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Building a Safer Campus with CSAW

As part of its programming, the Center for Student Advocacy and Wellness (CSAW) offers trainings that equip the ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ community with tools to promote safety, well-being and accountability. These include Opioid Overdose Prevention and Naloxone Training, Red Watch Band Bystander Intervention Training and the ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ Bystander Intervention Program.

Opioid Overdose Prevention and Naloxone Training

 teaches participants how and when to administer NARCAN nasl spray (naloxone), an over-the-counter medication used to reverse opioid overdoses. Opioids include drugs such as fentanyl, oxycodone and heroin ().

When administered during an overdose, NARCAN can start working within two to three minutes. It is safe to use even if someone has taken another substance that is not an opioid and can be given to individuals of any age.

The training helps attendees identify the signs of overdose, including: 

• Discolored skin 

• Unconsciousness 

• Slow/shallow breathing – can likely hear choking sounds/gurgling and snoring noise 

• Unresponsive to light or touch 

Students also learn that administering naloxone is just the first of several important steps:

1. Administer naloxone 
2. Call 911/Press a blue light button/Notify a ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ office/RA 
3. Lay the person on their side in recovery position to prevent choking 
4. Stay with the person until help comes 

In addition to learning how to recognize an overdose and the appropriate response, attendees receive a two-pack of NARCAN, CPR masks and fentanyl test strips. 

Anyone can stop by the CSAW office, located on the third floor of Searle Hall at 633 Emerson Street, to get Narcan, fentanyl test strips and face shields.  

Fentanyl test strips are also available at the Norris Center Information Desk, in the SOURCE and at the Residential Area desks.

Red Watch Band Training

Developed by Stony Brook University in 2008 following ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ student Matthew Sunshine’s death,  has since expanded, training over 5,500 ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ students, staff and faculty.

The training focuses on recognizing alcohol overdose symptoms and how to distinguish them from other alcohol-related behaviors, as well as building confidence to respond to alcohol-related emergencies.

It also aims to address the bystander effect, in which individuals presume someone else will intervene to help. Instead, the training emphasizes the "first follower" effect: if one person steps in to help, others are more likely to follow.

A key component of the training is understanding the three blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels and their associated risk levels so attendees can assess their own risk and that of others.

1. BAC under 0.06 (social or "buzz" zone): Individuals may experience positive and euphoric effects. This is generally a lower-risk range.
2. BAC between 0.06-0.12: In this risky zone, motor and semi-voluntary skills are impacted. The legal limit for intoxication (0.08) falls within this range. Individuals may be boisterous, unsteady or begin vomiting.
3. BAC above 0.12(danger zone): Severe impairment occurs, including possible blackouts, vomiting and significantly impaired balance and movement. 

Signs of alcohol overdose include: 

• Unconscious while passed out (gag reflex is gone) 
• Unresponsive even when touched/there is noise (e.g. shouting/pinching arm doesn’t wake them up) 
• Breathing is slow/irregular (less than 10 breaths per minute) 
• Pale/cold, clammy skin (signifies oxygen deprivation) 

In situations involving the use of alcohol or drugs, the Amnesty Through Responsible Action Protocol supports students getting help for themselves or others. To be eligible for Amnesty, students must CALL for help, STAY in place with the person until emergency personnel tells them they are no longer needed and COOPERATE with any request for more information or follow ups from University staff and emergency personnel.

In the meantime, Red Watch Band also highlights what actions to avoid in an emergency situation: 

• Do not let the person sleep because they could enter an alcohol-induced coma.
• Do not let them sleep on their back so they do not choke on vomit. 
• Do not give them food or drink. 
• Do not give them a cold shower.

Bystander Training

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ Bystander Intervention Training (NUBI) was built in conjunction with student leaders and activists on campus and has been provided to the University community for over a decade. It aims to help students understand how to intervene before, during and after harm occurs.  

Each training is tailored specifically for the participating group, and trainings can be requested by anyone in the ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ community, including varsity athletes, fraternities and sororities, student groups, student staff, and University staff and faculty.

The training begins by defining key terms such as bystander, community and bystander intervention, and then introduces the steps to engaging as an active bystander, which are drawn from "Right to Be," an organization dedicated to ending harassment in all forms. The steps include: 

1. Notice the event: Based off our awareness/interpretation of the situation and understanding that our choices have consequences.
2. Interpret it as a problem: Consider what could be preventing you from wanting to stop harm/potential harm. 
3. Assume personal responsibility: Active bystanders make the ACTIVE choice to act or turn away

Participants are then introduced to the "5 D's" of intervention: Direct, Delegate, Distract, Document and Delay. 

The training emphasizes that intervention takes practice and empowers participants to make a meaningful difference through small actions.  

CSAW’s workshops make it clear that creating a safer campus isn’t just the responsibility of a few; everyone can take part. To learn more or request a workshop, visit the CSAW website.