One mother is taking action and encouraging safety among college students by promoting the Indiana Lifeline Law after the death of her daughter in 2013.
Angi Fiege, founder of Rachael’s First Week, along with three of Rachael Fiege’s closest childhood friends, spoke to students on Oct. 22 sharing the story of Rachael, who died just two days after moving into Indiana University as a freshman.
Rachael attended an off-campus party with some friends and fell down a flight of stairs, hitting her head and causing an internal head injury. When her friends found her, they laid her down, not realizing that her brain was bleeding. The next morning, Rachael was not breathing and an ambulance was called. She died from her injures.
“Even though there was underage drinking involved, if one person would have just recognized that something was wrong and made the call, Rachael could still be here today,” said Angi, Rachael's mother, fighting tears after showing a video highlighting Rachael’s life.
Angi said the program was not created as something to mourn over, but to help protect students as they transition from high school to college. Its mission is to develop the decision-making skills of teens as they enter this time of monumental change in their lives by giving them the opportunity to develop their potential as friends, mentors and good citizens while they mature into adulthood, according to the program’s website.
One way to do that is to be the one to step in and call for help when needed — which is what Indiana Lifeline Law is for, said Racheal’s brother Jeremy Fiege, who promoted the law along with representatives of the Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in the presentation.
The Indiana Lifeline Law was created to protect people under 21 from prosecution for certain alcohol related offenses if they call for help in a medical emergency, call to report a crime or have been the victim of a sexual assault.
Jeremy emphasized that this law essentially allows immunity to someone who is underage and intoxicated if they are calling 911 to help another person in danger. In order to be completely protected, one must call for help, provide information to the authorities, stay with the person who needs medical attention and follow any instructions given.
“Ask yourself when you see what happens in cases like with Rachael — do you really need to have protection from misdemeanors to act and help save a life?” Jeremy said.
Jeremy told students the group was not there to preach the law, but to urge students to think about the bigger picture by challenging them to be the ones to take action, instead of just assuming someone else would. Ball State also pushes this message to students with their Step In. Speak Up. campaign.
Every 44 hours, a college-aged person dies from alcohol poisoning, or from drinking too much, too fast, according to the Indiana Youth Services Association. Most teen drinking deaths aren’t traffic related, and are from other alcohol-infused accidents — including falls, like what happened to Rachael.
“We are here to encourage you to think about the bigger picture,” Angi said. “The bottom line is to not think about it, just call for help.”
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