http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-am-frat-member-dies-of-likely-overdose-four-arrested/
“Fraternities can have a positive influence. Some of my brothers became friends for life.”
I thought fraternities in general changed their culture a few years ago due to bad publicity…
So sad, so stupid, such a useless waste.
Seldom do you hear about drug overdoses in frat houses. Typically it’s alcohol poisoning that takes a young life. Lose of a young life is always tragic. Prayers out to the young mans family.
A potential result of this story that A&M students are discussing is whether calling the authorities for a friend in distress is worth putting your own future at risk. They believe the 4 students should not have been arrested for trying to do the right thing. I know many universities have that policy for alcohol but I don’t know if it is applied to drugs and the fact that this happened off campus (I believe) changes the outcome.
That shouldn’t even be a question. It’s about doing the right thing. What if they were the one in distress? Don’t want to risk your future, don’t put yourself in those situations. Sad that doing the right thing is even up for debate.
You are right but there is a reason that universities have that policy for alcohol. Students weren’t calling for help because of a fear of getting into trouble so they created good Samaritan policies to encourage the kids to do the right thing. Many people panic, both students and adults, when placed in this position.
Sometimes students fear getting the person in distress in trouble. I recall an incident years ago at another school where the intoxicated student had an alcohol violation on her record and her friends debated whether to call for help. Luckily, they did the right thing. IMO, all schools should have an amnesty/Good Samaritan policy in place.
If I read this correctly the students were not disciplined by the university they were arrested by the police.
@Proudpatriot, you are right. I hope both the police and the school take into account that the students were trying to do the right thing when considering punishment. From what I understand, the amount of drugs were minimal and definitely for personal consumption.
Amnesty policies save lives whether on or off campus. The brothers should not have gotten arrested.
On an unrelated note, if they only had marijuana and LSD on them, the arrested Sigma Nus probably didn’t contribute to the death of the brother.
I agree about amnesty policies saving lives. However, the thread seems to be focusing on the university and whether students were in trouble with the university. I think it is important to differentiate between the entities. While the university can choose its own course of action with respect to the students drug possession, it cannot dictate what the police do. This is an important legal issue.
I would like to see policies by law enforcement that focuses on the well being of the general public. In cases of calling for assistance for people who took drugs I think the general public benefits from the type of amnesty often applied by universities.
I think this is a key point. I’ll bet there are hundreds–make that thousands–of students at A&M who possess marijuana. Do we want all those kids to take the time to flush their drugs before calling 911?
The student is unlikely in the extreme to have overdosed on pot or lsd. Wonder what it was.
Sorry but drugs are illegal be it in public or on a college campus. The university can do what the like but law enforcement is going to make arrest if illegal drugs are found. Being a college student does not give you free reign to do drugs.
How many marijuana arrests are worth an overdose death that could have been prevented if EMS had been called in time?
@Grainraiser
No one said that college students should be free to do illegal drugs. The problem is that, like it or not, people are less likely to call for help if they may be arrested as a result.
The police may have responded differently if they just had pot sitting around, but they had Ecstasy and LSD. That certainly prompts a different reaction and likely the cause of this tragedy. So sad.
But I agree there should be a Good Samaritan policy in place.
A life would not have been lost if they were content with pot.