Extracurricular Student Groups: The Final Frontier of Undergraduate Safety

Abstract

Safety initiatives at the university level have been expanding in recent years to encompass every part of chemistry, from academic research laboratories to undergraduate teaching laboratories. Unfortunately, efforts in extracurricular student group safety have stalled due to a lack of legal liability, poor definitions of the safety roles for advisers and mentors, and a lack of knowledge among undergraduate student leaders about safety resources. Through our work with the University of Minnesota Rocket Team, we developed a framework for undergraduate student groups to pursue potentially dangerous activities in a safe and constructive way. We call on mentors, faculty advisers, and departments of environmental health and safety to work toward establishing similar initiatives at their institutions to ensure the safety of all undergraduate students.