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Boulder - The drinking death of a fraternity pledge in September left Anthony Rossi with the feeling that he could have done more.
Only weeks before, Rossi - a pre-med student at the University of Colorado - had thought of a way to keep parties safe and get some firsthand medical experience along the way. But classes started, his fraternity obligations picked up, and Rossi put his idea on the shelf.
Not anymore.
In the next couple of weeks, Rossi and a handful of other trained undergraduates will be available to staff fraternity parties in an effort to prevent another death from binge drinking or other forms of abuse.
"People are dying at these parties all across the nation because no one is recognizing that these kids are at risk," Rossi said.
The pilot program, Student Emergency Medical Services, will be a fully licensed collection of volunteer CU students with certifications in emergency medicine. While campuses around the country offer similar programs, it is believed that CU's would be the first group to target parties.
"We are not at all there to police a party," Rossi said. "We are not there to tell people what to do. ... We are there to simply recognize (problems) and save lives."
Even before the death of Lynn "Gordie" Bailey in September, CU officials began an effort to fight the drinking culture around campus. They instituted education programs, tightened their alcohol violation policy and, most recently, handed the Greek system several new restrictions, including delayed recruitment.
But if the partying culture is going to change, it will change slowly, Rossi says. He hopes this organization can save lives in the interim.
The group's medical adviser, Dr. Ted Young, said he warned Rossi of the difficulties of working with students, school administrators and city authorities. Not to mention the fact that the organization must rely heavily on donations.
"You are going to have to form coalitions among people who don't normally form coalitions," Young told Rossi.
But Rossi said it's worth the effort. He feels a personal connection to Bailey - a brotherhood. And so far, students and officials have been agreeable to the idea.
CU's vice chancellor for student affairs, Ron Stump, said the organization runs parallel to administration efforts to education students about recognizing dangerous situations.
"That is what this group is doing - intervening in a dangerous situation," Stump said.
Rossi said the organization is still finalizing contracts, but hosts would most likely be asked to sign a waiver clearing Student Emergency Medical Services of liability. Once on the job, volunteers would provide a sober presence - acting as first responders between revelers and city emergency personnel.
Rossi, the founding chaplain of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, said he plans to start the program at Greek functions but hopes to expand to help any student who wants to host a party.
Next year, Rossi will take a year off before heading to medical school to ensure that the organization is working well, he said.
"It's looking like it is starting to come together," said Interfraternity Council president Nate Ushio. Ushio said Rossi's group would be just as helpful at sporting events.
"It's a very good opportunity for pre-med students or anybody interested in the medical field," he said.
Young said the success of the program will depend on whether students at parties trust the volunteers. If police cars follow ambulances to parties, he said, the whole thing could fall flat.
"It is a really good idea," Young said. "We'll see if it works in reality."
The motivation for Rossi is preventing a repeat of what happened on Sept. 16. On that day, Bailey had been on campus just three weeks when Chi Psi fraternity members took him and 26 other pledges into the mountains. They were told to drink vast amounts of whiskey and wine as part of an initiation ritual.
Later that night, Bailey passed out, and his fraternity brothers scrawled vulgar remarks all over his body. He was found dead the next morning in the Chi Psi fraternity house with a blood alcohol level of 0.328 percent.
"When Gordie died they thought, 'Oh, he just passed out,"' Rossi said. "If you had somebody there that just saw this and checked his breathing, checked his pulse, they would have noticed that this guy was in a really dangerous place."
Student Emergency Medical Services would train regular Greek members about the basic warning signs so that even at secret fraternity rituals - like the one Bailey was involved in - someone is watching for trouble.
"If you are going to be a true brother," Rossi said, "true brothers should be looking out for each other's welfare."
Staff writer George Merritt
NO NO!
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