As alcohol-related incidents continue to weigh on the minds of students and the administration, the Red Watch Band, a nationwide organization designed to train students in how to respond to binge drinking, has come to Tufts.
The Red Watch Band was created to teach students how to handle severe alcohol-related incidents and provide them with the skills needed to prevent toxic death from an alcohol overdose.
The Tufts Community Union Judiciary last week officially recognized Tufts' Red Watch Band program as a student group.
Freshman David Meyers, student leader of the Tufts branch, said the program aims to put students at the forefront of combating alcohol-related incidents.
"The Red Watch Band is ultimately about peers watching over their peers," Meyers said.
"The Red Watch Band is not an alcohol-abstinence program. We accept that drinking is becoming more and more part of college life. We just want to help people make the better decisions; we want people to want to help their peers."
Meyers said that it was his belief in student camaraderie and responsibility that compelled him to bring the Red Watch Band to the Hill.
The Tufts group is one of a number of college chapters nationwide.
The group originated at Stony Brook University when the school's president, Shirley Strum Kenny, led an effort to start the program last spring after a Stony Brook faculty member lost a child to alcohol poisoning.
Members of the national program receive four hours of training in heart-saving measures and alcohol emergencies, CPR certification, and opportunities to practice dealing with binge drinking occurrences. Every volunteer also receives a red wrist watch, the organization's symbol.
Since Red Watch Band's national launch in May, colleges around the country are seeing a need for it. To date, 100 universities have shown an interest in bringing the program to their schools.
Tufts currently has a well-established student organization that combats the health risks posed by binge drinking: Tufts Emergency Medical Service (TEMS). Three undergraduates started TEMS in 1985 under the belief that Tufts could benefit from having student respondents to emergency medical situations.
Meyers emphasized that Red Watch Band did not seek to replace TEMS but instead aims to offer a broad-based educational approach to alcohol emergencies.
"We are more of a bystander-intervention program," he said. "The group is designed to educate the bystander on the proper responses." While members of TEMS receive 110 hours of extensive emergency medical instruction, much more than the four hours of the Red Watch Band, both organizations serve worthy purposes and reflect Tufts' commitment to public service, said Geoffrey Bartlett, the faculty advisor to TEMS.
Although the two organizations have not yet been in contact, Meyers foresees the Red Watch Band eventually serving as a complement to TEMS.
"Our program focuses on telling one when it is appropriate to call TEMS," he said. "We are working towards eliminating the bias [against] calling for such help, as the safety of the student is the absolute priority."
The group's focus is in line with TEMS's mission, according to Bartlett.
"TEMS is constantly looking into the avenues to reduce the culture of drinking that leads to a need for medical attention," he said.
Bartlett has long stressed a need for increased student awareness and training on procedures for alcohol emergencies.
"There will always be a role for students helping other students," Bartlett said.
Although the Red Watch Band is still gaining momentum at Tufts, and the first training session has yet to be scheduled, Meyers said that he has already received a high amount of student interest surrounding the group.
Meyers said that as the Red Watch Band gains a more solid footing on Tufts' campus, he plans to expand its educational mission, hoping to offer training to not only the students involved in the program, but the student body in general.
