On Friday, Jan. 20, three days before Spring semester classes started, Erica Buschick was found dead in her dorm room. Miami University President Crawford has acknowledged the presence of alcohol in this tragedy.
Along with this immense loss for the Miami community, it was reported that more than a dozen Miami students were hospitalized after drinking on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 9. It was agreed upon in 2016 during the recruitment for Greek life that a "dry period" be instigated. However, this "dry period" seems to have created a rampage of drinking for the students participating in fraternity and sorority recruitment.
As a freshman at Miami University, these incidents can be very overwhelming. But these tragedies do not affect only one person in this community, no matter how well someone knew those involved. Over the course of this week, I asked several Miami students how Buschick's death, and the hospitalization of the Greek life students, has affected their views on drinking and partying in college. (I've kept the students' names classified, giving them aliases to protect their identities.)
"It's easy to get caught up in the fun of things but I think as college students we either forget, or choose to forget, how dangerous alcohol really is," says Casey, a freshman at Miami University who participated in sorority recruitment.
This sentiment was shared with Lauren, another freshman who participated in "rush." She solemnly laughed and said, "It's an interesting word to use in the situation, but it's been incredibly sobering. I know I've had a lifestyle change recently because of it."
Lauren went on to share some of her personal experiences and mistakes with alcohol. She concluded with this thought: "I wouldn't want to see anything happen to any of my sorority sisters, or even my non-Greek friends, and I hope everyone decides to adopt a healthier lifestyle in light of these events."
Christina, a sophomore at Miami University, discussed what a wake up call the recent events have been.
"We do have a reputation as being a party school but I didn't quite realize how much of a problem alcohol and drinking was," Christina said.
The death from too much consumption of what many believe is strictly a part of college is really frightening.
I was fortunate enough to interview Ricky, another sophomore at Miami University, who recently had a life threatening experience with alcohol.
"I needed to experience it for myself... that was when it really clicked for me that it was not worth drinking to excess," he said.
Ricky's family is currently hosting a student from Italy, which lead him to discussing the difference between drinking in America versus in Europe.
"I like to drink but I think that the drinking culture in America, especially underage, fosters a mentality of getting drunk just to be drunk instead of enjoying the drinks," he said. "This causes people to drink so much it's unhealthy."
Harrison, also a sophomore at Miami, discussed his experiences with alcohol as well. He joked about the amount of freedom he's had in college, his parents never being aware of what happens on the weekends, in the dorms and in the bars.
After Buschick's death, he said, "It forced me to have to speak with my mother about the issue. It really made me think about how my everyday decisions affect not only me, but my family, too."
meiberhl@miamioh.edu