0
Votes

Father calls for change after son's death

By Alex Garrison

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The father of Jason Wren said Tuesday he blamed his son’s death partially on what he called the fraternity environment. He said he didn’t blame the members of Jason’s fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and said he hoped the SAE house would become a dry chapter house in Jason’s honor.

Jason Wren, who was a 19-year-old freshman from Littleton, Colo., was found dead Sunday afternoon at his fraternity house, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 1301 West Campus Road.

The Shawnee County Coroner’s office confirmed Monday that an autopsy had been completed but said the report was not yet finalized and might take up to eight weeks to complete. Spokespersons for the police could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Jay Wren spoke from Colorado, saying how much Jason would be missed and how he hoped students and others would honor Jason by pledging to give up drinking.

“He was a good kid. He was loved by many, and his life got cut short,” he said. “In his honor, I want kids to put the drinks down, and every time I want to have a drink now, I’m going to say no. It’s in honor of my son, because alcohol killed him.”

He said he wanted alcohol possession rules at fraternities to change, saying the current system was a contributing factor in Jason’s death.

“Uninformed students who didn’t know the dangers ended up putting his life in a terrible circumstance,” he said, “and I know that they’ll live with that guilt forever.”

Jay Wren said he had been told that Jason had drank in excess both at a restaurant and at the house the night of his death, and passed out at the house, where fraternity members put him to bed.

“What they should have done is take him to the hospital,” Jay Wren said.

Shane Glenn, president of SAE, declined to comment. He said no members were speaking publicly about Jason Wren or the circumstances surrounding his death.

Before moving into the SAE house a week before his death, Jason Wren lived in Oliver Hall. Several Oliver residents said he was fun-loving, athletic and outgoing.

“He was one of the first people to come up to me and make me feel welcome when I moved in,” said Nick Voroshine, Sydney, Australia, junior.

Students at Oliver said Jason Wren had been kicked out of the residence hall for alcohol-related violations.

University Relations confirmed Jason Wren was a former resident of Oliver but would not comment on whether he had been forced out.

Jay Wren said Jason had been given until Feb. 28 to leave Oliver. Jay Wren said that he had then contacted the Department of Student Housing to ask why Jason had been forced to leave, but that a representative told him a privacy policy dictated that details remain confidential.

Jay Wren said Jason had downplayed his infractions, saying a resident assistant wrote him up after finding a shot glass, and later a beer can, in his room, and finally because he had been seen holding a beer can for a friend while the friend used the restroom.

Jay Wren said he would like to see student housing’s privacy policy changed, giving parents more access to student housing records, especially records concerning behavioral issues.

“I looked up the law — they’ll release full records to other scholastic institutions, they’ll release it to financial institutions, but they won’t release it to the parents,” he said. “There needs to be an exception; they can’t block out the parents.”

Jill Jess, director of University Relations, said all housing issues were private, even after a former resident’s death.

The Department of Student Housing declined to comment.

Brandon Weghort, national SAE spokesman, said a network of alumni was working to support the fraternity members and the police’s investigation.

Weghort said SAE had always educated members about the dangers of alcohol.

Weghort said that disciplinary action for the KU chapter was a possibility but that it was not being considered as of Tuesday afternoon.

Rueben Perez, director of the Student Involvement and Leadership Center, which oversees greek life, said the University had not yet considered revoking its chapter and would not make any decision until the police had completed their investigation.

He also confirmed that there had been no sanctioned house event the night of Jason Wren’s death.

Perez said University officials planned to bring more attention to the problem of drinking — especially underage drinking — by KU students.

“It’s a problem that permeates not just the greek community but the whole campus,” Perez said.

He said members of the greek community were working to support the men of SAE.

“The sororities are all bringing by cookies, things like that,” Perez said. “They’re focusing on the good that can come out of a horrible situation.”

Interfraternity Council members declined to comment.

Jay Wren said he acknowledged that Jason’s death was also due in part to Jason’s actions.

He said Jason was a Christian and had planned to have “in God I trust” added to a cross tattoo on his back.

Support from community members in Kansas and Colorado as well as the family’s faith were helping him through the grieving process, he said.

“I know he’s in God’s hands and in a better place. It’s the only thing that keeps my wife and I going — that one day, when our time is up, we’re going to see him again. And I’m going to love him and hug him, and then I’m going to slap him on the side of the head and say, ‘What in the heck were you thinking?’

