Responsibility lies with you

The memories and names of Joseph Bisanz and Seth Korona will remain in many IU students' and administrators' minds for a long time to come, and for good reason. Bisanz passed away in 1998 and Korona in February, each of alcohol-related deaths, each death resulting from drinking at a fraternity function. \nThe untimely deaths of these two young men served as a reminder to the student body of how precious and fragile life is, and how dangerous and deadly alcohol can be. Unfortunately, some of us have too quickly forgotten the lessons we learned from these two lives cut too short.\nIn the early hours of September 17, a Pi Kappa Alpha pledge was hospitalized after he drank with his house "father" at a fraternity function. Dean of Students Richard McKaig said the student was hospitalized with a blood alcohol level of about .375, more than four times the legal limit. \nThe pledge has been released from the hospital, but the incident has left many students, administrators and community members, including Bisanz's father, Gary, asking questions.\nWho is to blame for this? How can we stop this from happening again?\nHopefully, this incident will serve as yet another wake-up call to greek houses, which have continued to violate the University's alcohol-free policy despite deaths, and the administration, who has failed to fully enforce the policy.\nBut ultimately, one person is responsible for how much you drink: you.\nNo matter how many safety precautions fraternities and the University do or do not create, abide by or enforce, some students and groups will violate the policy. And when they do, the responsibility falls on their shoulders.\nMaybe some fraternity functions create an atmosphere of excess where it's easy to get out of control. Maybe the University has been looking the other way for too long. But no one forced this student to drink too much. Yes, he was underage. But if he is mature and old enough to study and socialize at this University, he is old enough to determine when he's had enough. \nWe're all old enough and mature enough to know our own limits. And when we go over the edge, we are responsible for our own actions.\n