News From Terre Haute, Indiana

Breaking News

Editorials

October 24, 2012

EDITORIAL: Lifeline Law will save lives

Measure allows underage drinkers to face up to sobering reality

TERRE HAUTE — A fact of life is that many college students will drink.

Too much.

That applies as much to those under 21 as to those of legal drinking age.

Some will drink so much they will pass out — with life-threatening high blood-alcohol levels.

Those around them — often underage friends who also have been drinking, also perhaps too much — may not act soon enough to help a drinker in danger. One reason may be fear of getting into trouble with the law.

If nothing is done in those situations, the result could be far worse than a hangover. The result could be death.

That’s happened to a couple of dozen Hoosiers under 21 in the last decade, according to state Sen. Jim Merritt, R-Indianapolis, who, together with Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, brought a message to Indiana State University students in Terre Haute last week.

The message: If an underage friend is in trouble from too much alcohol, you can act to get your friend needed medical help without facing jail and fines for violating alcohol laws.

Indiana’s Lifeline Law, which became effective July 1, is the legal mechanism that allows immunity to those who call for help and stay around to help a friend in peril and talk with police and medics.

Says Merritt, a main sponsor of the law: “What is happening is kids panic and don’t really know which way is up. We don’t want them to panic. Just because someone made a mistake, they should not pay with their life.”

Students at several Indiana colleges pressed legislators to introduce and pass the law, and now, as Zoeller said, those students need to “talk to their friends and neighbors and spread the word … to look out after each other and use the Indiana Lifeline Law when necessary.”

To which we would add: Parents of college students and school staff who interact daily with students also need to help spread the word on the Lifeline Law — so that in a minute of panic, a student can know that a call for help will not mean a trip to jail.

Lives — young, productive, valuable — are literally on the line.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Editorials
Latest News
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
TribStar.com Poll
AP Video
Tiger on Sergio: 'It's Time to Move On' RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled Rain Damages Brazil Soccer Stadium Ex-NFL Star Chad Johnson Out of Jail Hoffa Mystery Still Fascinates After 4 Decades Raw: NASCAR Driver Jason Leffler Dies in Wreck Robot Action Connected to Human Thought 3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park Falling Cable Hurts 10 NASCAR Fans NYC 911 Call Lasts for 8 Hours Raw: 1 Dead in Shooting at Mo. Apartment Complex Raw: Marines Land Osprey on Japanese Ship Raw: Volcano Erupts Near Mexico City California Cops Cruise on Stand-up Paddle Patrol Raw: First Lady, Daughters Enjoy Irish Sights Raw: Obama Arrives in Berlin Obama: NSA Secret Data Gathering 'Transparent' Boeing, Airbus Battle for Sales Supremacy Pa. Girl Who Took on Donor Rules Gets Lungs
NDN Video
Spurs' Popovich has no problem with Spurs' intensity Inside Kim Kardashian's Premature Labor Three Charged for Enslaving Mother and Daughter Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled Paige Butcher Scorches on Hawaii Beach Video: worst way to load cargo onto a plane Never-before-seen footage of '08 Times Square bomber Obama: NSA Secret Data Gathering 'Transparent' WATCH IT: Lil Wayne tramples American flag Mariah Carey Looks Beautiful in a Tiny Cut-Out Swimsuit Out of Control Boat Throws Passengers Overboard See Lindsay Lohan in Rehab Sofia Vergara Posts Perky Backside Pic in Thong Gaga Ditches Her Crazy Couture Caught on Tape: Teacher Accused of Beating Autistic Child "Stay Classy" Campaign Aims to Curb Binge Drinking Sesame Street Tackling Tough Topic Parents in Jail Miss Utah Fumbles Interview Question Deranged man claims Newark-bound flight was poisoned
Parade
Magazine

Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
  • -

     

    March 12, 2010

activity
Real Estate News