Here We Go Again: A New College Freshmen Year, Another Student Found Dead After Partying

Indystar.com

IU freshman found dead in dorm room at Ball State

Center Grove grad visiting friends had consumed alcohol and drugs, officials say

By Melanie D. Hayes

Posted: September 13, 2010

"MUNCIE, Ind. -- A 2010 Center Grove High School graduate, described as a dedicated athlete and loyal friend, died in a dorm room this weekend, apparently after partying late into the night while visiting Ball State University."

"Jarrod Polston, 18, an Indiana University freshman from Greenwood, was visiting Ball State with friends who also graduated from Center Grove. Investigators think Polston passed out about 3 a.m. Saturday inside a room in Studebaker West after consuming alcohol and drugs. . .  Delaware County Coroner Jim Clevenger said Polston vomited while unconscious, which blocked his airway, and said others in the room with Polston were unaware anything was wrong with him until they woke up later that morning. . .  An autopsy Sunday revealed alcohol and methadone in Polston's system, officials said at a news conference." Read More

 

Point of View                                                                

   Well, it's that time of year again, Folks. The start of a new freshman year at college, along with the usual partying, heavy drinking, and drugs is upon us. And now another young freshman student is dead from alcohol and drugs. According to an article on about.com, "73% of college students drink on campus ... some 159,000 of the nation’s current freshmen will drop out of school because of alcohol or drug use .." 

  In fact, according to a survey by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, only 56 percent of full-time first year students graduate within 6 years. The National Center for Education Statistics (1998), state that nearly one-third of all undergraduates will leave college within the first year.

   Studies have shown that many will have developed alcohol or drug related problems before the first year is out. Studies also show that about 43% of all students report drinking in a high-risk manner at some point in the college career. Twenty percent of students report drinking in a high-risk manner often.

  Here is an excellent article, entitled, Today's First-Year Students and Alcohol, by M. Lee Upcraft, PhD, comparing our college students of today with those from the 1960's and 1970's. As the article states, " Joe College doesn't live here any more." College Drinking - Changing the Culture 

   Unless I miss my guess, there's an increase in sexual assault complaints on campus as well. They tend to go hand in hand. I know that's not what victim's advocates want the public to hear but it's the truth. I have seen it too many times, over the years, in my own work. According to statistics, women at college are more than four times more likely to file a complaint of sexual assault than women who are not attending college. According to reports, 90% of those complaints involve alcohol and/or drugs. Those statistics correspond to the type of patients seen in our unit as well.

   The number of sexual assault complaints, coming from college students, tend to increase during September and October. And as many warnings as there are about GHB date rape drugs, the truth is, I've rarely ever had to send a specimen out for testing. That's because it's mostly voluntary excessive drinking on the part of both male and female students. 

     As a nurse, with 35 years of diverse experience in the health care field, I've always been a big believer in being proactive. I've seen the difference it made in my patients' health and their enjoyment of life.

  As a forensics nurse, I'm an even bigger believer. The old saying, Prevention is worth a pound of cure, is as true when dealing with most sexual assaults, as it is when dealing with generalized health issues.

   As I've told others many times, While I certainly have the right to go walking alone down a dark city street at 3 am, I'm also not about to do it either. To me, that's being proactive. I'm preventing myself from being placed in harm's way from the start. I view excessive college drinking the same way. Be proactive, protect yourself, and substantially decrease your chances of being harmed, or of harming someone else.

   To say that sexual assault is a horrible experience to go through would be the understatement of the year. Why then would we not take steps to try to prevent it ? Stranger rape is actually very rare. Most sexual assaults are aquaintance type assaults. And often the females don't remember or aren't sure.

   It seems our American culture lately stresses the importance of being proactive in just about everything we do. Everything except possibly preventing ourselves from either being victimized, victimizing someone else, while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or being falsley accused.

  Or, as in the case above, from being found dead from alcohol poisoning or a drug overdose in a college dorm.

  That's why Harford Medlegal Consulting, provides free presentations to our local high schools, churches, community centers, and colleges. It's our way of helping our community and its students to be proactive and protect themselves.

   My husband and I are parents of a college freshman too. Prior to sending our youngest off to college this semester, my husband and I discussed both the fun and the danger he's likely to encounter his first year away from home. And we didn't shy away from any potential sexual assault issues either. Not only was he warned about excessive drinking but about the consequences as well. 

   We instructed: 

• Always behave as a gentleman
• Always treat a woman as a lady, even if she behaves otherwise
• Avoid dangerous, questionable, or compromising situations
• No means No, no matter what.

   Will he listen to us ? At this point, having led by example, we can only hope the good sense we taught him sticks.

     USA Today newspaper conducted an analysis of college student deaths in the United States over a five year period beginning January 1, 2000. The analysis found that the number of deaths among freshmen was disproportionately high. Therefore, more colleges are becoming proactive towards trying to decrease student drinking on and around campus.

   Programs and Policies That Make a Difference

"The following are examples of the strategies many colleges and universities are implementing that can have a positive influence on the campus culture regarding alcohol and other drug use:

• Working with local communities to ensure that alcohol is not served to minors or to intoxicated students;
• Strengthening academic requirements;
• Scheduling classes on Fridays (This strategy emphasizes the importance of academics and discourages the alcohol-fueled partying that may occur on Thursday nights if students do not need to attend classes on Fridays);
• Keeping the library and recreational facilities open longer hours;
• Eliminating alcohol-industry support for athletic programs (Accepting such funding can be seen as sending a mixed message to students);
• Restricting alcohol promotions and advertising on campus and in campus publications, especially promotions or ads that feature low-cost drinks;
• Monitoring fraternities to ensure compliance with alcohol policies and laws;
• Providing a wide range of alcohol-free social and recreational activities;
• Disciplining repeat offenders and those who engage in unacceptable behavior associated with substance use;
• Notifying parents when students engage in serious or repeated violations of alcohol or other drug policies or laws; and
• Launching a media campaign to inform students about the actual amount of drinking that occurs on campus, since most students overestimate the number of their classmates who drink and the amount that they drink"

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   " Daniel Reardon's nightmare began at 5:30 a.m. with a call from the University of Maryland police. His 19-year-old son, Danny, had taken part in a fraternity drinking ritual and was unconscious . . .

 

Posted 1/25/2006 1:05 AM     Updated 1/25/2006 1:06 AM In college, first year is by far the riskiest By Robert Davis and Anthony DeBarros, USA TODAY Daniel Reardon's nightmare began at 5:30 a.m. with a call from the University of Maryland police. His 19-year-old son, Danny, had taken part in a fraternity drinking ritual and was unconscious. Daniel Reardon places flowers on his son's grave in Washington, D.C. H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY When Danny began college in fall 2001, his father, a dentist in Washington, D.C., had been confident that the teenager could take care of himself. After all, Danny had spent nine months after his high school graduation traveling across Europe. But Reardon hadn't counted on anything like this. When Danny passed out at about 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2002, fraternity members put him on a sofa, took his pulse and according to court records and police reports, took turns watching him. Early the next morning, Danny stopped breathing. Students at the fraternity house called for an ambulance about 3:30 a.m., but Danny's brain had ceased functioning when he reached the hospital. He died six days later. In one major respect, Danny was typical of many college undergraduates who die on or near campuses every year: He was a freshman who had been on campus only a few months. A USA TODAY analysis of 620 deaths of four-year college and university students since Jan. 1, 2000, finds that freshmen are uniquely vulnerable. They account for more than one-third of undergraduate deaths in the study, although they are only 24% of the undergraduates at those institutions, according to National Center for Education Statistics data analyzed by the American Council on Education for USA TODAY...