There is nothing uncommon about drinking heavily on a Friday night.
Groups of friends gathering together at a bar until late into the
night, then continuing the party at someone’s home is pretty standard
in a college town like Moscow. But in a town where the population is
young and looking for a release, it’s easy to forget the dangers of
alcohol.
This was the case for Daniel Miller, a 23-year-old senior from Wilder, Idaho, majoring in secondary education. Miller died Saturday morning from alcohol poisoning.
According to Moscow Assistant Police Chief David Duke, Miller and a group of friends started drinking about 7 p.m. Friday at C.J.’s. The group took advantage of the establishment’s 7-11 deal, where consumers can drink from a keg cup for $6 with unlimited refills from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The group left about 11:30 p.m. and went to a private residence, where they continued playing drinking games until 2 a.m., Duke said.
“At 2 a.m., he began passing out,” Duke said. “His friends kept checking on him until around 4:30 a.m., when they all went to sleep.”
Around 8 a.m. Saturday, Miller was found unresponsive and transported via ambulance to Gritman Medical Center in Moscow, where he was later pronounced dead. Duke said the last alcohol-related death in Moscow was in 2005. It was a case of asphyxiation.
“The human body can only consume so much alcohol until it starts shutting down,” Duke said. “People need to realize that.”
When too much alcohol is ingested, the brain begins to shut down involuntary functions that regulate breathing and heart rate. This sometimes results in a person passing out, which can be mistakenly associated with “sleeping it off.”
This sometimes results in a person passing out, which can be mistakenly associated with “sleeping it off.”
Bruce Pitman, vice provost of student affairs, said students often underestimate how alcohol will affect them, instead it’s treated as an accepted part of campus culture instead of dangerous substance that requires constant monitoring and responsible use, he said.
“Occasionally, students express surprise that alcohol can kill, and in this case it did,” Pitman said. “Prior to Spring Break, (Brotherhood Empowerment Against Rape) put on an alcohol awareness program where students guessed how much alcohol was in a drink … almost everyone underestimated the amount of alcohol.”
American culture embraces excess, including binge drinking. Duke said this leads to common misconceptions of how alcohol can affect people.
“Drinking affects your metabolic function,” he said, “It’s important to control what you’re ingesting.”
The reaction to Miller’s death didn’t cause huge waves locally. Pitman said the campus reaction varies from situation to situation. Because Miller wasn’t part of a large living group and led a relatively private life, the reaction among students has been docile. However, Pitman emphasized that this is a “tragic and horrible situation.”
“I feel this is not an issue we can treat passively,” Pitman said.
The investigation of Millers death is ongoing, and an autopsy will be conducted in the next few weeks. Moscow police have executed two search warrants and are investigating what happened and whether anyone acted negligently, Duke said.
In Wilder, Duke said, Miller’s passing was a shock to the community. Andrew Miller, Daniel Miller’s brother, has created a memorial Facebook page.
A funeral for Daniel Miller will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Homedale Middle School located at 3437 Johnstone Road in Homedale.
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