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/ NEWS / THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2011 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
IN THE AFTERMATH OF
February 28, 2009
The date Wren told his father, Jay, that he had to be out of Oliver Hall, Jay previously told The Kansan. "Jason
Howard Ting/KANSAN
March 8,2009
Wren was a freshman at the University of Kansas when he was kicked out of his dormitory, Oliver Hall, for repeatedly violating the University's alcohol policy. Because it was mid-semester Wren had no where to live. Through a friend, Wren was able to pledge the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity and immediately move into the Chapter House", a lawyer for SAE wrote in a court filing.
Jason Wren was found dead around 2 p.m. in the SAE fraternity house. According to his autopsy report, his blood alcohol concentration was .362 when he died more than four times the state's legal limit to drive,.08, for people over 21.
April 27, 2009 The chapter hosted a sober concert in honor of Wren, with more than a hundred in attendance.
November 12,2009
The Wren family filed a lawsuit against the national SAE fraternity, its KU chapter, the house corporation that owned the KU chapter, and 10 unnamed members of the chapter.
March 16,2009 Wren's funeral was held in Littleton, Colo., with nearly a thousand people in attendance.
March 7,2009
Wren used a fake ID to buy margaritas from a local restaurant, and then had 10 to 12 beers and hard liquor in the SAE house, his father, Jay, told The Kansan after Jason's death.
May 5,2009
Contributed Photo
January 10,2010
The University announced an updated alcohol policy, with increased parental notification when students have drug or alcohol violations, an amnesty policy allowing underage students who have been drinking to call for help without being punished, and a new requirement that incoming students under the age of 22 complete an online alcohol-education course before enrolling in classes.
The day the Denver Post published the obituary of Jason Wren's younger sister, 16-year-old Victoria, who committed suicide.
Contributed Phot
Mary Wren hugs her daughter Victoria during the reception of Jason Wren's funeral in Littleton, Golo. Nearly a thousand people attended the service, including about ten KU students. Both Mary and Victoria Wren committed suicide after Jason's death.
Relevant organizations in Greek Life
Interfraternity Council (IFC): The governing board for 21 fraternities, most of the fraternities at KU. It is composed of members from various fraternities, and every fraternity has a representative vote in decisions. It can sanction fraternities for IFC policy violations.
Panhellenic Association (PHA): The sorority counterpart to the IFC, the PHA is the governing board for 13 sororites, most of the sororities at KU. The IFC and PHA have joint meetings every semester, and the two organizations have a joint alcohol policy that all IFC and PHA organizations must follow.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon: The national fraternity was founded in 1856 at the University of Alabama. It is the largest social fraternity in North America with more than 280,000 initiated members.
KU SAE: The KU chapter of the national SAE fraternity. Jason Wren, a plaque, was found dead in the chapter house. The house, located at 1301 West Campus Road, is owned by the Kansas Alpha House Corp., which also advises fraternity members.
WREN (CONTINUED FROM 5A)
the semester, but chapters have to vote on it first.
GREEK LEGAL LIABILITY
He was a prosecutor before he became the chief national executive of his fraternity, Theta Chi. And he's been the director of policy interpretation at the Fraternal Information and Programming Group — a non-profit fraternity insurance advising group — since 1995.
Dave Westol, a national expert on fraternities and their legal liabilities, has experience with prosecutions and lawsuits.
During his 18 years as Theta Chi CEO, Westol had members die and he suspended chapters for bad choices. He knows it doesn't take much to get sued.
"I told our men, 'six or more, it's going to be an event," Westol said.
Westol speaks from the fraternity's perspective, as in trying to avoid lawsuits. The more it looks like the fraternity was involved
If you've got alcohol, and there more than a few people, it's going to be a chapter event, whether you like it or not."
The Wren family's lawyer, Steve Gorny, made a compelling enough case that SAE and its lawyers were willing to settle. But under the terms of the agreement nobody can publicly say how much the Wrens received in the settlement.
