Tragic death shapes policy

Dee Owens, the director of IU's Alcohol and Drug Information Center, hadn't been in her position long when freshman Seth Korona died in an alcohol-related accident.\nSomeone had died on Owens' watch, and it made her angry. And she wasn't the only IU official feeling that way.\nOwens, along with several top administrators and deans, met to discuss the incident soon after Korona died Feb. 4, 2001.\nShe remembers, in particular, how Dean of Students Richard McKaig shared her anger.\nHe said he didn't want to make that phone call ever again.\nSo IU officials took a long look at the campus' alcohol policies and asked some tough questions.\nWas IU doing enough to prevent such tragic accidents, considering another student, Joe Bisanz, had died in 1998? What, if anything else, could the University do?\nTwo years ago, the death of Seth Korona refocused IU's approach to alcohol. Today, it continues to influence that approach.\nBut it's not as if the University turned on a dime or woke up to its alcohol problems when Korona, who was 19, died of a skull fracture after doing a "keg stand" at Theta Chi fraternity. IU was already a dry campus and had sought solutions from its Campus Community Commission on Alcohol Abuse.\nBut, as IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said last year, the accident kept alcohol issues "at the forefront" of the University.\nAnd that's where they remain.\nMcKaig addressed the board of trustees Friday, explaining a new package of programs and IU's latest effort to address alcohol on campus.\nThe key initiative is called Successfully Managing Alcohol Responsibly and Together and will focus on education over punishment. SMART includes alcohol screening and treatment for all students who go through the campus judicial system.\nWhile Korona's death did not directly lead to the SMART initiative, McKaig acknowledged it was a factor.\n"(Korona's death) was a time that we were all reminded how serious issues related to alcohol have become," McKaig said. "It motivated lots of people to see how they could help with the solution."\nSince Korona's death, the Interfraternity Council now requires all members to pass the Training and Intervention Program, which shows fraternity members how to recognize and care for someone who is intoxicated.\nThe IFC is also participating in the Campus Community Commission on Alcohol Abuse. Part of that commission's recommendations -- that freshmen be required to live on campus -- has already been implemented. Other suggestions are to restrict tailgating, offer more classes on Fridays and defer fraternity recruitment.\nOn a statewide level, a law requiring keg registration goes into effect July 1 in part because of the lack of accountability in Korona's death.\nNo one was ever held responsible for the kegs that served underage guests of the rush party where Korona hit his head on a door frame. He was hospitalized two days later and remained in a coma until his death.\nNow, it's been two years since Seth Korona died, and only about half the students on campus know the story.\nFortunately IU's message on alcohol is becoming more and more consistent with that of Korona's friends and family, who ultimately want to prevent what happened to Seth from happening again:\nHave fun and be responsible.