SMU student found dead at SAE House

[Tom Earp]

Remeber, no matter what GLO it concerns, it concerns all of us as Greek Members.

There is no flip comments as it saddens every member of the Greek Social World.

If someone does do what was supposedly done when it came to drugs then it should be an important part of the Chapter to try to correct it. I do not care what Campus it is on or how strong the GLO is, a young man died and that is what is the most important thing.

I was accused by an SAE for being hard hearted and that must have been why I railed at a local TV station about running and over long item at the top of the 10:00 news about SAE and a hazing situation and being removed from Campus.

If a member of any GLO dies, we must ask why. Then ask why nothing was done to aid the member before this happened.

[tunatartare]

Tom, to you this man may just be a statistic or a Risk Management example, but to others he was a friend and brother. It is a tragedy that he died and I think that you should let the SAE's mourn in peace and deal with it in their own way and not drag Risk Management issues into it. You would not want people to treat an LXA death in this manner.

[JamesBond007]

Originally Posted by tunatartare

Tom, to you this man may just be a statistic or a Risk Management example, but to others he was a friend and brother. It is a tragedy that he died and I think that you should let the SAE's mourn in peace and deal with it in their own way and not drag Risk Management issues into it. You would not want people to treat an LXA death in this manner.

If you're having trouble with this fellow, perhaps I can be of some assistance? Maybe, make him disappear?

[Elephant Walk]

Originally Posted by Reality Check1

It seems to me the Macallan25 believes he knows a great deal about many things, but it is more likely that he knows nothing about everything.

The members of the SAE Fraternity at SMU should feel awful, because their culture contributed to this young man's death. Did they force him to do drugs? No, but don't tell me that they didn't make access to these things easier for the young man?

Macallan-it must be so easy for you to sit there and pop off time after time about everything. Take a look at yourself in the mirror. This whole incident goes in stark contrast to the brotherhood that a fraternity is supposed to represent.

Drink bleach.

Fraternity culture? That makes about as much sense as you claiming heterosexuality. Say a guy from Compton or other drug-ridden place somehow by god's saving grace makes it into a fraternity in the South. He was already doing plenty of drugs before hand, and then he gets into the fraternity, does more drugs, and dies. Considering the fraternity may be moderate for their campus in terms of drug use, is it fraternity culture or previous experience which led to the man's death? The drug incident has nothing to do with "brotherhood". My own personal drug use never stemmed from the fraternity, it stemmed from me growing up in a wealthy neighborhood where my friends and I had money to spend on expensive drugs.

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

Drink bleach.

Fraternity culture? That makes about as much sense as you claiming heterosexuality. Say a guy from Compton or other drug-ridden place somehow by god's saving grace makes it into a fraternity in the South. He was already doing plenty of drugs before hand, and then he gets into the fraternity, does more drugs, and dies. Considering the fraternity may be moderate for their campus in terms of drug use, is it fraternity culture or previous experience which led to the man's death? The drug incident has nothing to do with "brotherhood". My own personal drug use never stemmed from the fraternity, it stemmed from me growing up in a wealthy neighborhood where my friends and I had money to spend on expensive drugs.

I agree with you Elephant Walk. Fraternity culture?? Try culture. Try society. Try living and life experience/up-bringing.
Was there alcohol and drug use in my chapter? Yes. Did I drink? Yes and learned from that experience. Did I do drugs? I "tasted" one night and learned from that experience that I had no use for them. Also the fact that all of the people I was close to, both a school and at home, did not do any kind of drug outside of alcohol also helped.

Others, I know took a different path for what ever reason or reasons. And that could happen within any living, social group or context.

[jon1856]

A few more links:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...-sportstop-hed

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/n...LES_S1.article
Which includes this statement:

Jim Caswell, SMU's vice president for student affairs, said Wednesday "the prayers and concerns" of school officials, staff members and students "go toward the Stiles family at this difficult time."
"It's a tragic situation that we're dealing with," Caswell said. "This student was a very popular fellow."
Campus police have been investigating Stiles' death, along with the university's fraternity system, Caswell said. Caswell stressed the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house "was not known as a drug house in any way." The school's fraternities are "certainly not known for problems of this type," he said.

[tunatartare]

Originally Posted by JamesBond007

If you're having trouble with this fellow, perhaps I can be of some assistance? Maybe, make him disappear?

That would be amazing.

[Elephant Walk]

The school's fraternities are "certainly not known for problems of this type," he said.

I don't know about that quote.

The amount of cocaine done at Southern Methodist, especially among greek life, is damn near legendary.

[Tom Earp]

Originally Posted by tunatartare

Tom, to you this man may just be a statistic or a Risk Management example, but to others he was a friend and brother. It is a tragedy that he died and I think that you should let the SAE's mourn in peace and deal with it in their own way and not drag Risk Management issues into it. You would not want people to treat an LXA death in this manner.

You spout words, but there was no belittlement intended.

If you have read any of my posts about the death of a Greek Member, I do not care what GLO they are from as it saddens all of us especially me. While not from My GLO, He was a member of a society that we profess and back.

But, them when someone mentions drug usage at certain schools, I wonder who is keeping an eye on their fellow Brothers and Sisters. If this is to become a bigger problem, yes there is a R M problem. If it was a member of LXA, I would mourn and wonder why did it happen?

[PeppyGPhiB]

I have no idea what the greek culture is like at SMU in regards to drug use, but what I find saddest about this situation is that this young man obviously had a serious addiction (three narcotics in his system, plus alcohol?!) yet I'm wondering whether his brothers knew about and/or tried to help him? If this was a unique case in the fraternity, I would think the brothers would have noticed something was up and tried to help. If it is not an isolated case, well, that's just scary and I hope the chapter and national steps in to make sure the whole chapter gets help.

