Following the death of Jason Wren, Kansas University has formed a panel to examine how the university deals with privacy laws.

Wren’s father, Jay Wren, from Littleton, Colo., has been critical of KU after the university declined to release information to him relating to his son’s alcohol-related incidents while living in a university residence hall.

Jason Wren was later found dead in his fraternity house after a night of drinking, his family said.

Marlesa Roney, vice provost of student success, said the panel includes university administrators, and would later be expanded to include student input.

Jay Wren said that a discussion wasn’t going far enough, and that the university had an obligation to provide information on alcohol abuse to parents.

“For them to try and isolate the kids from the parents is asinine,” he said. “It’s ridiculous.”

Wren said that after he finds out more details regarding his son’s death, he plans on speaking out nationally on the issue in an effort to get universities to hand over information in cases such as his son’s.

Under national privacy laws, KU has the option to provide information on health and safety to parents without written consent, Roney said.

Roney said students she has spoken with are split down the middle concerning parental notification when alcohol is involved. She said that although it may seem like a “no-brainer,” it’s a complex issue, and the committee will review the benefits and consequences of notifying parents.

“We are absolutely looking at all the different options,” she said.

She said the review process was typical of any time when a significant event occurs on campus.

Roney said she didn’t know of a timeline for any decisions from the committee.

“This is so important that I don’t want to slap a deadline on it and say we have to be done in two weeks,” Roney said.