“I know he’ll say, ‘I’m sorry Dad, I know I messed up. Can we go throw the ball?’

“He has no idea how much he’s going to be missed.”

SAE is holding an open memorial service at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on their lawn. Jay Wren and his family plan to attend.

Another memorial service will be held in Highlands Ranch, Colo., on Monday.

Comments

Father calls for change after son's death

I am not Greek, but without going into specifics, I am very aware of the implications of the drinking culture that has had a huge effect on Greek life, including freshmen who are getting their first whiffs of freedom. There needs to be some serious accountability - no more passing the buck. This was a senseless tragedy and hopefully the father can succeed in having something positive made about it. Underage people have NO business binge drinking.

Father calls for change after son's death

"...I'm surprised Perez failed to mention that along with his comments."

Maybe because it's irrelevant? Obviously these compelling lectures didn't have that much effect when it comes down to it. Why doesn't everyone quit trying to save face and face reality. A kid died, and no lectures or aggressive spin can ever change that. I'm not for prohibition by any means, but God forbid they honor the wish of a devastated father and try to really make change...

Father calls for change after son's death

Sorry but I think this a grieving father looking for an outlet to blame his son's clear alcoholic issues on. If Jason was kicked out of the dorms for his "drinking" problems then this situation was one that probably had happened many a time. I am sure if he had lived in a non-greek house this same situation could have occurred.

I personally find it very sad that it is not being acknowledged as a campus wide problem and instead focusing on just problems within greek life.

Shocking fact: Under age drinking doesn't just take place in greek fraternity houses, folks. Non-greek students drink just as much. Let's acknowledge THAT reality and stop trying to find an outlet to blame for this horrible tragedy.

Father calls for change after son's death

MSNBC said that KU is considered something like the number two party school in the country. I would say there is a very small percentage of people, in or out of college, that never have a drink. As for taking him to the hospital after he had passed out, don't most people just sleep it off? Also, after a person has a certain amount of alcohol self control is no longer an issue.

Father calls for change after son's death

The real problem is with enforcement of the laws in Kansas. My 20 year old son was also kicked out of a Dorm in December 2008. The University would not release any information to me when I went to investigate his removal in January 2009. Funny how the parent is responsible to KU to pay the bills but couldn't get any information on child.

The issue of underage drinking in Lawrence is a big issue. Everybody knows its going on and nobody cares. Fake ID's are all over Lawrence. The Bar's and Resturant's all turn a blind eye to them as they want the business. Evidently the local Police don't care or there would be better enforcement of the laws.

I ask my Son all the time how he gets into the bars and he says nobody cares and for that matter the Liquor stores turn the same blind eye to the fake ID's. He says that he goes into the Liquor stores and buy with no problems and that the store owners even know that he is only 20. This went on at age 18 and 19 too.

Another issue that occurs is that even the fabled KU Basketball Players seem to have some drinking problems as they seem to be frequently be in the bars too.

Maybe drinking is a part of college life. It was when I was at KU but it was never to the extent of today's BINGE drinking.

Lawrence Police wake up and save some kids!

Father calls for change after son's death

Regarding the fake ID's. The kids all say that they have them with the proper bar code stripe on them that some of the bars use to read driver's licences. Crack down on this underage drinking now!

Father calls for change after son's death

I think everyone can agree on one thing. This is a tragedy that could have been avoided if all students, whether in Greek life or not, were more aware of what to do when they observe someone who has obviously had too much to drink. If you let them "sleep it off" they may never wake up. Call 911, take them to the hospital, keep them awake, but do not ever let them sleep it off. Everyone needs to be aware of this and take care of their friends. So please spread the word so this does not happen to one of your friends. College students are going to drink. No one is going to change that fact, and trying to prohibit it is futile. But this growing habit of binge drinking has only increased the number of alcohol poisoning cases (1700 last year). Everyone needs to work together to get out the word that binge drinking is not cool, it's dumb and it could easily kill you. While all fraternities should not bear the blame for excessive drinking during parties, pledging rituals, hazing, etc., those that don't change should be banned from campus. As far as the SAE spokesman, Weghort's statement about warning their chapters about the dangers of drinking, anyone who's spent any time in any SAE house knows that's crap. You would think they learned something from the the Texas chapter, who had continual problems with alcohol-related incidents, with the last one resulting in a freshman member's death. Weghort is only interested in taking a defensive stance to protect SAE from further lawsuits. Oh, by the way, what do you have to say now, tjwhatley?

