A student's death in a UBC dorm reveals gaps in how universities deal with emergencies

Kyle Sohn’s roommates at the University of British Columbia residence awoke one morning to loud groaning sounds coming from behind his locked bedroom door. An alarm clock droned on. They called his cellphone over and over and pounded on the door to no avail.

By the time first responders finally got into Mr. Sohn’s room, the 19-year-old was on the floor beneath his bed – with no pulse. Paramedics administered naloxone and used CPR to get his heart started again, but he was declared brain dead upon arriving at the hospital. Mr. Sohn’s father says police told him it was an overdose, and an analysis of his blood found the presence of opiates, but the BC Coroners Service can’t confirm his cause of death because it’s still under investigation.

University residences allow students to immerse themselves in campus life and live independently while still benefiting from in-house support. A typical residence has a front desk that functions like a concierge at a hotel, as well as staff who, among other things, organize events, connect students with resources and provide support and advice. They include front desk staff , residence advisers and residence life managers .

UBC’s director of university affairs, Matthew Ramsey, said privacy rules prevent him from discussing Mr. Sohn’s case directly. UBC has since made adjustments to front desk policies, Mr. Ramsey said. Staff are now equipped with additional questions to assess a situation and are mandated to initiate a 911 call themselves to share students’ contact information with dispatchers in the event of an emergency.

Student groups at that campus have been trying to get an emergency response team approved since 2017. They got close in the 2018-19 academic year, securing medical oversight and approval for funding. But according to internal UBC communications reviewed by The Globe, the administration and lawyers held a closed-door meeting on Feb. 20, 2019, and then, in an e-mail sent to the team organizers, a school official explained that the university would discontinue its support for the program.

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