— which might mean a larger number of members present — the worse it is for them legally. While the University didn't punish SAE after looking at the drinking surrounding Wren's death, his family could and did sue
In most cases, the chapter's liability insurance, which would pay any settlements or judgments, is attained by the national fraternity. The national SAE fraternity is insured through James R. Favor and Company, based in Denver.
According to its website, the company was bought in 2006 by several national fraternities. One of them was Sigma Alpha Epsilon Financial & Housing Corporation.
Samantha Davis, who used to be her sorority's social chair and vice president of risk management, said that parties at KU could be exhausting to plan — she had to account for her chapter's rules, the PHAs
rules, and her national sorority's rules at once — but that she was reminded by Panhellenic Association officials that legal liability didn't end there.
She said regulations for official functions could be difficult to follow. She gave the example of a sorority hosting an event at a bar on Massachusetts Street, while following the IFC and PHA requirement that the host chapter provide transportation to and from its event.
"If it wasn't a sorority function, but a bunch of us went to a bar together, and something bad happened to one of the girls." Davis said, "all it would take is one of the girls' parents to get the national sorority involved, because she was with all her friends from the sorority."
"You're not allowed to drive and meet us later, because that's a liability. And you can't leave with anyone else."
"Think twice about it and ask yourself, 'How do I want this to play out?'"
CHAZ RUMAGE Former SAE officer
Davis said.
"People want to walk down the street, but you can't let them. You have to drive back to the house, and then drive back to Mass.
if you want to do that."
Westol said taking on a Greek affiliation meant additional responsibilities and legal liabilities. "That's one of the things you give up" when you join a fraternity, Westol said. "You have to follow the policy. Now if you don't want that, drop out of your organization, be released from your vows, and you can have all the keg parties you want and nobody's going to care."
POLICY CHANGES
In the two years since Wren's death, the University has made several policy changes.
"I think the University focused even more closely on alcohol after Jason Wren passed away," Roney said. "It gave us a sense of urgency — we really need to address this now."
Underthenewrules,iftheUniversity becomes aware of an alcohol- or drug-related violation through official notification, such as a police report, it notifies the parents of the student. The Department of Student Housing will now notify parents when a student's housing contract is canceled because of alcohol or drug violations, which was not policy when Wren was kicked out of University housing.
"I don't think anyone's going to say, Oh, I loved taking it," Roney said. "But there is national research that shows that it is one of the best tools available, other than one-on-one counseling."
Additionally, incoming students under the age of 22 must take AlcoholEdu, an online alcohol education course, before they can enroll in classes.
The University also enacted an amnesty policy for underage students. They will not be punished for drinking when they call for help, either for themselves or for a friend.
"If you do the right thing and get help, then we're not going to come after you," Roney said. "For some students, that can be a deterrent. We wanted to take that off the table."
The University now bans campus sidewalk chalking by entities not registered with the University.
"The only reason we changed the chalking policy was we were trying to stop the bars from chalking on campus," Perez said.
"It reduces access to students" he said.
He said it was part of the University's effort to reduce the presence of alcohol.
For when students decide to be in the presence of alcohol, the University has established a new responsible-drinking campaign for its students called the Jayhawk Buddy System. It focuses on students sticking together when they drink, making sure that everyone is safe.
"We are firm believers that when Jayhawks take care of each other," Roney said, "that will make a big difference."
In February, during a timeout in the men's basketball game against the University of Missouri, a full section of students performed a flash mob, breaking out into a choreographed dance for a minute and a half, and then took off their shirts to reveal red Jayhawk Buddy System shirts.
It drew thunderous applause at Allen Fieldhouse. The YouTube video of it, posted by Kansas Athletics, Inc., received more than 300,000 hits.
The second Jason Wren Initiative in April ended with KU SAE members handing out items with the Jayhawk Buddy System logo: a string-pull backpack, a koozie, a cup, a bottle opener with a small light, a poster and a business card holder with a SafeRide card inside.
RESPONSE TO UNDERAGE DRINKING
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More than a thousand people were silent while Chaz Rumage, a former
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