Father calls for change after son's death

Seem's if you do a google search on SAE + alcohol+problems you see this is an issue nation wide. Results 1 - 10 of about 4,850 for sae fraternity alcohol problems

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=sae+fraternity+alcohol+problems&btnG=Search

Father calls for change after son's death

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2008/10/24/texas-fraternity-ordered-to-pay-162-million-to-parents-of-dead-pledge.html

Texas Fraternity Ordered to Pay $16.2 Million to Parents of Dead Pledge October 24, 2008 04:55 PM ET | Alison Go | Permanent Link | Print A Texas judge has awarded $16.2 million to the parents of a University of Texas freshman who fell to his death two years ago after being hazed by a campus fraternity, the Daily Texan reports. Tyler Cross, 18, was a pledge at Sigma Alpha Epsilon, whose local chapter and national organization are being ordered to pay the student's parents $2.5 million for mental anguish and nearly $81,000 for funeral expenses, as well as additional damages.

According to investigators, on the night Cross fell from his fifth-floor balcony, pledges were given half-gallon bottles of liquor to drink, and an autopsy report showed Cross had a blood alcohol level more than twice the Texas legal driving limit. The lawsuit also said that Cross was subjected to sleep deprivation, beatings with large bamboo sticks and paddles, and "other acts of assault or battery" in the days before his death.

This year, four SAE members pleaded no contest to various hazing- and alcohol-related charges, and the fraternity has agreed to revamp its pledging and social activities in order to remain on campus. The organization must now give the school advance notice of parties, limit its attendance, hire off-duty police, and hold parties only on the weekend with a 2 a.m. curfew.

A civil case against several alumni groups associated with the fraternity is pending.

Father calls for change after son's death

When I worked at the front desk of one of the dorms, a vast majority of the residents had fakes. Most of these were Greek. I wondered where they were getting the fakes... if they were getting contacts through their houses.

KU condones underage binge drinking by providing a "party bus" with a route from the most popular bars passing by the dorms. This is acting as an enabler in my eyes.

Father calls for change after son's death

I agree with phaeton that they should inform parents about why students are kicked out of the dorms. The difference may be life and death - the so-called privacy aspect pales in comparison.

Father calls for change after son's death

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that greek life drinking is probably not exactly the same as normal people drinking. I only know a few frat boys, but it doesn't sound like the behavior in the house lends itself to one or two drinks in the evening to unwind and discuss philosophy. In fact, I seem to remember a story about someone throwing a brick or a cinder block or something through a housemate's door before passing out. That is aberrant behavior no matter how you slice it. But they won't change, Mr. Dead Kid's Dad. All you can do is take their money. I recommend you do that.

Father calls for change after son's death

Talking about a fraternity's national problems has nothing to do with the situation. Each chapter at each campus is composed of different guys who select different pledges from a different incoming freshman class. Every fraternity on every campus in the country is different. Just look at the Sigma Phi Epsilons here and at Washburn: they don't even look like they'd speak to each other. So any other case is irrelevant.

I will agree that this was a tragic tragic accident. But it was just that: an accident. It is no one's fault. Jason was a freshman who probably didn't know how to judge his own alcohol level. His new (he had just pledged a few days before) brothers didn't know that he was prone to drinking too much. And who can honestly say that every time a friend has had too much to drink, they've taken them to the hospital? It's just not practical. You give them some water, some crackers, and a trash can. Maybe they should have checked on him more, but it's too late for that now. This could happen anywhere, and it's not fair to blame it on a great group of guys who are already heart broken.

I do hope that everyone, greeks and non-greeks, can look at this as a learning experience: look out for yourself, look out for your friends, and be responsible with your drinking. But I don't think imposing stricter drinking rules on fraternities is going to help, because then they're just going to go elsewhere, where they may not have as many friends to depend on.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Wren family and to the men of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Father calls for change after son's death

Many years have passed since my college days and now, having had time to reflect on them and knowing people my age who have college age kids, I want to comment on the tragedy at Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

First of all, social Fraternities and Sororities have no place in an academic environment! Regardless of what they might tell you, THEY DO support underage drinking (Hear that, mom's and dad's?)!

