To encourage safety among students, officials at the University of Minnesota-Duluth proposed changes to the school’s alcohol practice to protect students who call the police in the event of an alcohol emergency from legal ramifications.

“The idea is for us to encourage students to help one another,” said Randy Hyman, vice chancellor for academic support and student life at UMD. “We would be looking at ways to forgive and not necessarily look at punitive sanctions for students attempting to be helpful to other students.”

Hyman added though the university had no power over decisions made by the Duluth Police Department, the police have been actively involved in the development of the proposal and been clear they would be more forgiving and supportive of students who take the initiative to help other students in need.

According to Hyman, the changes were made after viewing high-profile cases around the nation involving alcohol overdoses and the tragedy that follows.

Hyman said he believes the new policy changes will greatly increase the overall safety of the student body.

According to Aaron Brow, director a campus awareness group against high-risk drinking called PACE, the University of Wisconsin has a similar policy to encourage students to take safety-first measures.

“If your friend is in trouble the first priority is getting them help, and if you do that there is some lenience in the ticketing,” Brow said. “What they are really trying to do is promote safety rather than [having students] worry about getting themselves or a friend in trouble.”

In contrast to the UMD initiative, Brown said students transported to a rehab facility in Madison would be held accountable for their actions and receive tickets for their misconduct.

Brower said such actions are not exclusive to UW and are statewide policy.

According to Cal Bergman, associate director of student life at UW, the residence life staff is primarily interested in student’s safety and well-being.

— Taylor Cox contributed to this report.