All too often, students don’t immediately seek medical assistance for those believed to be suffering from an alcohol-related injury or illness. Sometimes, this is out of fear that they will be prosecuted or penalized by law enforcement if it is revealed that they, too, had been consuming alcohol underage. The Indiana Lifeline Law was written to protect such individuals. It’s a law that prioritizes saving a student in need versus arresting a few intoxicated ones.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1,825 college students between the ages 18 and 24 die from unintentional alcohol-related injuries each year.
The Lifeline Law was officially signed into law in March 2012 by then-Gov. Mitch Daniels. The law is geared toward 18-to-20-year-olds who might find themselves in a situation in which someone has consumed too much alcohol. Legal amnesty is granted to those who provide their full name and other relevant information that responding law enforcement might request. The caller must also remain on the scene until the emergency assistance arrives, according to the legislation.
It is crucial that IU students understand these sorts of laws meant to protect them when helping someone in need.
It is also important that IU students know the signs of dangerous levels of alcohol intoxication and seek the help these people in need could not seek for themselves.
This time last year, the IU community lost then-freshman Rachael Fiege before she ever stepped foot in a classroom.
While attending a house party, she fell down a flight of stairs, hitting her head. There were people there to assist Fiege and guide her to a sofa. Nobody had called 911. Friends found an unresponsive Fiege the next morning. She died sometime later after she was taken off life support at IU Health Bloomington Hospital.
Fiege herself was planning on entering the IU Nursing program. In one of the more chilling insights into her death, her father said that the only person who probably knew how to help Rachael was Rachael herself.
Fiege’s mother, Angi, and a handful of her daughter’s friends, launched a program earlier this year called Rachael’s First Week. The program educates high-school seniors and strives to raise awareness about the Lifeline Law and students’ options when helping a friend in need.
A student doesn’t have to be an expert to understand when there is a serious issue. Students need to be aware of how to help and protect one another.
The best way IU students can honor Rachael and students like her is to educate themselves.
If you or someone you know is suffering from an alcohol-related health issue or injury, at any time, call 911. To learn more about the Lifeline Law, contact info@indianalifeline.org .