I have a co-worker who told his college-age daughter that if she joined a Greek organization, he would cut off his financial support for her education. Then she would be on her own! I have another friend who teaches at Ole Miss. He told me of a student who came to class rarely and, when he was about to receive a failing grade, sent a pleading email to my friend, asking not to be failed. If he failed, he said, he would be "kicked out of his fraternity."

Most of that student's problem, however, was the fraternity system and its immature attitude that college was meant to be a four-year party (by the way, the student failed the course).

In retrospect, it saddens me to know that so many promising future leaders are suckered into the greek lifestyle, thinking that their college days will be a bust without it.

How much longer are colleges going to allow themselves to be bribed by their wealthy greek alumni? College has become too expensive to waste it away, passed out on the floor of a Frat house!

Damn, most of you will only be in college for four years! Then, you will have the rest of your lives to hang out with your friends and drink--LEGALLY!

The end of my college days did not stop me from having good times!

Hey guys, you are the leadership of tomorrow! It's time for some of you to grow up and make something out of your education!

Father calls for change after son's death

lifelessmelancholy,

By your name alone I can tell you must have had a blast in college, but did anyone at the SAE house force that alcohol down you that "overwhelmed" you, or did you make that decision? Don't blame someone else because of your problems. I'm sorry you got too drunk and made some bad decisions, but you made them not SAE.

Father calls for change after son's death

I would laugh at everyone who is rushing to defend Greek life and blame the victim if this weren't so tragic.

Let's get real: Fraternities are anachronistic and meretricious institutions that serve no real purpose except as a social outlet for a bunch of petulant and spoiled ne'er-do-wells. Brotherhood, lifelong connections, philanthropy, blah, blah, blah... It's all window dressing. These groups may have served those purposes in the past, but the couple of dollars they raise are totally offset by the damage they do.

And spare me the "You're just jealous" crap. I have no reason to be jealous of anyone. You can also spare me the "No frat would take you" line that all of you recur to to deflect legitimate criticism.

Boys join fraternities for a handful of reasons: being able to drink and do grugs with impunity is one of them. Why wouldn't a hormonal teenager with an underdeveloped frontal lobe and over-active id want to join a group that glorifies unruly and self-indulgent behavior? Why wouldn't boys who want license to ignore societal norms and break laws seek out groups that are so well-funded and well-connected that they can run interference for people who have no regard for law, order or the safety of others?

The SAE's have a long history of killing its members and pledges and getting away with it: SMU, University of Texas, KU, among others. But they are not the only ones. They're just the worst. They participate in, encourage and condone behavior that leads to the death of their "brothers" and then they paint those that are unfortunate enough to die as weak, irresponsible, somehow deserving of their tragic fate. They hide behind a wall of silence, demand total allegiance, exact revenge on anyone who dares speak up, and they cry foul anytime anyone questions their culpability.

Jason Wren died because his fraternity enables and glorifies reckless and irresponsible behavior. They preach individual responsibility but none of them have the courage to accept their own responsibility. This is a tragic pattern being repeated across the country and tolerated and validated by the national headquarters.

Now, if you want to disprove me, tell me something I haven't heard. I'm tired of the platitudes and cliches.

Father calls for change after son's death

"Jason Wren died because his fraternity enables and glorifies reckless and irresponsible behavior," Wrong. Jason Wren died because the culture and society called 21st century America enables and glorifies reckless and irresponsible behavior. I really feel that this needs no quantification. Furthermore, bluntly said, you reap what you sow. Jason Wren died because he willingly and under no duress put two marguerites and ten beers to his lips and proceded to drink them. No one forced the drinks down his throat. To blame his fraternity or Greek life or even the campus at large is to modify Jason's drinking problem into a Greek problem and thus create some kind of glorified martyr. Also, for the father to call out the fraternity members for not staying with Jason is naive. The truth is we all stopped being babysat a couple of years ago. Guess who's responsible for Jason, yep that's right, Jason. Finally, to suggest that the members of SAE, the entire Greek community or even all the students at KU should take some sort of memorial vow of prohibition for Jason Wren is so vainglorious as to be laughable. Do I stop driving a car because thousands die on the roads every day? No, because I am a responsible driver just like I am a responsible drinker. As saddening as the untimely death of Jason Wren is, it by NO means indicts SAE, Greek Life or KU and to suggest in any way shpe or form that it does is to childishly point fingers in an event that was only preventable by Jason himself.

