Walk/run event begins Red Ribbon Week

By Diana Swanson
Staff Writer

As a kickoff for Purdue's Red Ribbon Week, the University Residences sponsored an annual walk/run event in recognition of drug and alcohol awareness.

The walk/run began at 8 a.m. in front of Wiley Hall. Participants had the choice of walking a designated one-and-a-half-mile route or running a five-kilometer loop around campus.

Each year, the walk/run raises approximately $1,500, and all proceeds benefit the Purdue Red Ribbon Week Fund, which provides money for education, counseling and training in the prevention of drug abuse.

Red Ribbon Week was originally a memorial that developed in 1986 for a federal drug enforcement agent, Enrique Camarena, who was murdered in Mexico by drug traffickers.

Purdue's fund was initially named the Jay Severson Memorial Fund in remembrance of Jay Severson, a graduate student and Purdue University residence hall counselor, who was shot and killed 6 years ago, on Oct. 16, 1996.

Jarrod Eskew, a former freshman in the School of Liberal Arts and resident on Severson's floor, shot Severson for turning him into the police for possession of cocaine in his Wiley Hall room. The day before, Severson had witnessed Eskew with cocaine and quickly notified the Police Department. When police arrived on location, remnants of marijuana and cocaine were discovered in Eskew's room, but the police could not find him.

On Oct. 16, Eskew returned to Wiley Hall and shot Severson with a 12-gauge shotgun. Eskew then locked himself in his room and shot himself in the head with the same shotgun.

It was later revealed during an autopsy that Eskew had traces of marijuana and cocaine in his system at the time of the murder.

"The walk/run originally began as a commemorative event for Jay Severson, and now has evolved into a regularly scheduled event for Red Ribbon Week," said Tarkington Hall Manager, Thomas R. Oneal.

Each year, nearly 100 Purdue students and Lafayette area citizens participate in the memorial event, all of whom contribute their time for different reasons.

"I lost my cousin to drugs…" said Christina Weber, a freshman in the School of Liberal Arts. "I just felt that walking in this event would help make people more aware of the dangers of drug abuse."

Johanna Phillips, a freshman in the School of Science, said the walk/run is a great way to raise money for the Purdue Red Ribbon Week Fund. "What better than to raise awareness of safety (and drug issues at Purdue). Not enough people are aware of this great way to raise money," she said.

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