You’re at a local bar and notice a friend trying unsuccessfully to fend off a sexual advance. Would you intervene?
A classmate has been uncharacteristically withdrawn in recent days, then doesn’t show up at all. Would you check in to see if everything’s ok?
You spot a guy who’s been drinking passed out at a house party. He doesn’t respond when you try to wake him. Would you call 911?
Kim Burch is painfully familiar with that scenario. “Just get somebody help if they need it,” she said.
Her son Nolan, a freshman at West Virginia University, died after a 2014 hazing event involving alcohol at an unsanctioned fraternity event. Five years later, WVU, in cooperation with the Burch family and the City Drive Entertainment Group, launched the “Would You?” safety campaign.
“Student safety is one of the primary responsibilities of any institution of higher education. I know too well what it is like as a president to get the call that one of your students has been killed or seriously injured – especially when it could have been avoided by a simple action,” said President Gordon Gee.
Now, the campaign born from tragedy, is expanding.
“West Virginia University is determined to be a leader in the national effort to make campuses as safe as possible, whether it be from hazing activities or random violence or even bad decisions. We are asking the question, ‘Would you help?” If people think of that question when they see an issue, I firmly believe they will do the right thing. Our hope is that other institutions will see this campaign and fold this universal message into their campus culture, as well,” Gee said.
The University has developed a free toolkit available at wouldyou.help which includes graphic templates, access to the documentary “Breathe, Nolan, Breathe” chronicling the events that led to Burch’s death, as well as discussion strategies to facilitate honest, open dialogue about hazing, bystander intervention and amnesty laws.
“At WVU, we want our students to be educated in the fullest sense of the word — and that means making the information they need to make good decisions available,” said Dean of Students Corey Farris. “Our ‘Would You?’ campaign provides facts and tools that they can use to protect themselves and fellow students.”
The message is making a difference. According to the WVU Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, since the campaign’s launch in November 2019, the University has documented 16 medical amnesty cases compared to 26 for the entire 2018-19 academic year.
“Our office works with students to ease their fears,” said Carrie Showalter, executive director of the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. “Not only do we review cases to see if behavior violated the student code, but we also look to see if student behavior reflects our community values— such as taking care of our community members to help ensure each other’s safety. We assure students that making the call to 911 and doing the right thing will be looked at in a much different context under our campus student code.”
West Virginia is among the 32 states and Washington, D.C., that have adopted a medical amnesty law.
“We take the issue very seriously,” University Police Chief W. P. Chedester said. “Our officers are trained that bystanders and those affected by drug or alcohol overdoses may be safe from prosecution under the code of student conduct and West Virginia state law.”
Ultimately, the hope is that the lessons learned on the WVU campus can be used by colleges, universities, and high schools nationwide to save lives by following the advice from TJ Burch, Nolan’s father, to “just do the right thing.”
“That is our goal,” Kim Burch said. “We want to educate others so we don’t lose another student like we lost Nolan.”
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ta-ak/3/2/20
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