Father calls for change after son's death

First-This was a terrible tragedy and my heart goes out to everyone involved. Second- I think the rules must change on what information parents are allowed from the Universities. Why must we pay for our childrens college and help them financially but not get to help them with known academic or social issues. Much can be accomplished when loving, caring parents know about problems. Small problems can be fixed before they become big ones. If the Wrens want to take on a cause I think this is where they should start...and I think they would have a whole nation of parents behind them. Let's fix more than just the alchohol problems. Our children still need guidence at this age and it is our rights as parents to be allowed to do this. Different problems and scenarios come up for children as they leave home and they try to be grown-ups and handle things themselves without the tools, knowledge or experience. Look what may have been prevented with a little common sense and the Wrens having pertinent knowledge from the University. This whole tragedy may have been averted. Knowledge is the key to everything and as parents you can warn them about alchohol...but maybe forget to warn them that a beer is different than bourbon. Do you talk about alcohol content??? There is just so much you try to cover but until a situation arises you don't realize more information is needed. I would really like the Universities to consider this and open up the lines of communication, especially when our children are having problems. This is when many children are the least likely to go to their parents for help.

Father calls for change after son's death

For the parents who have commented about not knowing about academic or social issues:

This is a Federal Law that every public university and college must abide by. If schools could tell parents and guardians everything that an 18-22 y/o student is doing they would probably do so out of the interest of the student and the parents but they simply cannot. The law I am referring to is FERPA or the Family Education Rights to Privacy Act. In regards to this, no school can reveal any academic or judicial issue to an outside party whether there is a relation or not. Unfortunately for many schools this puts them in a difficult situation - some information would be helpful for parents to understand and know but they simply cannot reveal this.

One way around FERPA is to get written permission from your student to inquire about their academic or social records (i.e. the housing issue mentioned above). With this written permission the school can then provide you with this information. Unfortunately, without it you'll often get nothing.

This law may seem ridiculous during certain matters, but it's a means of privacy. Just like health records are private, so are academic records. When your child is an adult, even though you still may be giving them money, you no longer have the right to look at any of their files - health or academic. That's the hand you're dealt when your children grow up.

Father calls for change after son's death

"KU condones underage binge drinking by providing a "party bus" with a route from the most popular bars passing by the dorms. This is acting as an enabler in my eyes."

Are you referring to SafeBus? SafeBus is NOT a party bus and does NOT condone underage binge drinking. It promotes not drinking and driving. People will drink. At least SafeBus/SafeRide makes sure they're not driving.

Secondly, Greek houses DO promote drinking. What happens when you join a sorority? Your sorority "mother" gives you a fake as a welcoming present. [I'm not sure what happens in fraternities and it probably also depends on which you join].

Abuse of alcohol it's a Greek issue, a KU issue, or just a college issue. It happens all over; it's an issue of our society as a whole. However, that doesn't mean a part of the whole shouldn't stand up against the irresponsible drinking. With the death of one of their members, SAE should take on this responsibility.

Father calls for change after son's death

I bet the folks at at the Mass Street resturant wish that underage minors had not been drinking that night! It's well known where the drinking began on Saturday evening.

Father calls for change after son's death

lifelessmelancholy --- Relax... you are out of control. Bring it back down to a normal level. You are asking for a dry campus. Are you crazy? What about your post on Dec. 7th. "Common Sense". Sounds like you need to take a break from this discussion and go find some "Common Sense". You are embarrassing yourself and sound uneducated.

Father calls for change after son's death

jbr00ks9, you wrote:

"Secondly, Greek houses DO promote drinking. What happens when you join a sorority? Your sorority "mother" gives you a fake as a welcoming present. [I'm not sure what happens in fraternities and it probably also depends on which you join]."

I don't know which sorority you're referring to, but I am in one, and this is no ritual. At our parties, we have people checking IDs and are very strict about it. The executive board actually stands at the door making sure no one under 21 is given a wristband. I know for a fact that at least four other sororities do not let underage girls drink at parties no matter what, and probably many more have similar rules.

Additionally, all sorority houses are dry. Strictly dry. If something were to happen and authorities were to find alcohol or drugs in the house, that chapter would lose its charter. So sororirities take alcohol possession seriously. If people researched a little more, they would see the major differences between fraternities and sororities instead of lumping them together in the same alcoholic boat. That being said, half of my male friends are not in fraternities, and they drink the same amount as my friends in frats. There seems to be little difference between men in and out of the greek system.

