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THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
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NIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
A SHOT OF REALITY
Day 1: Life and death of Jason Wren
VOLUME 120ISSUE 145
Day 2: Examining alcohol use on campus
Day 3:
Are KU's policies sufficient?
"By the books, yes, he had a drinking problem ... Every single kid here probably has a drinking problem."
ASTAGGERING TRAGEDY
Friends and family look for answers while struggling to cope with an untimely death
Editors' note: Jason Wren's death after a night of heavy drinking spurred this three-day series investigating alcohol use on campus and the effectiveness of the University's alcohol policies. Jason's death exposed potential cracks in a system intended to help students who may have drinking problems. Some sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the stories.
BY ALEXANDRA GARRY agarry@kansan.com
Friends with him that day said Jason joined a group of friends at a local restaurant for margaritas. Then they went home to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house, where they socialized, hung out and drank.
Hours later, about 1 p.m. Sunday, a friend went to wake Jason after their night of drinking. He was hungry. He wanted to see whether Jason wanted to join him for lunch.
Jason Wren's last night began, by all accounts, pretty normally.
He put a hand on Jason's shoulder. Jason's long-sleeve, white polo shirt had bunched up around the middle of his back. The skin in the small of his back was freezing and blue. His friend looked around the room thinking there must have been a window open to make him so cold.
Jason's friend shook him, trying to break him out of his slumber. He noticed Jason's shirt was soaked with vomit.
"No, no, no!" came the screams from the sohomore sleeping dorm. "lason? lason!"
The friend was getting frustrated. No way was something seriously wrong, he thought. Jason's just asleep. Death by alcohol? That just happens to kids somewhere else — not here.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
He tried lifting Jason's head. That was when he couldn't pretend any longer — something was wrong. He shook Jason hard, yelled at him to disprove his fear.
Thirty minutes later, the paramedics came downstairs to the living room where about 40 SAE men had gathered.
Jason Wren 'life was cut short after he died of apparent alcohol poisoning in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house on March 8. Details surrounding his death have led to many questions concerning the drinking environment on campus and the University's alcohol and privacy policies.
"The news you all are fearing is unfortunately true," one of the paramedics told them. "Jason Wren passed away sometime in the night."
"Then," said an SAE freshman, "all you could hear was crying."
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The death of Jason Wren, a popular and kind-hearted athlete, from suspected alcohol poisoning March 8 in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house, 1301 West Campus Road, shocked a close-knit network of friends and family from Colorado to Kansas.
Weeks later, the details surrounding Jason's death — and last few days of life — remain unclear amid a swirl of controversy and contradiction. Jason's father is calling for change in everything he believes contributed to his son's death — from University privacy policy to the apparently embedded alcohol culture at the University as Jason's family and friends continue to grieve an incredible loss.
Jason's family continues to seek answers about what exactly happened to its only
@KANSAN.COM How Jason's death has affected life back home in Colorado
SEE JASON WREN ON PAGE 4A
INTERVIEW WITH THE FAMILY
Relatives share their favorite memories of Jason's life.
LEAVING A LASTING MARK
ADMINISTRATION
People close to Jason keep his memory alive by getting a tattoo.
Committee to narrow chancellor candidates
BY BRIANNE PFANNENSTIEL
bpfannenstiel@kansan.com
After Chancellor Robert Hemenway announced in early December that he would step down from his position at the University, a search committee began seeking nominations from students, staff and community members to find the best and brightest to fill his shoes.
Adam McGonigle, student body president and the only student who sits on the search committee for a new chancellor, said he received several e-mail nominations from students. Of those, he said Barack Obama and Bill Cosby were among the leading vote getters, along with a few self-nominations from ambitious students.
"I can confirm that Barack Obama is not going to be the new chancellor" McGonagle said. "But the way I thought about it was every Monday morning we could get all the students together in Memorial Stadium and have a discussion with Cancellor Cosby."
All jokes aside, McGonigle said he had also received a good number of serious suggestions from students. He said he hoped to bring a unique
SEE CHANCELLOR ON PAGE 7A
ACTIVISM
Groups celebrate Equal Pay Day
BY BETSY CUTCLIFF
bcutcliff@kansan.com
It's all about the money today, as members of KU Young Democrats and the Commission on the Status of Women celebrate Equal Pay Day and strive to increase awareness about wage inequities between genders.
While discrimination in the workplace may not be as prominent as it once was, it's still an issue in the U.S. According to recent data from the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics, women earn about 80 percent of what men earn. Members of Young Democrats and CSW are setting up tables in front of Watson library to remind students of inequality in the workplace.
"I think despite the publicity there are still a lot of people who don't see how it applies in daily life," Virginia Burrows, Salt Lake City junior, said.
The National Committee on Pay Equity established Equal Pay Day in 1996 to illustrate the gap between men and women's wages.
SEE PAY ON PAGE 7A
index
Classifieds...6A Opinion...5B
Crossword...4B Sports...1B
Horoscopes...4B Sudoku...4B
All contents, unless stated otherwise; © 2009 The University Daily Kansan
STUDENTS RESPOND TO RECENT CRIMES
KUJH examines the rash of local trouble. | KANSAN.COM/V1DEOS
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