By Maddie Higdon, Photo Editor

As of Sept. 15, Naloxone ONEboxes have been placed all across campus. These boxes contain a nasal spray dosage of Naloxone (Narcan) – a drug used to reverse an overdose on opioids, which include prescription painkillers and illegal drugs like heroin and fentanyl.  

 The ONEboxes are spread in almost every building on campus. They will always be located above, beneath, next to, or in the general vicinity of the Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).  

 The locations of the ONEboxes are the following: West Hall, Fine Arts Building, Bailey Science Center, Nevins Hall, PE Complex, University Center, HSBA, Student Union, Student Health Center, Odum Library, Campus Recreation, Palms Dining, Hopper Hall, Georgia Hall, Patterson Hall, Reade Hall, Centennial Hall, Brown Hall and Lowndes Hall 

 Holly Wright, director of the VSU counseling center was the one who brought these boxes to campus.  

 “I went to an NASB conference. They have a vendor fair, and I came across the ONEbox people. The purple box just caught my eye, and the people were great,” said Wright.  

 Wright explained that the boxes were open for viewing, and the representatives at the conference gave a demonstration about how the Narcan was able to be distributed to any affected community members.  

 Wright was contacted by the Opioid Prevention Specialist within the Georgia Department of Public Health. The representative provided free ONEboxes to the VSU campus, and Wright presented them to a university administrator. 

  The president’s cabinet decided unanimously that this was a safety feature that was worth investing in. 

 “I knew I was gonna be all about this. I mean– how do you say no to that?” said Wright. “I’m all about [opioid] prevention; I’ve been in prevention education for 20 years.” 

 The Naloxone ONEboxes all contain a Narcan nasal spray, written instruction, as well as a video tutorial on how to administer the medicine. Wright urges all users of the ONEbox to call for emergency services before administering the dose, as Narcan does wear off within half an hour, and some opioids can stay in the system for longer than that.  

 If you suspect an overdose in an individual, but you do not know whether or not they have, it is still safe to administer the medication to them even if the person is sober. Narcan will not harm a person without opioids present in their system, as it only targets the opioid receptors in the human brain.  

 Signs of a possible opioid overdose include being unable to wake, slow or stopped breathing, blue or gray lips or fingertips, pinpoint pupils, gurgling or choking sounds, and loss of consciousness. 

 “We are not the ones to put our heads in the sand; we are taking these things head-on,” said Wright. “We’ve done some training sessions with different student organizations, different divisions – like units of staff members – and we will continue to do these sessions.”  

 Wright reports that the boxes have been received positively by the VSU community. She has received emails from many faculty members, sharing their relief that there are life-saving measures put in place in multiple campus buildings. 

 Wright said that the main goal of implementing the Naloxone ONEboxes is to help reduce the number of potential overdoses on campus.  

 “We want to make our community – faculty, staff, and students – aware that this does happen to our students. No one is immune to being potentially laced with an opioid,” Wright said.  

 VSU plans to order more ONEboxes over the course of the next year.