Post by tex on May 19, 2011 15:36:59 GMT -5
"Blackout Willie": Friends knew dead UA student abused drugs & alcohol
Posted: May 18, 2011
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - KGUN9 On Your Side has learned more about the death of a UA student found in his fraternity house in early April.
KGUN 9 obtained the University of Arizona police report showing fellow students knew Wilson Forrester had serious drug and alcohol problems, but no one forced him to get help.
No one at Phi Gamma Delta, also called Fiji House, has ever commented in detail on the 19-year-old sophomore's death. Now there may be no one in town to comment, since UA Police did not release their report on his death until after graduation.
The report is an interesting reflection on campus substance abuse. It makes it clear plenty of people knew Forrester was abusing drugs and alcohol but never reported it in a way that would get him some treatment.
Forrester's substance abuse was no surprise to people who knew him. A roommate told police Forrester was known around Fiji House as "Blackout Willie". The UA Police report outlines a sad tale of people who knew the student was deep into drugs and alcohol but did little more than warn him to change.
The night Forrester died of a deadly mix of the tranquilizer Xanax, the painkiller Oxycodone, and alcohol, students told police he was so intoxicated they saw his eyes roll back in his head. But the report says nothing about anyone trying to take him to emergency treatment.
Forrester had the political connections that helped him meet former President Bill Clinton.
Forrester's father chairs the Tennessee Democratic Party. Chip Forrester says he would have tried to stop his son's drug and alcohol abuse if he'd only known about it. Now he's calling on UA President Robert Shelton to push for better education on the dangers of mixing alcohol and drugs.
"I really asked the University and particularly President Shelton to step up and really address this from an education point of view. We can't turn the clock back on my son's death but we can certainly work towards educating students," Chip Forrester said.
The report quotes the Fiji House president as saying Forrester had such a history of being drunk and belligerent he'd been through a disciplinary hearing. However, Fiji handled the trouble internally, with no report to Greek Life, which oversees U of A fraternities and sororities. Forrester was set for a second hearing and possible eviction from Fiji House, but he died two days before the hearing date.
John Leggio, director of The Mark, a local substance abuse center, said someone should have stepped in to call attention to Forrester's problems. He explained that signs like the mixing of drugs and alcohol should have raised red flags for fellow students.
"Obviously so, if someone is blacking out, someone's eyes are rolling back, or if they're acting belligerent. If they're a danger to themselves or to other people, then I think someone should have stepped in," Leggio told KGUN9. He said he believes it was the responsibility of everyone involve to intervene in the situation, and said that now, the goal is to make sure this doesn't happen again. "If there's a student that is concerned about another student potentially overdosing or being a threat to other students, then there should be some type of protocol."
UA President Robert Shelton is out of town and unavailable for comment. We do know UA Greek Life does encourage alcohol awareness at the fraternities and sororities but in earlier stories a representative told us they do not teach much about the dangers of combining alcohol and prescription drugs.
Posted: May 18, 2011
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - KGUN9 On Your Side has learned more about the death of a UA student found in his fraternity house in early April.
KGUN 9 obtained the University of Arizona police report showing fellow students knew Wilson Forrester had serious drug and alcohol problems, but no one forced him to get help.
No one at Phi Gamma Delta, also called Fiji House, has ever commented in detail on the 19-year-old sophomore's death. Now there may be no one in town to comment, since UA Police did not release their report on his death until after graduation.
The report is an interesting reflection on campus substance abuse. It makes it clear plenty of people knew Forrester was abusing drugs and alcohol but never reported it in a way that would get him some treatment.
Forrester's substance abuse was no surprise to people who knew him. A roommate told police Forrester was known around Fiji House as "Blackout Willie". The UA Police report outlines a sad tale of people who knew the student was deep into drugs and alcohol but did little more than warn him to change.
The night Forrester died of a deadly mix of the tranquilizer Xanax, the painkiller Oxycodone, and alcohol, students told police he was so intoxicated they saw his eyes roll back in his head. But the report says nothing about anyone trying to take him to emergency treatment.
Forrester had the political connections that helped him meet former President Bill Clinton.
Forrester's father chairs the Tennessee Democratic Party. Chip Forrester says he would have tried to stop his son's drug and alcohol abuse if he'd only known about it. Now he's calling on UA President Robert Shelton to push for better education on the dangers of mixing alcohol and drugs.
"I really asked the University and particularly President Shelton to step up and really address this from an education point of view. We can't turn the clock back on my son's death but we can certainly work towards educating students," Chip Forrester said.
The report quotes the Fiji House president as saying Forrester had such a history of being drunk and belligerent he'd been through a disciplinary hearing. However, Fiji handled the trouble internally, with no report to Greek Life, which oversees U of A fraternities and sororities. Forrester was set for a second hearing and possible eviction from Fiji House, but he died two days before the hearing date.
John Leggio, director of The Mark, a local substance abuse center, said someone should have stepped in to call attention to Forrester's problems. He explained that signs like the mixing of drugs and alcohol should have raised red flags for fellow students.
"Obviously so, if someone is blacking out, someone's eyes are rolling back, or if they're acting belligerent. If they're a danger to themselves or to other people, then I think someone should have stepped in," Leggio told KGUN9. He said he believes it was the responsibility of everyone involve to intervene in the situation, and said that now, the goal is to make sure this doesn't happen again. "If there's a student that is concerned about another student potentially overdosing or being a threat to other students, then there should be some type of protocol."
UA President Robert Shelton is out of town and unavailable for comment. We do know UA Greek Life does encourage alcohol awareness at the fraternities and sororities but in earlier stories a representative told us they do not teach much about the dangers of combining alcohol and prescription drugs.
