University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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alcohol away from him because they found him in a room drinking, just chugging by himself, and they were like, 'What are you doinl? We just put you to bed. Go to bedfi' Both the junior and the SAE freshman said no one called for help that night because no one thoughtjason showed any signs of alcohol poisoning. ASPASSIONATE, MAN jason Christopher Wren was born May 1, 1 990, and grew up in Littleton, Colo., with his father, his mother, Mary, and sisters Katie, 22, and Vicky, 15. jason was a kid who loved sports and socializing with his friends. He started drinking in high school, something jay Wren says he now painfully regrets turning a blind eye to. Many ofthe 12 people who spoke atjasonls funeral conveyed the weight of a death that could have been avoided. The reality of this moment- the 'couldas,' 'shouldasf 'wouldas' -in light of the hopes and dreams of a young son, brother, teammate, friend and boyfriend, are crushing, said Brett Garretson, the service's religious leader. Nick Parker, jason's childhood friend and one of the pallbearers, spoke ofjason's passion for life, his big heart and his natural magnetism. 'LHe was like an earthbound sun, Parker said. Whenever someone was in jasonls gravitational pull, he always warmed themf' jay Wren's voice was strong and proud as he spoke of his son, who showed all the qualities he had hoped for - compassion, athleticism, leadership. jason got the nickname fthe mayor, in Little Leaguej' he told the crowd of mourners. He was always the leader - of everything. jason's lacrosse teammates commended him as a leader among the freshmen on the team. Mark Barrath, St. Louis graduate student and Jasonls coach, saidjason was in the running for a starting spot because of his skill and his commitment. He was a talented player, but it really was his work ethic and his constant dedication that set him apart,,' Barrath said. Members of the team made the eight-hour drive to Littleton for jason's funeral, as did several friends from the University. The University of Kansas lost a great person, said Ben Pohrman, St. Paul, Minn., freshman, after the service. An SAE member describedjason as good-looking, outgoing and magnetically charming at their memorial service on the SAE lawn on March 12. They said he was a huge hit with the ladies everywhere he went. Still, he did not have a girlfriend at the University. Instead, as his family and his close network ofhigh school friends from Colorado all enthusiastically said, his heart was reserved for his high-school sweetheart. Channing Ahbe, a freshman at the University ofVer- mont, described jason - her boyfriend since the seventh grade -in a single word: Passionate He was passionate about everything he did. It got him in trouble sometimes, but thatls what he was - passionate. JASON THE JAYHAWK jason Wren was thrilled at the opportunity to come to the University last fall. His childhood friends said he chose the school because he wanted to branch out and make new friends. It was a great place for two ofjasonis favorite things, they said: sports and parties. ujason was so excited about KU. He always talked about it- 'Pm gonna go to Lawrence, it's gonna be great, itls gonna be greatf, Ahbe said, mimickingjasonls low voice and terse, short sentences. jason never declared a major, but he had become in- terested in aerospace engineering shortly before his death, his father said. He moved onto the hrst floor of Oliver Hall in August 2008. As he was just about anywhere he went, jason was outgoing and popular on his floor and throughout the hall. 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. FAMILY Meivnseas seek CHANGE Since his sonis death, jay Wren has been outspoken in calling for college students to change their drinking habits. He would also like to see alcohol possession rules at fraternities change, saying the current practices contributed to jasonas death. L'He was a good kid. He was loved by many, and his life got cut shortf' 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? Wren has criticized what he says are loaded gunl' policies of housing drinking-age and underage residents in the same residence halls and greek houses. He has also accused the University and SAE of failing to provide students with educational programs that include the signs of alcohol poisoning. Uninformed students who didnlt know the dangers ended up puttingjasonas life in a terrible circumstance, and I know that theyill live with that guilt forever, Wren said. Brandon Wegliorst, the national spokesman for SAE, said the fraternity invested time and money into continuous training about the dangers of alcohol for each of its members. Weghorst said in a statement that SAE had closed an internal investigation of the chapter after finding no criminal actions