The headlines told the story loud and clear in November 2008. Michael Starks, an 18-year-old fraternity hopeful, died from alcohol poisoning; the preliminary results showed that his blood alcohol content was 0.35.
It was a wake-up call for Utah State University, and the aftermath has brought lawsuits, criminal court proceedings and the loss of a greek house on USU’s campus. The U and its greeks have been quick to respond to this tragedy, and have forged an alliance with the Starks family to bring the message of the dangers of binge drinking and alcohol poisoning to students on our campus.
“(The Michael Starks incident) was a real eye-opener for students, staff and administration about how real this is,” said Jay Wilgus, dean of students and adviser for greeks at the U. “We have taken a really proactive approach, using that incident as an educational tool.”
To show you just how proactive, the Greek Leadership Summit is Friday, and George Starks Jr. and Jason Starks are the keynote speakers. All students are invited to attend and learn from this event.
The U has few statistics on the number of students who drink. This can lead to loss of funding for alcohol awareness programs or no funding being provided in the first place. All programs are funded based on need, and if no need is perceived, the funds are earmarked for other projects. Megan DuBois of the Center for Student Wellness said there isn’t enough funding to provide all the services and education that are available.
“We are constantly looking for grant funding that will supplement our programming and will help address needs on our campus,” DuBois said. Incidents such as Starks’ should demonstrate the need for more funding to alcohol education.
Housing and Residential Education enforces a progressive consequence policy with all alcohol and drug violations. A first-time minor alcohol offense will most likely result in a six-hour Prime for Life course with an accompanied $50 course cost, as well as notice that future violations might include suspension or dismissal from housing and potentially the institution. Typically, parents of students under 21 are notified.
A second violation will usually include a referral for an alcohol or drug assessment completed by professionals from the U Counseling Center, an educational paper on the student’s use of alcohol or drugs and a referral to the office of the dean of students. Students with a second violation might also lose their privileges of remaining in campus housing.
A third violation might result in a student’s eviction from housing as well as suspension or dismissal from the university. This policy is a strong one. The consequences are clear, but there needs to be early education available before this happens. To only throw consequences is counterproductive when there are no preventative measures beforehand.
The jurisdiction of the office of the dean of students includes alcohol and drug violations occurring on the main campus as well as sorority and fraternity housing. In this case, a first-time minor alcohol violation that occurs in sorority or fraternity houses typically results in a $50 fine paid by the sorority or fraternity member as well as a $100 fine paid by the sorority or fraternity to the Greek Council Office. There is no lasting benefit to these types of sanctions when there is no early intervention. Funding needs to be made available for education and prevention measures.
The university’s alcohol policy is fairly progressive and does a good job of applying the consequences of drinking. Now is the time to step up education on campus. Let’s take alcohol education into our orientations and make our entire student body aware of the dangers of alcohol by making it a priority.
Funding needs to be made available for alcohol awareness education and prevention. All students should be required to complete at least some alcohol awareness education, whether they drink or not. No one can act responsibly if they do not have the proper knowledge to do so.