Father calls for change after son's death

phaeton: I understand somewhat where you're coming from as a parent. My mother and I have had many a talk about alcohol consumption in college. It might be surprising to you that her belief is that the drinking age should be lowered, at least for beer.

Consider her argument: if bars are stricter on fake IDs, students will just turn to house parties and fraternity parties. I know this to be true, because I didn't get a fake ID (NOT from my pledge mother) until the beginning of my sophomore year, so my freshman year was spent walking the student ghetto in search of parties and trying to make acquaintances in frats host me and my friends. Believe it or not, public consumption is much safer than private consumption of the likes at house parties. First of all, it costs money, so many people are limited by how much they have to spend. At a house or fraternity party, limitless cups are usually $5 and that's it. Secondly, when you get too drunk at a bar, you're refused service. It may cause fights, but I've seen many an intoxicated student get turned away by bartenders or door guys. Lastly, and most importantly in my mom's mind, house parties and fraternity parties are dangerous for women. I don't know if you have a daughter, phaeton, but when students go drinking at private residences, females can easily be taken to a back room or basement and raped or worse. In a bar, it's possible that date-rape can happen, but it is much less likely in the public eye. A woman's friends can help her blow off a creepy guy and get home safely. My mother knows I had a fake ID (I'm now 21), and felt comfortable with the risk of legal trouble because she would rather me be at bars than at private parties.

Alternatively, you can choose to avoid drinking altogether. You can either go to parties and bars and not drink, or just stay home and find groups of people who don't drink. Although these are few and far between in college, there are some people who abstain from drinking. Unfortunately, the majority of the undergraduate weekend social scene IS at parties and bars, so if you sit at home all the time, you're never going to be left out of a lot.

My mother and I agree that underage drinking is not the problem so much as students (actually, people of all ages) not knowing their limits. I never drank in high school, but when my parents come to visit KU, I take them out to bars and show them that I know how to handle myself.

Anyone who wants to look further into the drinking age debate can go to the website of Choose Responsibility, a great organization promoting lowering the drinking age legislatively. They have an interesting and well-supported argument about the links between Prohibition in the 1920s and the 21 drinking age. http://www.chooseresponsibility.org/

Father calls for change after son's death

This is the most tragic thing a parent can possibly go through and my heart goes out to the entire Wren family, Men of SAE, the friends of Jason, and to the whole of the KU community.

I think there are many questions left to be answered. Why when Jason was asked by his dad the reasons for his removal from Oliver did Jason not tell the truth? Was he trying to hide something?... Why upon hearing Jason’s reasons did dad contact the University to inquire as to the real truth? Did dad not believe him? Why not? Was it Jason’s history of alcohol use/abuse?... Why when the University told dad that only through the authorization of Jason could he have access to the information didn't he ask Jason to release it? Did he really not want to face the truth that the records would unfold?... Why did Jason not have a roommate in Oliver? Did the roommate move out? Why would he do that? Could it have been that the disruptive nature of Jason’s behavior made living with him unbearable?... Part of the story that has not been discussed is that as a member of the KU Lacrosse Team, Jason was scheduled to be in Iowa for a game with Iowa State on Saturday. Why wasn't he there? It is because he missed the bus Saturday morning?(Answer: Yes) Why did he miss the bus? Could Jason have been so upset with missing the bus that he felt that he had let his team/coach/dad down? Upon the realization of this event did Jason 'look in the mirror and think less of himself?' so much so that he became depressed? Or was he depressed and became more so? Did Jason then plan or commence a plan of self-medication through alcohol?.. If he was suffering from depression was it severe enough that he contemplated suicide? If so was this suicide through alcohol? These things are known regarding Alcohol dependence: It often leads to social decline and the resulting social isolation is a potent cause of loss of self esteem and hence to depression. Intoxication produces increased impulsiveness and a weakening of normal restraints against dangerous behavior. i.e. drinking more & more & more. This whole story screams of mental illness left unrecognized and being treated through self-medication with alcohol.

This is not an issue of parenting, fraternities, dorms, records from the university, putting someone to bed, or even fake ID's. This is a mental health issue, plain and simple. I think that I can say without a doubt the young man had issues, many of us do. I think Jason knew he had issues based upon his behavior of hiding it, by diminishing the extent of his activity, when asked about it by dad and others.

I do not have the answers to all of the questions I have posed but feel they need to be asked.

Jason, You were loved by many no doubt.

Advertisement