or negligence by the organization, the chapter or its respective members that led to the death 'N and that we believe this is a very unfortunate, isolated incidentf, THESPROBLEM' jason's tragic death has left a painful void in the lives of his mother and father, his sisters and his countless friends. Those close to jason say they want his life to be remembered, not his death. uWe want people to knowjasonls life wasnlt drink- ingf' Vicky Wren, jasonls sister, said. An SAE freshman said he felt people looked for a simple answer to jasonis death, but that it was an uunfor- tunate accidentw - the result ofthe kind of drinking that was common at the University. People want to blame the fraternity, people want to blame him, but it's not that at all - itls just college, the freshman said. 4'We drink. You binge drink, you drink to get drunk. It's what I do, that's what everybody does, that's what jason didf, A SHOT or REALITY fPART ij l 94

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relating to excessive drinking ingrained the so- University - and why. College Health As- representative sample of than 1 ,500 whether they had in a single setting weeks. KU students average, 21 percent percent of KU students admitted days, doubling of 23 percent. re or said they had, help create a culture in than people Fdesearchers say these its such o mingling amounts of of alcohol ads thec what and how be overwhelming. As in sometimes lead to I-Iospital's emergency for alcohol-related issues, 365 were treated for residents and students play a round of beer drinking game, outside a house on April 5 IA SHOT or REALITY IPART nj ESSIVE 6. ACCEPTED 25. House parties are an alternative to the bar scene and another way to enjoy Lawrence nightlife, especially for individuals not of legal drinking age. ' Drinking in Lawrence is an epidemic, said john ff Drees, the hospital's community education specialist. After working the overnight weekend shift as an ER nurse at the hospital, Drees said, he and other hospital staffers had adopted a dark sense of humor. He recalled a night when a fellow nurse started danc- ing a jig in the nurses' station while she exclaimed, I have a sober patient! I have a sober patient! He said the joking helped him deal with the situation. It's very human, you know, and it actually gets you kind of depressed because you're going, 'How much can this happen? ' Drees said. U McKee said most students don't understand the dangers of binge drinking. She said the standard definition of binge drinking is consecutive consumption of five drinks for men and four drinks for women. One drink is measured as a one-ounce shot, 12-ounce beer, or a 4.5-ounce glass of wine. McKee said one drink could raise the typical person's blood alcohol concentration by .02 percent. The legal limit is .08 percent. She said many students she counseled have easily exceeded that amount on a regular basis. That seems like pre-gaming to them, McKee said. That,s not what they think binge drinking is. A popular excuse for binge drinking is tailgating at home football games. The time-honored tradition attracts thousands of fans who barbecue and drink hours before kickoff. joseph Weeks, St. Paul, Minn., junior, said he often woke up with hangovers on game days. But he said he would force himselfto drink with his friends, even if he ABOUT S73 MILLION EACH YEAR, OR S200,000 EACH DAY, is SPENT ON ALCOHOL AT BARS, RESTAURANTS, GROCERY STORES AND LIQUOR STORES. Ai.coi-iouc BEVERAGE CONTROL wasn't in the mood. If it's a big game, l'll probably drink through the day and night, Weeks said. A 2007 University of Texas study showed that students consumed more alcohol during college sporting events than they did on Halloween and New Year's Eve, which are typi- cally heavy drinking days for college students. Capt. Schuyler Bailey, of the KU Public Safety Ofhce, said law enforcement regulated drinking on game days. On an otherwise dry campus, drinking is allowed in the areas surrounding Memorial Stadium from three hours before kickoff until the end of halftime. Tailgating is not synonymous with drinking, Bai- ley said. There is nothing that says that you have to have alcohol in order to tailgate. Drees, of Lawrence Memorial Hospital, pointed to drinking games - beer pong, card games, and power hours - as dangerous contributors to binge drinking at the University. The real question is: Why aren't we having more deaths? Drees said. Bailey said he had witnessed a shift in recent years of students drinking more heavily and going out with the sole intention of passing out. The Alcoholic Beverage Control estimates that in Douglas County, about S73 million each year, or S200,000 each day, is spent on alcohol at bars, restau- rants, grocery stores and liquor stores. That's enough to buy about 1,000 8-gigabyte iPhones, 33,000 jimmy jobn's sandwiches or 80,000 loads of laundry each day.