Students can no longer be punished if there was an use of drugs or alcohol during the time alleged sexual misconduct happened in an effort to open lines of candid communication. This was put into effect in mid-August in the Marshall University Board of Governors Policy No. SA-1 Student Rights and Responsibilities document.

Medical Amnesty is covered in the Marshall University Student Disciplinary Procedures Handbook. It states that students who need emergency assistance for someone or themselves that is experiencing a drug or alcohol related emergency are granted limited immunity from disciplinary action under the Student Code of Conduct. However, there was no amnesty provided in the case of Title IX issues. 

This oversight made the revision of the already in place amnesty policy to include Title IX one of the main objectives for the  recent Title IX  Task Force from 2022. This task force provided President Brad D. Smith  with a list of recommendations, dates that the recommendations should be met by and the offices that each recommendation applies to.  

When asked about these changes, Jessica  Rhodes , the Title IX coordinator, said, “A lot of the changes I see come in the form of policy and procedure, and we have set forth with the Board of Governors policy: adding the amnesty language that allows people to not be charged with drinking or drug violations for their own personal use if it occurs during an incident involving sexual harassment.”