The death of a Mount St. Mary?s University student from Lutherville has prompted educators to call for a crackdown on college drinking.
“Probably the greatest alcohol problem we have is on our college campuses,” said Michael Gimbel, drug abuse educator with Sheppard Pratt Health System.
About 1,700 college students ages 18 to 24 die each year from alcohol-related injuries, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Dustin Bauer, 22, a senior, died Wednesday at University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, his family said. He had leaned over a residence hall stairwell railing and fallen 10 feet at 1 a.m. Sunday.
“Alcohol may have been a factor” in Bauer?s death, said Linda Sherman, a school spokeswoman. She would not elaborate, saying the investigation is ongoing.
But DeWitt Bauer Jr., who said he spoke with witnesses, doesn?t believe alcohol contributed to his brother?s death.
“He was sitting on the railingin the apartment tower and had lost his balance, hit his head on the railing, then flipped and landed right above his left eyebrow,” he said.
Bauer was of legal drinking age, but Gimbel pointed to his death as a tragedy state lawmakers should keep in mind when debating legislation aimed at curbing youth drinking.
Noting that most college students start drinking far younger than age 21, Gimbel blasted Sen. Bobby Zirkin, D-Baltimore County, for weakening a bill that would have jailed people for giving alcohol to minors. Zirkin advocated fines instead, saying he didn?t want to criminalize college kids for drinking while tailgating.
When Mount St. Mary?s basketball team beat Sacred Heart on Wednesday to win its first spot in the NCAA tournament in a decade, the crowd chanted Bauer?s name.
Bauer, a Calvert Hall alumnus and competitive runner, would have graduated May 10, majoring in criminal justice and sociology. Instead, Kathy and DeWitt Bauer Sr. have donated their son?s organs.
“It will really be an incredible thing when whomever receives Dustin?s heart wakes from their surgery with their feet already running them out of the room,” his brother wrote in an online memorial.