[Elephant Walk]

Hardly an addiction. Three drugs in a night is usually just the start.

In moderation, of course.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

Hardly an addiction. Three drugs in a night is usually just the start.

In moderation, of course.

I hope you're being sarcastic. The nature of the drugs, plus that he took them in the same night, suggest compulsive behavior...there was no need for him to take all those drugs to get high. If it was his first time taking them, he probably would've tried them one at a time so he could experience the high each of them gave him. But to take a drug they give cancer patients for pain, plus cocaine, plus another narcotic, then drink...I'm guessing this was not the first time he mixed. When you consider that all of those drugs are HIGHLY addictive, it's not very hard to conclude he had a problem. He was probably so numb he felt nothing most of the time, which is why he probably didn't think anything of combining them.

Money is no excuse for abusing drugs. I grew up with kids from loaded families, and went to college with rich kids, and narcotics were not used as casually as some threads on GC make it seem. Alcohol and pot, then x, were popular, but never cocaine or other hard narcotics. And if it's that popular in the greek system at SMU, well, I'm glad I didn't go to SMU then. I would not want to be surrounded by a bunch of cokeheads and can't believe people consider it no big deal.

[Elephant Walk]

While this shouldn't be further discussed...the fentanyl was most likely to make him go to sleep after all the blow he had been doing, it would have made semi-sense. He was tired, wanted to go to bed, so he took that. He wasn't addicted, he just needed sleep, much like i do with a far more safer substance Melatonin (found naturally in the brain, not melanin which tans your skin). So he was really doing two drugs together. Alcohol is consumed like water, so I hardly consider it a drug even though it obviously is. Cocaine was the only question mark on addiction and knowing the drug use at SMU, it was probably just a night out on the town like any other night. Actually knowing the patters of drug usage and so on would probably help you in understanding anything, much less other peoples addictions.

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

While this shouldn't be further discussed...the fentanyl was most likely to make him go to sleep after all the blow he had been doing, it would have made semi-sense. He was tired, wanted to go to bed, so he took that. He wasn't addicted, he just needed sleep, much like i do with a far more safer substance Melatonin (found naturally in the brain, not melanin which tans your skin). So he was really doing two drugs together. Alcohol is consumed like water, so I hardly consider it a drug even though it obviously is. Cocaine was the only question mark on addiction and knowing the drug use at SMU, it was probably just a night out on the town like any other night. Actually knowing the patters of drug usage and so on would probably help you in understanding anything, much less other peoples addictions.

I have to agree with Peppy'-I too hope you are being at least a bit

[jon1856]

FYI/BTB:
While different GLO and School, same drug:

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061222/NEWS/612220337/1007
Article published Dec 22, 2006
Student charged in peer’s death

By Lydia Seabol Avant
Staff Writer
TUSCALOOSA | A University of Alabama student has been charged with the murder of his Theta Chi fraternity brother.

Christopher Skelton, 20, was charged Tuesday with the homicide of James Echols, 19, who died Sept. 5 after taking a high dose of fentanyl, which he allegedly received from Skelton.

Skelton worked at the Rite Aid pharmacy on Skyland Boulevard, and according to an indictment released Thursday, stole numerous medications from the pharmacy and distributed them to fraternity brothers. The Duragesic-brand patch that Echols used reportedly came from Skelton and contained 100 micrograms of fentanyl, a strong pain medication that is usually given to cancer patients, said Tuscaloosa District Attorney Tommy Smith.

“This is an extreme pain killer that is 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine or oxycotin," Smith said. “This was the largest dose available."

Echols reportedly had been partying the night of Sept. 3 and came home to sleep at his residence in the 500 block of 13th Street. A friend found him unresponsive about 1 p.m. on Sept. 4. He was taken by ambulance to DCH Regional Medical Center, where he died at about 9:30 a.m. the next day.

Skelton has also been charged with manslaughter, six counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, six counts of possession and receiving controlled substances, six counts of dispensing prescriptions to an unauthorized person, and second-degree theft of property.

According to the indictment, Skelton illegally distributed Adderall, Lortab and Xanax to at least five other people, although none of them received Fentanyl, however. It was later discovered that the drugs were taken from the Rite Aid pharmacy through an investigation led by the Alabama State Board of Pharmacy and the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force.

Skelton was arrested Wednesday. He was released on $100,000 bail. He will be arraigned in March, Smith said.

Skelton’s case will be the first time a person has been charged with murder for illegally distributing prescription drugs in Tuscaloosa County. But similar cases have been successfully prosecuted elsewhere in Alabama and in other states, Smith said.

Skelton could also face repercussions at school. His case has been referred to judicial affairs for students charged with non-academic violations, said Deborah Lane, executive director of public relations at UA. Lane confirmed that Skelton was a student in the fall of 2006, but could not say whether he will be a student at UA for the spring semester.

No one could be reached for comment at the Theta Chi fraternity house Thursday.

Reach Lydia Seabol Avant at Lydia.seabol@tuscaloosanews or 205-722-0222.


IMHO-this stuff is not water and does not really seem to be the stuff anyone should take just to get the edge off or just to get to sleep.
Unless one really has a death wish. Which given the following...:
"Drop dead and suicide packets are street terms for fentanyl products."


And this GLO Brother and Brother Stiles seemed to have much to live for.They both died way too young.