A Sigma Alpha Epsilon member was found dead Sunday afternoon at the Kansas University fraternity, 1301 West Campus Road.
Lawrence police identified the deceased KU student as Jason Christopher Wren, 19, of Littleton, Colo. Though the cause of death hasn’t been determined, foul play was not immediately suspected, said Capt. Ray Urbanek.
“There’s still a lot to do,” he said.
Police said they were called shortly after 2:30 p.m. to the fraternity house, where they found Wren unresponsive.
“He went to bed last night and he obviously didn’t wake up this morning,” said Urbanek.
Urbanek said an autopsy would likely be performed to determine the cause of death.
Fraternity members did not return calls for comment. An adult at the fraternity house, who identified himself only as a KU greek leader, said there were no chapter events going on at the house Saturday night.
Members of the fraternity met for a group meeting at the house shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday, the adult leader said.
KU spokeswoman Jill Jess sent an e-mailed statement Sunday night. “Counselors are being made available to the membership and others who knew the deceased,” she said. “Our hearts go out to family and friends on this sad day.”
Comments
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This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
prospector (anonymous) says…
ralphralph, you are a sick jerk!
Just pathetic.
Bubarubu (anonymous) says…
"If this were one of those “Lawyer Joke” riddles..." But it's not. A person has died, and the best this idiot can come up with is wishing he had a better setup for a joke. Like the Amber Alert from the other day, I sincerely hope the idiot's comment gets removed and the kid's family and friends don't ever have to see what a fool this person is.
rgh (anonymous) says…
ralphralph,
You should have your account and e-mail rights taken away from the Journal World.
I've asked for your post to be removed as I hope the others do also.
What a stupid post when a young person has lost his life and his family and friends facing a horrible future without him. You're pathetic!
kusp8 (anonymous) says…
It's gone
kusp8 (anonymous) says…
Rather ralphralph's comment is.
RoeDapple (anonymous) says…
Ask anyone who has children what their worst fear is, this young man's parents are going through this at this very moment.
Our thoughts, our prayers are with his family
TacoBob (anonymous) says…
No offense to the first 3, but how about taking down the conmments referring to a comment that is not there anymore.
rgh (anonymous) says…
TacoBob,
Did you see the comment posted and why it was removed and why we were angered? I'm hoping you would have been upset and disgusted as well if you had.
Bubarubu (anonymous) says…
I don't take any offense, and feel free to flag mine (esp. since I quoted the original post).
On another note, my condolences to the young man's friend and family.
bretherite (anonymous) says…
I can't imagine what the parents are going thru. My prayers to them and the men at the SAE house.
Shardwurm (anonymous) says…
Tragic. No matter what the cause. Just sad.
prospector (anonymous) says…
To the men of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, it is my hope that peace and solice can be found in these dark times for your members. Treasure the memories of your brother and go forward with his spirit.
TacoBob (anonymous) says…
rgh, no I did not, and am not taking a shot at you for commenting on it. Glad I didn't see it based on the comments. Just wondering if all references to it could be removed as it was obviously offensive and now gone. But, I have contributed to the distraction by my off topic comments. I'm going to flag myself!
dstavin (anonymous) says…
It's time for the Journal-World to step up and take some responsibility for the consistently uncivilized tone of this public forum.
verity (anonymous) says…
dstavin---I agree.
My thoughts are with the family and friends in this very difficult time.
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
dstavin
(Anonymous) says…
It's time for the Journal-World to step up and take some responsibility for the consistently uncivilized tone of this public forum.
---no, as far as I can tell there was one rude jerk laughing at a death story. otherwise, and overwhelmingly, posters have been humane, concerned and caring. free speech is free, not necessarily pretty.
***
God grant peace to all who knew him, and to his parents most of all. there are many potential causes for an "unattended death."
SAE men, we'll be praying for you. many in the community do care about you college students.
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
75x55 (anonymous) says…
Condolences to family and friends.
LJW - is it possible to turn off this comment section on particularly sensitive stories such as this?
JoRight (anonymous) says…
I'm not speculating here, so please do not jump on me.
It's a sad sad day for KU, SAE & the greek community. Everyone should always keep in mind safety & hopefully, there will be good to come out of this situation.
Thoughts & prayers for everyone involved.
d_haggerty (anonymous) says…
Last semester, a student of mine was killed in a car crash. The Journal-World ran a story about it, and of course there were the requisite snide comments on the website. Any death is a tragedy, and the people who leave disrespectful comments on such events are clearly too oblivious to realize this.
I'm usually in favor of any type of online discussion, but in the case of a death I don't believe that ljworld.com should allow comments on their website.
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
I understand this is a tragic situation for all involved, but this is a forum for discussion. Not all people will be apologetic and caring. It's not the way the world is, but how we would like it to be. There will be some stupid comments, (and it seems solely for the attention that they get). Should the LJW be responsible for that? NO. Should the LJW change their policy? NO. Because that would be letting them win.
Once again, if you don't think you will like what is written, then don't read it. Although it's within their power to do so, I hope the LJW doesn't restrict which articles are allowed comment. Sometimes a lot can be learned by understanding someone else's position.
sourpuss (anonymous) says…
How sad. I hope the family finds meaning and peace in their loss.
