We the students and community of Sarah Lawrence College request that new student orientation include mandatory narcan training and narcan distribution to all new students starting in the 2026-2027 school year. 

According to the DEA, fentanyl is the leading cause of death among 18-45 year olds, with 70 percent of fatal overdoses being related to fentanyl in 2021. Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opiate that is often found in other recreation substances. Even a very small amount of fentanyl can lead to a fatal overdose. Fentanyl has played a major role in the overdose crisis in the United States since 2013, and in recent years fatal overdoses among teens have risen. This rise in overdose deaths may be attributed to the large number of recreational drugs being laced with fentanyl. It is possible for someone to ingest a drug that unknowingly contains fentanyl.

Narcan is a life saving nasal spray that rapidly reverses opioid overdoses. While Sarah Lawrence College does offer narcan and first aid training, when conducting a student-wide survey we found that roughly 6 percent of students have completed Sarah Lawrence narcan training, while 79 percent of students have never completed narcan training at all. It is also against school policy for school related entities, including RAs (residential advisors), to distribute narcan without the receiver being narcan certified.

We the students and community of Sarah Lawrence College request that the administration integrate narcan training into freshman and new student orientation starting in the 2026-2027 school year, and that it be a mandatory component of freshman and new student orientation, similarly to Title IX training.  We also demand that narcan be distributed at freshman and new student orientation.  We believe that this change will save lives by preventing more fatal fentanyl overdoses in our community. 

Sources:

• National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Fentanyl DrugFacts.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/fentanyl#overdose-and-addiction-crisis
• United States Drug Enforcement Administration. “Facts About Fentanyl.” Drug Enforcement Administration,
  https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl
• United States Drug Enforcement Administration. “DEA Administrator on Record Fentanyl Overdose Deaths.” Get Smart About Drugs,
  https://www.getsmartaboutdrugs.gov/media/dea-administrator-record-fentanyl-overdose-deaths

This petition was created in honor of Annabel Richter -- We love you always