Steve Judd, a student at New Mexico State University, went out to celebrate turning 21 and died the next morning of alcohol poisoning.
December 5, 2004
Student's Death From Alcohol Poisoning Puts Spotlight on NMSU
The Associated Press
LAS CRUCES — Steve Judd's parents had heard all week about his 21st birthday plans. The tradition, he said, was to visit bars with his friends at midnight on the first day he could drink legally --Nov. 18, 2004. But the New Mexico State University junior had his reservations. He told his parents that some of his Delta Chi fraternity brothers might pressure him to drink too much.
He could just drink a beer to celebrate, his mother suggested. No, Judd said. He didn't want his buddies to think he was a wimp. On Nov. 19, the computer science major was pronounced dead from alcohol poisoning at an El Paso, Texas, hospital. Judd's death is the latest in a series of deaths that is raising questions about the cultural tolerance of drinking on college campuses and in fraternities and sororities.
At New Mexico State University, surveys indicate students are aware of the dangers of alcohol, and officials say most students drink responsibly. However, the director of NMSU's counseling center, John Irvine, says the school has an alcohol problem. While police consider Judd's death a result of his own bad choices, they are investigating two bars he and his friends visited to determine whether too much alcohol was served.
NMSU officials are also investigating, taking a hard look at the Delta Chi fraternity and at whether school rules need revision. Four other college students, at universities in Colorado, Oklahoma and Arkansas, have died of alcohol poisoning this semester. Three of those were fraternity related.
The University of Oklahoma death prompted that school to ban drinking at fraternities and residence halls. At NMSU, alcohol is allowed in on-campus fraternity houses and in some campus housing but can only be consumed by those aged 21 or older.
Judd's father acknowledges that his son made the choice to drink too much. Friends who were with Judd during the early hours of Nov. 18 reported that he consumed at least 15 shots of hard liquor, including whiskey and tequila, in a two-hour period at two Las Cruces bars. Some said he also drank several beers and mixed drinks. But Steven Judd Sr. complains that fraternity brothers didn't stop his son and that locals bars should have stopped serving him.
Studies show that most NMSU students drink responsibly and have realistic views of the dangers of alcohol. In a 2003 survey by the Core Institute, which conducts such surveys for schools nationwide, about two-thirds of students polled said they consumed three or fewer drinks per week. Nearly 90 percent of NMSU students said they believe consuming five or more drinks in one sitting creates a risk of personal harm. However, 6.3 percent of NMSU students — or about 1,000 — reported consuming 20 or more drinks a week. While only about 4 percent of the school's students are fraternity and sorority members, 5.6 percent of NMSU students said their heaviest drinking in the month prior to the survey took place at a fraternity house.
David Hotz, NMSU's coordinator for Greek life, acknowledges there are those within the Greek community who drink too much but asserts there is not a culture of binge drinking. Most students drink responsibly, he said--except when it comes their 21st birthdays. "There is a culture of letting go on that night," he said.
Irvine said the school has a problem when it comes to students and alcohol. The school's fight song even includes the lyrics, "Well buy a keg of booze and drink to the Aggies till we wobble in our shoes." To combat the problem, there are a number of programs on campus to educate students about the dangers of alcohol, including Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol, which holds training and education programs.
University President Michael Martin has also said he plans to start a Web-based class called Healthy Choices, designed to help students make smart decisions. The course may become mandatory for all students, he said. Meanwhile, the university's investigation into Judd's death continues, said NMSU spokeswoman Mary Benanti. Interviews with Delta Chi members will begin after finals this week, she said. Possible university action could include judicial proceedings, education and training, she said.
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Last call: The night NMSU student Steve Judd wasn’t in control was his lastBy Heath Haussamen
Dec 5, 2004, 07:30 am
This article was based on police reports and interviews with friends and parents of Steve Judd.
LAS CRUCES — Steve Judd had been discussing his 21st birthday plans with his parents all week. It was tradition, he explained, to visit bars with his friends at midnight on the first day he could drink legally.
But Steve had mixed feelings about the planned bar hopping that was to take place in the early hours of Nov. 18. He told his parents that some of his Delta Chi fraternity brothers might pressure him to drink too much. He described in detail some of the drinks he might encounter. Some of the drinks included Tabasco and raw eggs, and are designed to make people throw up. His mom, Karen, suggested that Steve celebrate by drinking one beer. He had class at 8:30 a.m., she reminded him. No, Steve replied, “They would think I was a wimp.”
Friends and family say Steve had never seen a point to getting drunk. The junior computer science major at New Mexico State University told his parents he planned to spend the evening of Nov. 17 eating a hearty meal and studying. Once the clock struck midnight, and he turned 21, the celebration would begin. Fortunately, Steve told his mom, one of the older fraternity brothers who liked to pressure others to drink a lot on their 21st birthdays would not be able to attend. Steve left his parents with the impression that he would drink responsibly that night — a drink, maybe two — and would likely skip his first class. He would, he told his mom, attend his second class before heading to El Paso to celebrate his birthday with his parents.
