The Indiana University Bloomington campus experienced tragedy last week [Aug. 23]. We lost a beautiful, young girl from Zionsville, Ind. A 19-year-old, future nurse was robbed of her chance to live and make her mark on this world. My heart breaks for her family, but also for her friends who witnessed this tragedy and are now faced with the gut-wrenching question: Would calling for emergency help sooner have saved Rachael Fiege's life?
Of course, neither they nor we will ever know the answer to this question. All of the facts surrounding Rachael's death have yet to be made public - we still don't know if alcohol played a role in her injury nor do we know how apparent the severity of her situation was to those around her.
What we do know is there was alcohol at the scene, and those present waited several hours before requesting medical help for their friend who fell down a flight of stairs. This hesitation must stop.
The drinking culture perpetuated on college campuses demands a higher level of accountability. If an accident happens at a party, students should not think twice before getting help. Too many young Hoosiers have died because their friends assumed they would "sleep it off," or be fine in a few hours.
I desperately hope Rachael's death will serve as a wake-up call to all Hoosier students and young people - you are not immune, disasters happen and safety must come first.
The sad truth is that until we can reign in this trend of reckless, binge drinking, Rachael's will not be the last tragedy we face. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 90 percent of the alcohol consumed by individuals under the age of 21 in the U.S. occurs while binge drinking. This statistic scares me every day, especially as I think about my own college-aged children.
Thankfully, Indiana has legal mechanisms in place designed to save lives when mistakes are made. Our state's 2012 Lifeline Law provides immunity for young people who call law enforcement to aid their friends in alcohol-related emergencies. Those individuals who call 911, stay with the person in need of care and cooperate with law enforcement can avoid criminal penalties, even if the callers are intoxicated. This means several individuals - not just the one making the call - can have immunity.
Indiana legislators passed the Lifeline Law to help save lives due to underage alcohol abuse. No young life should be lost because his or her friends were too scared to call for help.
That being said, the purpose of the Lifeline Law is absolutely not to ease penalties for underage drinkers. Rather, it is to increase awareness about the dangers of underage drinking while saving lives. To achieve that goal, we made sure Indiana's law did not provide legal protection or amnesty to the individual in need of medical attention so as not to give incentive to binge drinking.
Student leaders from college campuses all across the state are largely responsible for getting this life-saving law passed, yet there seems to be a serious lack of knowledge on those same campuses about how the Lifeline Law works. This is a problem with devastating consequences.
So today, I challenge each person reading this article to tell someone about the Lifeline Law. Teachers, talk about this issue in your classrooms. Dorm leaders, start a discussion at your next floor meeting. Your efforts could make the difference in a life or death situation down the road.
As we grieve with the Fiege family in this time of terrible tragedy, please remember: Make the call; save a life.