University hosts awareness event tonight

Since I can not be there I have a question…

“Why do we let our children, underage, sleep in a house that has open alcohol and no adult supervision?” It was the biggest mistake in my life.

The law doesn't allow anyone under 21 to be in bars after 10pm, but it's ok for them to be in “sleeping bars” called fraternities?

YES, I made mistake of going to bar with my son the weekend before he died, the weekend I helped him move. YES, I made an error in judgement that it would be okay for Jason to be in a fraternity. (They normally don't accept freshmen in the house, but they can't even admit they made a mistake!)

I have made changes in my life to be a better example to my surviving daughters. I have not had a drink since the day I heard of Jason's death. Why can't fraternities change? Why can't the University change?

There should be a law that no one under 21 is allowed to reside in a fraternity or sorority unless they are actively and agressively “dry”. Are they afraid to be dry because they think others won't want to join? Just the opposite! I know, knowing now, Jason should have been in a dry fraternity, but that option was not available to us. I only had days to move him.

Had we been informed of his behavior at the end of the semester. I would have pulled him. My guess is that's why the University doesn't want to inform parents, as their enrollment would go down. Remember, KU has 21% binge drinking or 1 in 5 kids, TWICE the national average! Maybe it is this policy alone that keeps that so high.

He should have been booted at the end of the first semester then we could have kept him closer to home. NOT in the middle of a second semester. AND the University should have told us of his infractions. they are required to under the FERPA law!

Read: Exception #9 “Parents of dependants as defined by the Internal Revenue Code” allows an exception to the written permission. as you can see here:

http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/leg-history.html

ANYONE else who feels they have been damaged by KU's negligent interpretation to the FERPA laws is welcome to contact me at wrenvideo@yahoo.com.

I know I will not rest until things are changed.

I will forever regret some things I've done. Hind sight is 20/20 and to not recognize the past and make changes is a guarantee to repeat them.

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• Posted by DenverDad on April 9, 2009 at 12:42 p.m.
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University hosts awareness event tonight

Because this is the second death in two years at the University, perhaps they need to include in their freshmen orientation, "the signs of alcohol poisoning".

OBVIOUSLY, the people with Jason that fateful night knew NOTHING about the signs.

Fraternities, sororities, RA's and all housing people should have alcohol poisoning awareness too. MAYBE if they were aware someone would have called for help that evening instead of the next afternoon, when it was too late.

And maybe if the parents are informed about their children's behavior, even though they are 18, they are still our children, the parents can help make changes. No one cares about these kids more than their parents, it's insane to isolate the parents from poor behavior.

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• Posted by DenverDad on April 9, 2009 at 12:53 p.m.
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University hosts awareness event tonight

Ms. Green, thank you so much for being pro-active in trying to reach out and educate students about the dangers of alcohol. As well as keeping this very important issue and tragedy to the forefront. I'd love to learn more about the SAFER organization that is based in Denver. Do you have contact information? Thanks again for supporting this cause.

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• Posted by HRTherapist on April 9, 2009 at 5:03 p.m.
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University hosts awareness event tonight

Maybe we should teach people how to drink. BUUZ 101: Drinking and not throwing up BUUZ 115: Drinking just enough to loosen up BUUZ 220: Drinking then throwing a ball in a cup BUUZ 313: Drinking upside down from a keg responsibly BUUZ 340: Drinking then making good decisions BUUZ 414: Drinking socially

With the drinking minor, educated potential alcoholics will learn when it is both socially acceptable and sensible for them to drink a given amount of alcohol. They will also learn to gauge their own level of intoxication, not for driving purposes, but for the purpose of making sure they don't get so wasted they end up crying in the street (as I have seen several well dressed young women do downtown) and vomiting both that night and in the morning, with a massive headache.

I'm just saying maybe dry isn't THE answer. It may be AN answer. I'd like to have a beer with my lunch. On campus. Boulevard Wheat, a good sandwich, some fries. Oh yeah.

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• Posted by pantheon on April 10, 2009 at 1:51 p.m.
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University hosts awareness event tonight

My heart goes out to the Wren Family. Mason Tvert, executive director of Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation is exploiting tragic deaths to support a pro Marijuana agenda. Obviously Mr. Tvert has no understanding of Alcoholism. To suggest that smoking pot will curb drinking, is like fighting a chemical fire with gasoline!

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• Posted by classof69dropout on April 12, 2009 at 10:10 p.m.
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University hosts awareness event tonight

I agree with classof69dropout. Thanks!

I heard it was a very poor turnout anyway.

Still waiting for the University to change their policy on FERPA. Maybe they will decide to follow the law and save some lives, but if they do, it may end up with parents pulling out their students, so I'm not holding my breath.

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• Posted by DenverDad on April 13, 2009 at 3:40 p.m.
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University hosts awareness event tonight

Response from Mason Tvert:

My "pro Marijuana agenda" entails teaching college students the facts about the two drugs they are most likely to encounter (alcohol and marijuana) and their relative harms, and to bring about laws and policies that reflect these harms.

So, am I "exploiting" alcohol overdose deaths to push this agenda? If "exploiting" means actually bringing up and discussing this incredibly serious subject matter in a rational manner, then yes, I suppose I am.

The fact remains that Jason Wren would still be alive today if he had been using marijuana instead of drinking that tragic night. The same goes for Sam Spady and all the other hundreds of college students who die each year from alcohol overdose deaths. Meanwhile, there's never been a marijuana overdose death in history. Yet KU and virtually every school in the nation continues to go out of its way to teach students that they should be drinking and how to drink, and threatens to punish those students who would prefer to make a much safer choice to use a far less harmful substance.

If you would prefer your kid avoid marijuana and instead use alcohol -- even though it is infinitely more lethal than marijuana and contributes to far greater and more serious health and societal problems -- that's your prerogative.

If you would prefer your kid simply avoid using all substances in college, good luck on that...

Finally, for the record, SAFER is the only reason there was ANY discussion at KU about alcohol overdose deaths and the signs of alcohol overdoses. Neither the University nor any other organization on or off campus did ONE thing to raise this debate.

And by the way, the turnout -- however "poor" you might have heard it was -- was fantastic, especially in light of the University's hands-off approach to promoting it, and the fact that there were more than 50-60 people there, including at least 30+ students. How many students did you inform about the harms of bing drinking today? Once that number broaches zero, let me know...

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• Posted by SAFER on April 17, 2009 at 3:10 a.m.
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University hosts awareness event tonight

In response to Mason Tvert: The need to debate a grieving father is utterly tasteless.

I still don't get your idea that if someone uses marijuana, they will somehow magically cease to drink alcohol. This seems to me to be a "pipe" dream. Pun intended. My experience has been that marijuana use and alcohol use go hand in hand. For me, after smoking a joint, when the "cottonmouth" effect produced by the marijuana set in, there was nothing better than an ice cold beer!

Kudos to SAFER for bringing the discussion to KU. However I still feel your approach is misguided. You are an accomplished well educated guy. I admire you. As I stated at the forum, my desire is not to debate you. I came that night to share my experience on the subject, and did so. I stand by my experience and the fact that I have been drug and alcohol free for twenty years.

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• Posted by classof69dropout on April 21, 2009 at 11:07 p.m.
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