Tim Tai

The Yale College Council passed a budget proposal last September to offer optional Narcan administration training to all incoming first-year college counselors, or FroCos.

The policy, sponsored by YCC President Mimi Papathanasopoulos ’26 and Ezra Stiles senator Surabhi Kumar ’26, aims to equip FroCos with the skill set and resources to identify and intervene during overdose incidents to address the nationwide opioid crisis.

Naloxone, most popularly manufactured by the company Narcan, is an intranasal spray that rapidly reverses an overdose. The medication, additionally, has few side effects and was recently FDA-approved to be given over the counter. Currently, Yale FroCos are not mandated to undergo training on how to administer naloxone.

“First year is a period of significant transition and adjustment for students, however, it is also a time of vulnerability, as students may experiment with substances,” Kumar wrote in the proposal. “First-year counselors are trusted by first-year students and thus are often the first point of contact in an emergency situation — making it particularly crucial for them to be trained in the administration of naloxone.”

The proposal requests $4,577 from the YCC budget, nearly half of which will be put towards purchasing Naloxone from Narcan Direct. Furthermore, the program will offer pizza and a $10 stipend to all FroCos in attendance.

The model of the program will mirror that of a similar successful naloxone training program at the University of Southern California. At Yale, the hands-on training will be led by Yale Emergency Medical Services, or YEMS. It will focus on dosage, delivery methods and emergency response protocols.

Kumar, a member of YEMS, says that this program is an opportunity to increase awareness about the opioid response on both Yale’s campus and in the greater New Haven area. She said that she has been in contact with Associate Dean of Residential Life Ferentz Lafargue and Associate Dean of Student Affairs Hannah Peck, who were both “on board with the training.”

“My ultimate goal here is to make this part of the training that FroCos have in general and not just something that the YCC has to keep spending money on, but instead that Yale pays for, especially because Narcan is not a cheap product,” Kumar said.

Jerry Feng ’25, a FroCo in Davenport College, says that he believes it would be helpful to incorporate Narcan training into broader FroCo training. Rhayna Poulin ’25, a FroCo in Morse College, attended the training this year and believed that it was very helpful. 

“I think the more training we can have on how to handle a variety of emergencies, the better. Harm reduction is really important, and it would just make us more prepared to address a wider scope of emergencies that we might encounter,” Poulin said.

Papathanasopoulos said that the push for FroCo Narcan training was a big priority for her and Vice President Esha Garg ’26 when they ran for office.

Kumar revealed that she has been in contact with student groups, fraternities and sororities on campus to facilitate additional naloxone training in the future.

“Opiate overdoses can happen in a lot of contexts, but specifically things like laced drugs or even the smallest bit of fentanyl can cause opiate overdose,” Kumar said. “If a person has drugs and they don’t source it correctly, it could be laced and they would never know, and then in that situation you want to be prepared for something like an overdose.”

Kumar says that, in an ideal world, Narcan would be as frequently accessible as first aid kits or AEDs. She also said that if this proposal were adopted by the administration, she would consider pushing for fentanyl test strips to become commonplace on campus and at large events such as Spring Fling.

Shakina Williams ’25, a member of Students for Sensible Drug Policy and a co-sponsor of the proposal, said that this initiative is a push to make harm reduction a central pillar of Yale’s public health and safety approach.

“For too long, drug policy [at Yale] has been focused on punishment rather than care,” Williams wrote to the News. “Universities have a responsibility to protect their students, and that means providing real, evidence-based solutions and not relying on fear or abstinence-only messaging.”

Narcan was patented in 1961.

Correction, Feb. 15: An earlier version of the article incorrectly said the proposal was passed on Sunday, February 9, 2025.

Correction, Feb. 28: Earlier version of the article incorrectly said Shakina Williams was a YCC Senator for Benjamin Franklin college.