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U Neb. "Greek Re-evolution" falls again
Falls from frat houses not that unusual
By JONNIE TATE FINN / Lincoln Journal Star
Accidents happen.
But within the past 12 years, four accidents have been eerily similar, involving a fraternity, alcohol and a long fall to the ground.
The most recent was Friday, when Ryan Carroll, 19, fell 20 feet from a fire escape, injuring his head. On Monday, University of Nebraska-Lincoln police found alcohol to have been a factor in the fall, said Capt. Carl Oestmann.
Oestmann said Carroll had been drinking at an off-campus location before losing his balance on a fire escape at Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, 1433 R. St. No citations had been issued as of Monday, although UNL police are still investigating the incident, Oestmann said.
James Griesen, UNL's vice chancellor for student affairs, said neither the school nor the fraternity is liable for Friday night's incident. Attempts to reach Carroll's family on Monday were unsuccessful.
In one similar incident, both paid dearly. Jeff Knoll received nearly $500,000 in settlements after suing his fraternity and the school. After Kara Bliven fell out of a fraternity's window, 12 sanctions were imposed on the group, including a "membership review," which decreased members from 78 to 37 that year. All four of the incidents involved heavy alcohol consumption, according to police reports.
Fighting binge drinking has been a constant issue for UNL. And so far, it seems the battle to curb alcohol abuse has produced optimistic results.
Since 1997, the NU Directions program has aimed to reduce high-risk drinking among students. Griesen said binge drinking has fallen about 20 percent since 1997, citing college alcohol use studies.
Recently, "Greek Re-evolution" was implemented to measure the fraternity system's alcohol use and educate members about what's responsible drinking and what's not.
Despite the efforts, students who drink are still falling.
"Part of it is that accidents happen," said Linda Schwartzkopf, the director of Greek Affairs at UNL. "And they're more likely to happen if drinking's involved."
Griesen said it makes sense for chapter members to limit access to potentially dangerous areas if someone is incapable of taking safety precautions.
"I think all students need to do a better job of looking out for each other," Schwartzkopf said, adding that she hopes Friday's fall raises the level of concern among students.
This is exactly what NU Directions aims to accomplish by holding students accountable for each other through what Griesen calls the "social norms approach."
"We're trying to show students that college isn't about getting blasted out of your mind," Griesen said. "We're trying to get the culture to change so that people don't assume that's what college is all about.
"All the press coverage about college drinking makes it seem like that's the norm on campus. We're trying to refute that norm."
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Wondered when the damn thing might break loose!
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