When nine University of Colorado sorority girls came home last weekend so drunk that many were described as incoherent and unresponsive, their friends might have been tempted to let them sleep it off, but they did the right thing by calling 911 or driving them to the hospital.
Lives were saved. For now, that is the most important part of this story.
The people who made those calls need to be applauded for their quick thinking, which may have averted another senseless tragedy. They did exactly what the University of Colorado, and the parents of Lynn “Gordie” Bailey, a CU student who died last year after a night of excessive drinking, have asked them to do.
“If I didn’t go to that leadership forum,” said Delta Gamma president Erin Butner, “if I hadn’t been reminded of Gordie’s death and the way it happened, I probably would have looked at the girl and said, ‘Maybe she just needs to lie down.’ ”
She believes the spike in hospitalizations is directly related to the training one week before. If so, then the training works and needs to be continued.
Officials, however, now worry that Greek students may not be so quick to dial 911 next time because of the intense media spotlight they’re now under, and the fact some of the students and the two fraternities involved in last weekend’s parties now face school disciplinary actions and police citations.
But after Bailey, and the death of Samantha Spady at Colorado State University, staying quiet, or letting your friends sleep it off, are no longer options – regardless of who may get in trouble. As one parent put it this week, who cares if ambulances showed up at the Delta Gamma house this week? It sure beats the coroner.
Greek leaders voted this week to prohibit parties in fraternity houses for the near future. It’s a smart public relations move, but everyone knows it won’t stop students who want to drink. With nine sorority members hospitalized, Greeks need to know they’re skating on thin ice at CU, and elsewhere for that matter. Their every move is being scrutinized as universities weigh whether the benefits of a Greek system are greater than the possible liabilities.
If CU’s fraternities and sororities are serious about keeping their charters and their place on campus, they need to act responsibly. The fraternity parties last weekend were a step backward for CU’s efforts to thwart binge drinking. But at least some of the training has begun to sink in, as potentially life-saving actions were taken by young people.
