Diablo Gazette • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Page 11 • www.DiabloGazette.com | www.fb.com/DiabloGazette • (925) 303-4779
Northgate Graduate Changes Nevada Law As each year’s graduating class marches off to begin their path into adulthood, one cannot help but wonder what will they become? How fast will they adapt? Who will make a difference? It turns out that one Northgate graduate of the 2014 Class has already made an impact. Cameron Hughes attends University of Nevada in Reno as a sophomore. studying for a double major - Finance and Economics with a minor in Political Science. He is also interning at the Legislative Affairs Department of the Associate Student Union of UNVReno. He recently found himself standing in front of the Nevada Senate proposing, testifying, and lobbying for them to pass a new amnesty law called Brady’s Bill SB 464. The bill protects underage drinkers from prosecution if they take responsible action and seek medical assistance in an emergency. So, how did a Northgate student find himself in this position? The head of the Associate Student Union Legislative
Affairs Department, Quinton Jones, knew that Cameron had won the 2014 UNV Speech Contest and asked if he had any personal experience with this issue and would he be interested in appearing before the Senate Assembly to speak about it. He had and he was interested. “It is a real problem,” says Cameron. “Students who had too much to drink were not being taken care of by their fellow students because students were afraid to call the police for fear of getting charged with an MIC (Minor In Consumption). We wanted to remove the existing statute in Nevada, and implement a Good Samaritan Law which simply states that if a Good Samaritan calls emergency services, for an unconscious or intoxicated person, or for any medical emergency, the person making the call would be granted immunity from prosecution. “ Cameron testified with his own personal experience. “While I was at Northgate, I was involved with sports medicine. There I learned that when
someone is vomiting and dehydrated, you turn them on their side so that they don’t asphyxiate on their own vomit. On one occasion, I was at a party as a sober designated driver. At some point during the night I went to a back room and came upon a guy literally choking on his own vomit. I turned him on his side to afford him some comfort, and opened his airwaves to keep him from choking to death. But, there have been several cases of students just leaving their friends in a bathtub to ‘sleep it off.’ Unfortunately, some are not sleeping it off, they are dying from brain hemorrhaging , dehydration, or asphyxiation. What they need is medical help.” Cameron pleaded to the Assembly. Underage drinking among high school and college students is a real problem in Nevada. Senate Bill 464 is proposing to help underage people who are in potentially dangerous situations. The bill would exempt a minor who has been drinking from criminal liability if he or
she is seeking medical assistance. SB 464, also known as the “Brady’s Bill”, was drafted in memory of Brady Caipa, a student at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas who died after binge drinking at a party his senior year. Upon getting sick, Caipa’s friends took him to a bathroom where he was left to sleep for the night, and was found dead the next morning. Under SB 464, not all underage people at a party would be free of criminal charges if medical assistance is requested. Only the person who makes the emergency call will be exempt from legal charges, as well as the person who is in need of medical assistance. The law passed without objection. Twenty-three states, including California, have adopted similar legislation. There is no wondering about the future of Cameron Hughes. Clayton and Northgate can be very proud of this young man. I am sure we will hear more great things from him in the future. Well done, Cameron, well done.