the College alcohol and drug policies.