Red ribbons promote awareness
By Jon Gilman
Staff Writer
Oct. 16, 1996 — On this day, Purdue graduate
student Jay Severson, a floor counselor at Wiley Hall, was murdered
by hall resident Jarrod Eskew. Severson reportedly discovered Eskew
with cocaine in his room the previous day and reported it to police.
When police went to question Eskew, he had left
campus, only to resurface the next day with a 12-gauge shotgun that
he used to kill Severson and, eventually, himself.
News of the incident spread quickly throughout
the campus that afternoon, and T.R. Oneal, manager of Tarkington Residence
Hall, remembers the day clearly.
"The students were very surprised, they just could
not believe that something like this could happen at Purdue," he said.
In response to the murder-suicide, the Purdue residence
staff joined the Coalition for a Safe and Drug-Free Tippecanoe County
in the annual celebration of Red Ribbon Week.
Nancy Maylath, director of the Student Wellness
Office at Purdue and chairman of the Red Ribbon Week Committee, said
the campaign promotes the campus and community coming together in recognition
of those who died in incidents related to drugs and alcohol.
Red Ribbon Week is actually a local celebration
of the national campaign, which began in 1986.
Parents across the United States are asked to wear
red ribbons to symbolize their support of a drug-free America.
Purdue's Red Ribbon Week will run in conjunction
with National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week to educate the public
on the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse.
The first campus event of the week is a Walk/Run,
which takes place 8 a.m. Saturday in front of Wiley Residence Hall.
The event is a 1.5 mile walk/5K run that typically raises $1,000 to
$1,500 each year.
The proceeds benefit the Purdue Red Ribbon Week
Fund, which provides money for preventing drug abuse.
"The race is not only about remembering one student
who began the process, but it is about remembering the many students
and faculty who have been impacted by drugs and alcohol," Oneal said.
Oneal has worked with Wiley Residence Hall manager
Chad Johnson, the founder of the race, since its inception in the spring
of 1997. The race was initially a memorial to Severson, but became linked
with Red Ribbon Week when Purdue residence staff teamed with Maylath's
committee.
Another event of the week includes a breakfast
Monday at The Trails restaurant, 325 Burnetts Road, Lafayette. The Red
Ribbon honorary chairpersons — Purdue coaches Joe Tiller, Gene
Keady, Kristy Curry, Dan Ross and Cathy Wright-Eger — will speak
at the public breakfast.
Also on Monday, all residence hall staff members
will be wearing their staff T-shirts in remembrance of Severson's death.
Interested Purdue students are encouraged to get
involved in the Red Ribbon Week activities. Maylath said, "drugs can
ruin lives and impact families, and you can choose to not let them rule
your life. That's what Red Ribbon Week is about."
· For more information on the week's activities
call 471-9916.
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