Santa Clara University News
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The Santa Clara - 3 October 2025
Written By Dani Jankowski and Karla Hernandez
Members of the 2024-2025 SCU EMS team pose in front of the Mission Church. Photo provided by SCU EMS.
Santa Clara University’s emergency medical services organization, most commonly known as SCU EMS, announced last spring an expansion of response areas to include the south Neighborhood Units, mainly on Bellomy Street and Market Street—a move that marks the first time the organization has been permitted to respond to off-campus emergencies.
SCU EMS is a student-led emergency medical care organization that operates under the Cowell Health Center. Their staff consists of student volunteers who are EMT licensed and provide assistance and a second opinion if students find themselves in a medical issue and are unsure of how to proceed.
“This is pretty big for us,” said EMS Director, Max Gundlach ’27 about the expansion. Until now, legal jurisdiction has strictly limited SCU EMS to responding only to medical emergencies on the main University campus. They pushed for a change because they believed there was a better way to serve all students.
“There was some particular cases that we wanted to respond to, but we couldn’t because of how our procedures work,” said Gundlach. “We had some incentives from the community that wanted us to go to the area, so we were able to expand.”
They note the importance of being able to reach these areas, as it’s where most fraternities and sororities are located. The organization is focused on ensuring students have access to medical services even if they’re not located on campus.
“I think that getting the word out is the most important part,” said Claire Richart ’27, the organization’s assistant director. “I’m not sure if people know that is an option for them.”
By calling the Campus Safety emergency phone number, (408) 554-4444, SCU EMS can provide life-saving support or simply check in anywhere on campus within 3.5 minutes. There are no fees or expenses, and all cases are reported through the Cowell Health Center so the same confidentiality rules apply.
“If you have some worry about some medical problem, like your blood pressure, or have some other medical condition, you would call us,” said Gundlach. “The call would go through Campus Safety, they dispatch us to the scene, we would show up and then we would look at the scene size up.”
The staff is equipped with a range of treatments and can provide stabilizing care and basic life support, which includes administering oxygen as well as first aid. If other medical care can’t get there in time, SCU EMS can also help ensure students will make it to the hospital.
“If somebody is having a heart issue, we’re the first people on scene, so we have to be able to save their life,” Gundlach said.
SCU EMS had a total of 27 calls in just the first two weeks of the new school year. The overwhelming majority of calls the team sees are typically “suspected EtOH,” or alcohol poisoning related situations. “Those can actually end up being really serious,” said Richart “Checking on them to see if they’re okay, staying with them and taking vitals, all that stuff is pretty important.”
If students need to call SCU EMS, they receive medical amnesty—an assurance that they can receive medical attention while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and will not be disciplined.
“For any call where you might be in violation of campus rules, you will not get in trouble at all for that very first call,” Gundlach said.
In the future, SCU EMS hopes to expand to different areas around campus and serve even more Santa Clara University students. They also hope to grow with the different care they can offer, get new materials and receive more training.
Gundalch hopes that students “know we’re a campus utility that they can lean on. “I think it’s good for us and good for them, that they know we exist and we are there if they need us,” he said.
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By Mark Gomez and Robert Salonga
Mercury News
SANTA CLARA -- The typically laid-back scene at Santa Clara University was jolted with the stunning news that a student stabbed his sleeping roommate in an on-campus dorm.
Giving the attack an even grislier tone was a jail booking photo of 19-year-old Dillon Sang Kim that featured a fresh scar from when he apparently slashed his own neck. Both of them are expected to survive.
"It was shocking," said Jake Koplowitz, a resident of Graham Hall, where the stabbing occurred early Tuesday morning. "Stuff like that doesn't happen often around here. It's a very safe campus where not a lot goes on."
Koplowitz, a 19-year-old sophomore, said he did not know either the suspect or victim.
"It was just startling and makes you realize you don't really know everyone living in the building," he said.
Wednesday, the campus showed little to no signs of disruption stemming from the stabbing. In fact, campus tours could be seen stopping in front of Graham Hall as scheduled.
The attack was reported about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday at the four-story dorm that is the newest on-campus residence, housing 350 freshmen and sophomores in two- and four-person suites. Santa Clara police, who are investigating the case, said Kim inflicted "multiple lacerations, including a stab wound," on his unidentified roommate.
Both students were taken to the hospital. That's thanks in part to three students in the university's 35-member EMS program -- serving as nightly on-call campus paramedics based in the student health center -- who were the first to respond to the 911 call.
"They did an incredible job," said program director Kate Rosen, a junior studying biochemistry. "We are extremely proud of them and humbled and honored they could respond and help a student in a moment of suffering."
Police confirmed that Kim was treated for self-inflicted wounds. After he was released from the hospital, Kim was booked into the Santa Clara County jail where he is being held without bail. His arraignment in Superior Court is tentatively scheduled for Thursday.
While they believe the attack was unprovoked, police did not offer any motives Wednesday.
"We don't know specifically what caused this," said Santa Clara police Lt. Kurt Clarke. "The victim was asleep in the room and was attacked."
The university sent out a campus alert Tuesday notifying students about the attack and called attention to counseling available to the campus community.
"The health and welfare of our students is of paramount concern to the university, and we are doing all we can to assist the affected families," university Communications Director Deepa Arora said in a statement.
Anyone with information about the attack can contact Santa Clara police Sgt. Derek Rush at 408-615-4814.
Contact Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869. Follow him at Twitter.com/MarkMGomez.
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Student medical officers train for major emergency
By Natalia Pavlina
The Santa Clara
Trained members of Santa Clara’s Emergency Medical Services rushed freshman Alyna Merall out of O’Connor Hall last Sunday from a hypothetical plane crash in a dramatic moment from the Mass Casualty Drill last Sunday.
Following last week’s bombings in Boston SCU EMS responded to a mock plane crash with student volunteers as injured victims in the Mass Casualty Incident Drill, organized so that the school’s first responders could practice reacting quickly and effectively in the event of a dangerous situation on campus.
Held annually each spring quarter, the drill allows the Emergency Medical Service to practice their training involving incidents with multiple patients. In the past, the organization has enacted scenarios such as bombings, shootings and natural disasters.
Despite all the hype around the recent bombings, the focus of the Mass Casualty Incident Drill was not altered in regards to these events. The intention of the annual drill is to ensure that the school’s EMS is prepared for an incident like the one in Boston, so the squad will have trained for such an event regardless of the explosions.
Contact Natalia Pavlina at
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Read more: Patient care a nightly practice for many pre-meds
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