Medical Amnesty Policy

Student safety is paramount at the University of Florida (UF). UF is committed to promoting a safe and healthy environment for all Students/Student Organizations and working to ensure the well-being of our community remains at the forefront of all decisions. Gators care for one another. Possible medical emergencies involving alcohol and/or other substances can be life-threatening and require immediate medical attention. The top priority in any emergency situation must be to request and receive necessary help as quickly as possible from on-duty individual(s), trained to provide the appropriate response. Therefore, UF designed a Medical Amnesty Policy to encourage Students/Student Organizations to make prompt responsible decisions in lieu of jeopardizing the health and safety of others due to concern for possible disciplinary action.

The Medical Amnesty Policy has been in place since April 2011. After assessing the impact and effectiveness of the policy, considering community feedback, benchmarking with peer institutions, and evaluating national trends, we are evolving the policy to provide better situational guidance and more inclusionary consideration criteria helping continue to promote a safe and healthy environment for all students/student organizations. 

Two core updates were made to the Medical Amnesty Policy.

1) Students/Student Organizations have access to more direction regarding the requirements to be considered for amnesty. The Three C’s (Call, Communicate, Cooperate) provide tangible direction helping to better inform decision-making in a possible medical emergency involving alcohol and/or other substances.

2) Student Organizations are eligible to receive medical amnesty consideration.

Alleged violations of University Regulation 4.040 (Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code) may be covered under the Medical Amnesty Policy.

Yes. Medical amnesty is considered on a case-by-case basis. A decision to provide amnesty for possible violations of University Regulation 4.040 involving alcohol and/or other substance(s) does not preclude the University from taking needed actions to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the community because of other potential violations of University Regulation 4.040 (i.e., acts of violence, hazing, felony violations of the law etc.). However, responsible actions of Students/Student Organizations may be considered in a student conduct process as mitigating factors impacting potential outcomes. 

To receive consideration for medical amnesty, Students/Student Organizations must follow the three C’s:

• Call: Take immediate action to receive appropriate help (i.e., dial 9-1-1)
• Communicate: Share all known details and information regarding the incident and surrounding circumstances with emergency responders
• Cooperate: Cooperate with all lawful requests from emergency medical responders, law enforcement personnel, and/or university officials

There is no limit to the number of times a Student/Student Organization may receive medical amnesty. Medical amnesty is considered on a case-by-case basis. Individual incident details, surrounding circumstances, and prior conduct history may be considered by the Director of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution or designee(s) when evaluating incidents for amnesty consideration.

Anyone may seek assistance for themselves or another person(s). Student Organizations seeking medical amnesty consideration must additionally report the incident to the Department of Sorority & Fraternity Life or the Department of Student Activities & Involvement, depending on their respective organization, within 24 hours of seeking emergency medical assistance. While the organization president is not required to be the responsible party to call for help in every emergency, they are responsible for appropriately reporting to the Department of Sorority & Fraternity Life or the Department of Student Activities & Involvement within this time period to receive organizational amnesty consideration. Failure to report incident details to the Department of Sorority & Fraternity Life or the Department of Student Activities & Involvement does not exclude involved individuals from receiving medical amnesty consideration independent of a student organization.

Yes. Students/Student Organizations who follow the Medical Amnesty Policy and seek help for someone else may also receive medical amnesty consideration, even if they do not require medical attention themselves.

No. Medical amnesty incidents are not reflected on a student’s academic record and will not be maintained as a part of a student’s conduct record. Details regarding student organization medical amnesty incidents, excluding individual FERPA protected information, will be reflected on appropriate departmental websites within the Division of Student Life, similar to how student organization conduct data is maintained on the Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution website. 

While not an exclusive list, students/student organizations should NOT:

• Hesitate to call 9-1-1 and get appropriate help
• Leave any person alone
• Give the person anything to eat or drink
• Put the person in a cold shower
• Let the person “sleep it off”
• Attempt to transport an individual themselves
  • Unless direct guidance from on-duty emergency responders indicates otherwise

Possibly. If the circumstance meets the University standards for Parental Notification, then a parent/guardian may be notified. Most incidents do not qualify for parental notification.

The UF Medical Amnesty Policy applies to alleged violations of University Regulation 4.040. The Medical Amnesty Policy does not prevent law enforcement from taking legal action if deemed appropriate. However, our law enforcement partners at the University of Florida Police Department have a shared commitment to promoting a safe and healthy environment for all Students/Student Organizations and want to encourage concerned individuals to focus on the priority, which is getting appropriate help for someone who may be experiencing an emergency. Therefore, the University of Florida Police Department may decide to defer criminal action when that option exists.