The death of one student and the arrest of others on alcohol-related charges grab headlines but do little to change behavior, several Minnesota State University Moorhead students said Monday.
"I've heard just as many people wandering around going, 'I'm going to get totally smashed tonight,' as I had before," said Zac Wendler, a junior.
"Before" meant Sept. 23, the day police believe 19-year-old Patrick Kycia drowned in the Red River after drinking heavily at the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity in Moorhead.
The incident led to arrests this weekend of several fraternity members on felony charges of furnishing Kycia with alcohol.
Kycia's death and the arrests may give students reason to pause, but drinking habits won't change, junior Ryan Short said.
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"After a while, it just goes back to the way it was," said Short, who lives in Snarr Hall on the MSUM campus.
Short added that since Kycia's death he has noticed stiff enforcement of alcohol policies on campus.
"Last week, a couple doors down they were having a box wine party and they got caught with that," Short said.
Junior Miranda Albers said she found it upsetting that highly publicized cases aren't enough to convince people of the dangers of alcohol.
"You learn after it's too late, sometimes," Albers said.
"I wish people would pay attention," senior Heidi Sunderman said.
"When I heard about it (Kycia's death) I was really upset and sad," she said. "I was like, maybe people will finally wake up and realize the consequences."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555