It didn’t work out that way.
Steve was pronounced dead on Nov. 19 at Thomason Hospital in El Paso. The cause was alcohol poisoning. Friends who were with him during the early hours of Nov. 18 reported that he consumed at least 15 shots of hard liquor, including whiskey and tequila, in a two-hour period. Some friends who were present said he also drank several beers and mixed drinks at two Las Cruces bars.
• • •
Steve was a big man — 6-feet 4-inches, at least 190 pounds — with a big smile and an outgoing personality. He was hard-working and sociable and had a heart for helping people. He spent most nights doing homework until the early hours of the morning. He spent Sundays studying. As an honors student, his grade point average was above 3.5. Fraternity members had recently elected Steve president, in part because of his grades.
Steve’s parents raised him with an attitude of service, which he tried to pass on to his fraternity brothers. When a boy in the Canutillo, Texas, school district was battling leukemia, Steve organized his fraternity members to collect soda-can tabs to raise money for the boy’s treatment. He made the fraternity pledges pull the tabs off soda cans and collect them in gallon-size jugs.
Some of his fraternity brothers partied a lot. Steve worried that some of them might be alcoholics. He drank at fraternity parties, though he was underage. But he didn’t get drunk. Steve often felt like he had to take charge of fraternity activities because no one else did. He stayed sober because others didn’t. Someone needed to be in control, in case others needed help.
But in the early hours of Nov. 18, it was Steve who needed his fraternity brothers to care for him.
Steve lay on the floor at the Delta Chi fraternity house on Plain Street sometime after 2 a.m. and went to sleep. He had just spent two hours drinking with friends at Hurricane Alley on Solano Drive and The Brew on Valley Drive. A designated driver brought Steve and the others back to the house. Before going to sleep, Steve’s fraternity brothers made sure he was breathing. One placed a bucket next to his body on the floor, in case he got sick.
When they awoke several hours later, fraternity members found vomit. Steve was still sleeping, and still intoxicated, but he was breathing. Sometime later, he stopped breathing. Fraternity member Kyle Nelson called 911, then performed CPR on Steve before emergency personnel arrived at about 8:30 a.m. Like Nelson, they could not revive Steve. He was taken by ambulance to Memorial Medical Center. Many fraternity members followed the ambulance to the hospital.
At the hospital, doctors were able to revive Steve’s breathing.
• • •
Steve first crossed the border to go clubbing in Juárez during his senior year at Franklin High School in El Paso. He went with his parents’ permission, and afterward he discussed the experience with his mom. Going to the Mexican clubs was a rite of passage, but he told his mom he could not understand the appeal of hanging out with drunk teens.
Steve drank some during the club visits, but his parents set strict rules and he never came home drunk. He attended other parties in high school where alcohol was available and probably drank in moderation. According to a 2003 Core Institute study, Steve joins 80 percent of NMSU students who say they first drank alcohol before attending college.
Being realists, Steve’s parents did their best to raise their son to drink responsibly.
At about 10 a.m. on Nov. 18, Steve’s father, Steven Sr., got the call every parent dreads. He was told his son was in the hospital on life support after a night of binge drinking. He and his wife drove to Las Cruces from El Paso. They found their son in a coma. About 1:30 p.m., they followed Steve back to El Paso where he was taken by helicopter to Thomason with massive brain trauma. There a doctor told Steven Sr., in a cold, emotionless voice, that his son might survive but had suffered massive brain damage and would never be the same.
That was the best-case scenario.Early in the hours of Nov. 19, doctors declared Steve brain dead. He was kept on life support for a short time after that so his organs could be harvested for donation.
• • •
Karen spoke with her son several times each day by telephone, and Nov. 17 was no exception. Steve was working on several school projects that day, and called his mom each time he finished one. It was during those conversations that the two discussed that night’s drinking plans. Before she hung up each time, the last at about 6 p.m., Karen told Steve she loved him. She made sure to always do that before she hung up. Steven Sr. also talked with his son about 6 p.m. on Nov. 17, about 30 minutes before Steve left work. After classes, he worked at a small Las Cruces engineering firm that was developing software to improve computer communication in Third World countries, and make the technology affordable.
Steve was beginning to form more definite plans for his future, and that evening he spoke with his dad about graduate school and a career with the FBI, working with computers on national security and counterterrorism. Steve also talked once more with his dad about the night’s drinking plans. Steven Sr. left his son with some advice: Finish your homework, remember while you’re out drinking with friends that you have class tomorrow, and don’t drink too much.
Before leaving work, Steve told his boss, Wirt Atmar, that he had a lot of homework to do that night. His boss watched as Steve petted the cats who live outside the office, then got into his car and drove away.
Heath Haussamen can be reached at [email protected]
Wow, today is the first I have heard of this. Steven used to occasionally give me rides home from school, I guess it was 4 years ago now. He was always a good guy, and the world is that much worse off without him.
Posted by: Evan Charles | Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at 05:13 PM