The lessons learned in 2004 from the alcohol-related death of Colorado State University student Samantha Spady probably saved the life of a CSU freshman two weeks ago, a school official said Wednesday.
The girl is believed to have drunk too much at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity between the evening of Sept. 15 and the early morning of Sept. 16.
When she returned to her dorm room, she exhibited signs of dangerous overdrinking, said Anne Hudgens, CSU’s executive director of campus life.
The girl’s friends called an ambulance, and she was transported to an emergency room for treatment. She has since returned to classes, but if her friends had chosen to ignore her symptoms, the results may have been tragic, Hudgens said.
“Her friends made a very important decision,” she said.
Since Spady’s death two years ago, CSU has expanded and re-emphasized its alcohol programs, including how to recognize alcohol poisoning.
That probably played a role in the girl’s friends’ reacting as well as they did, Hudgens said.
“Her friends knew what to do and did the right thing,” Hudgens said. “That’s the good news part of this situation.”
Sigma Alpha Epsilon, meanwhile, has been suspended by both CSU and the national SAE organization pending the results of an investigation. The Greek Standards and Values Alignment Board, which is composed of university Greek members, is reviewing possible code violations at the house.
CSU’s fraternities and sororities are not allowed to serve alcohol during recruitment week, which is when the girl was visiting SAE. The girl apparently did not drink alcohol before visiting the SAE house.
Fraternities also banned all alcohol in their 17 houses following Spady’s death.
“We are offering our full cooperation during this investigation,” said SAE chapter president Chris Smith. “The brothers of SAE sincerely regret the events in question, and the fraternity does not condone underage drinking.”
Spady died Sept. 5, 2004, after a night of binging on beer, shots of tequila and vanilla vodka. Her body was found in an unused room at the Sigma Pi fraternity house.
Fraternity members said they left Spady in the room to sleep off the effects of the alcohol.
The Sigma Pi house was disbanded, and former members campaigned against binge drinking, including distributing “Ace of Spades” cards on campus. The cards describe the symptoms of alcohol poisoning.
If individual SAE students appeared primarily responsible for giving the girl liquor, they could be disciplined by the university and become the target of a police investigation, Hudgens said.
Overall, she said, the campus has been quiet this fall and relatively free of drinking-related incidents.
“We’ve had a very quiet fall,” she said. “This has been one of our best starts ever.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
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