University of Idaho student dies from alcohol overdose

Moscow Police say a 23-year-old University of Idaho student from Wilder died Saturday morning from a toxic level of alcohol.

Daniel Mark Miller was a senior at the University of Idaho, said Moscow Assistant Police Chief David Duke.

Miller was found unresponsive about 8 a.m. on Saturday and transported via ambulance to Gritman Medical Center in Moscow where he was later pronounced dead.

Miller and a group of friends started drinking about 7 p.m. Friday at a local tavern. The group left about 11:30 p.m. and went to a private residence where they continued playing drinking games up until 2 a.m., Duke said.

Miller was “quite intoxicated and passed out,” Duke said. Friends put him in a bed and checked on him several times through about 4:30 a.m. When they checked on Miller at 8 a.m., he did not respond.

Dan Miller did not break any laws or university policies.  University of Idaho does list the following restrictions on alcohol use on campus:

ARTICLE VIII–DRUGS AND ALCOHOL. [section renumbered 8-07]

1. The sale, use, or possession of illegal drugs is a violation of this code.
2. Sale or illegal possession or illegal consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited in facilities owned, leased, or operated by UI and on campus grounds.
3. Alcoholic beverages may not be possessed or consumed under any circumstances in areas open to and most commonly used by the general public. These areas include, but are not limited to, lounges, student union buildings, recreation rooms, conference rooms, athletic facilities, and other public areas of UI-owned buildings or grounds.
4. UI’s primary role in handling matters involving the use or potential use of drugs or alcohol by its students is that of counseling. However, in appropriate situations, the full range of sanctions may be applied.

Dan was 23-years-old and did his drinking in a tavern and at a private home, so he abided by University standards.  If he’d been caught with a baggie of weed, he would he be alive now, but he’d be subject to a full range of potential sanctions by the University, including suspension, permanent loss of student housing, and expulsion.

My friends attended University of Idaho in the late ’80s and I visited a few times.  Moscow, Idaho, is a tiny college town and the drinking culture is very much a part of student life.  I was but 17 and my friends 18 and 19 when I visited the Delta Chi house for a night of drunken revelry (fair notice: Idaho’s drinking age was 19 back then).  Dan Miller was a 23-year-old senior, which suggests to me he was once a 19-year-old (or younger) freshman.  You don’t just go on 7-hour drinking binges to start – that’s something you build up to over time.  What if Dan had been caught drinking before age 21, or was caught drinking on campus?  How does the University of Idaho demonstrate how seriously they want to stop underaged drinking?

10. The Regents of UI adopted guidelines for enforcing campus alcohol regulations which include sanctions for violation of these regulations. Minimum sanctions for violations of Article VIII, Sections 1 and 2 of the Student Code of Conduct are listed below. These sanctions will be minimum standards and more severe sanctions may be applied. [See next page.]

a. First Infraction

1. Open container or minor in possession violations = Referral to judicial council for education programs and payment of administrative costs.
2. Illegal distribution of alcohol = Referral to judicial council with sanctions to include community service, period of probation, administrative costs, and education programs.

b. Second Infraction

1. Without injury; or without conduct likely to lead to injury = Referral to judicial council or similar authority for action which must include a treatment and/or education program.
2. With injury; or conduct likely to lead to injury = Referral to the proper administrative body of the institution for action must include notification to the criminal justice system, strict probation, and, a treatment or education program.

c. Third Infraction

1. Without injury; or without conduct likely to lead to injury = Referral to the appropriate administrative body of the institution for appropriate action, which must include, at least, suspension from school for one semester.
2. With injury; or conduct likely to lead to injury = Referral to the appropriate administrative body of the institution for appropriate action, which must include, at least, referral to the criminal justice system and expulsion from the institution for one year.

These are minimums and the University may punish alcohol violations more severely, but there are no such minimums listed for marijuana possession.  So, a UI freshman caught with beer “without injury” – remember, an illegal drug for someone under 21 – must be caught three times before being suspended from school.  Any one involved in an alcohol incident on campus “with injury” would have to be caught twice before the police are called.

So what is the standard operating procedure for marijuana on campus?  This story from the student newspaper sheds some light:

[Laura] Hutchinson, director of campus life and student conduct, said anyone who violates the Student Code of Conduct can be placed in UI’s judicial system.

Hutchinson said she sees anywhere from 900 to 1,100 students in her office for issues ranging from candles in a dorm room to sexual assault. About 10 to 15 of those cases come from police reports.

The amount of time students spend in the system varies according to their offense, said Bruce Pitman, vice provost of student affairs. The most common cases are ones of alcohol abuse, where a student will attend an educational program, pay a fine and be out of the system in a matter of weeks.

Amanda Dougherty, a sophomore RA in the Chrisman Hall last semester, said her biggest difficulty enforcing rules was in trying to get mutual respect from students.

As an RA, her job was to make sure the students in her hall were following the law and code of ethics. Vandalism, alcohol, drugs, stealing or general rule breaking could result in the student being written up.

RAs go through formal training to learn how to react to situations like suicide and legal issues.

In cases involving drugs, like marijuana, Dougherty said the first thing an RA is instructed to do is call the police.

It’s no wonder you have students drinking themselves to death when they learn even before age 21 that drinking will only get you a slap on the wrist, but the safer choice of marijuana will get them kicked out of school and sent to jail.