Drinking in college, whether it be legal or otherwise, is so prevalent in our society that it could be almost considered the biggest college pastime. While university programs, administrations and law enforcement officials do their best to curb this fact, it remains simply that, a fact. Students are going to drink, and probably a lot, so the focus of our town and other college towns should be to help these young people be as safe as possible.

Now I know that’s a rather lofty goal, and it can be a big problem to tackle. While it wouldn’t make the situation perfect, a good Samaritan policy could do wonders for keeping drinking-related problems in check.

Essentially, a good Samaritan policy would allow legal leniency for people who, despite engaging in illegal activity, showed themselves as good Samaritans by looking after the safety of those around them. For example, if you were underage and out drinking with your friends, if one of your friends became too drunk to be safe or was put in an unsafe position due to drunkenness, you could call the police or an ambulance, and you may get a lesser citation than you normally would have, or perhaps no citation at all.

Some people may argue that because this hasn’t been an overwhelming problem in Platteville, this policy isn’t needed. The problem with this idea, and this thought process in general, is it is leaving the community unprepared and inviting problems to our doorstep. It would be analagous to a driver not buckling his or her seatbelt, because they’ve never crashed before. In any case, the best way of solving this problem is ensuring it never becomes one in the first place.

While this policy may not reduce drinking on campus, it would reduce the negative effects of it. People who are drinking themselves to a dangerous level will receive help, and we won’t have to worry about people not helping their friends out of fear of legal repercussions. While some may think it questionable to offer some slack from the law who are drinking underage, I think it’s an acceptable price for ensuring the safety of those around us.