I actually agree with you, mom_of_three. I have learned more about the community of Lawrence reading these comments than I had in the 27 years I lived there. I like it a lot less now.
bad_dog (anonymous) says…
If you review ralphralph's comment history, this is at least the 3rd time he's posted sarcastic comments regarding a death. Perhaps it's time for a disappearing act...
bad_dog (anonymous) says…
Oh and condolences to the family. I can't think of anything more tragic than the death of your child-regardless of the circumstances..
Fatty_McButterpants (anonymous) says…
Heaven forbid someone post an offensive comment! That might actually test our freedom of speech. Oh...right. Freedom of speech should only exist if it's something you agree with... Even truly tasteless jokes and comments should be allowed. If you don't like them, don't read them.
Fatty_McButterpants (anonymous) says…
Haggerty, you can't be serious when you say that "every death is a tragedy"? Death is a part of life. It's not a tragedy. It's a tragedy when someone loses their life through no fault of their own - murder, cancer, etc. But if someone does something moronic (no, I'm not saying that's the case here) and gets dies as a result, or is 98 years old, it's not a tragedy. It's life.
tsweat (anonymous) says…
fatty i really hope u are not implying jason did something moronic. this was a tragedy, plain and simple. my prayers go out to the family members
KansasPerson (anonymous) says…
Good luck on getting the J-W to change their comments policy. 106 comments after this LTE last summer, lots of discussion, J-W even asked for feedback, and I guess they just decided to leave it the way it is.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/jul...
Pywacket (anonymous) says…
First, my condolences to the family and friends of this young man. I have two kids at KU and cannot even begin to fathom the horror of losing either of them.
Have to respond to Fatty--- If you would look up the historical meaning of tragedy, you'd realize that your assertion is completely backward. Classic Greek (with a capital "G") tragedy refers specifically to someone being brought low (maybe killed, maybe not) by his own flawed nature--pride, hubris, etc. It very specifically did NOT refer to someone dying of cancer, etc.
Common usage of the word nowadays is more inclusive--now, most of us would call it a tragedy when a young person dies of cancer, someone is killed in a car accident, a fire, or a tornado.
But, while the word has taken on broader meaning, it has never excluded its original designation--it is still considered a tragedy when a person's own error or flaw leads to his own downfall or death.
When that person is young, the greatest weight of that tragedy is that he/she probably would have overcome that flaw if given more time and chances.
So, whether you are or are not implying anything about this particular young man's death, your quibbling over the use of the term "tragedy" is unnecessary and based on erroneous understanding of the word. What's your point? If you are waiting for the coroner's report so you can pass judgment and declare to the world whether or not this was a tragedy, you'd do well to understand the word before issuing your grand decision.
The rest of us, I think it fair to say, consider the loss of anyone so young, so full of potential, so beloved to family and friends, a tragedy whatever the cause of that loss.
Danimal (anonymous) says…
It's always a sad thing when young people die.
Hoots (anonymous) says…
I hope this doesn't end up another binge drinking or drug overdose story like at so many other schools. To be gone at 19 is rough.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
The rest of us, I think it fair to say, consider the loss of anyone so young, so full of potential, so beloved to family and friends, a tragedy whatever
the cause of that loss.
*however he died, this is a tragedy! there were hopes and plans unfulfilled, parents' pride and love, now replaced by hurt and loss. friends who enjoyed his company and his comradship now find a gaping hole in their lives and hearts. his own aspirations will not be pursued, cannot be pursued.
I'd say that's a tragedy.
redcoalcarpet (anonymous) says…
I guess I fail to understand why the ljworld allows comments on a sensitive story like this??? The KC Star and the Wichita Eagle do not allow commenting on this type of story; the ljworld should follow their lead!
SpeedRacer (anonymous) says…
It is unfortunate that such a sad story should have to be the place for discussing LJW policy. I wish that the comments section were the type that allowed a reply to the comment made so that if the comment were removed, all replies went with it. Anyone who has posted here for a long time knows there will always be people who post inappropriate or inflammatory comments, and we often know who to expect that from.
For the rest who who are making a visit to the site because of a relationship to the story, my apologies for those who are inconsiderate and my condolences on your loss.
lkwjr (anonymous) says…
Wow! What a bunch of typical pretentious Lawrence D-bags. This is an article about a dead kid and you guys you use it as a forum to bicker back and forth and try to give grammar lessons and make yourself appear smarter than each other. Shut Up! Someone's very young son is dead. Try to show him some respect even if he was a jayhawk.
jonas_opines (anonymous) says…
"Oh…right. Freedom of speech should only exist if it's something you agree with… Even truly tasteless jokes and comments should be allowed. If you don't like them, don't read them."
Freedom of speech of course only refers to the actions of the government. As a private company running a semi-public website, the LJWorld has the freedom to institute whatever policy they choose to. Cencorship is, to my mind, somewhat acceptable on the forum for the extraordinary cases, because frankly the online, detached and anonymous nature of internet posting removes its posters from the primary consequences of uncivilized speech. That being, if they said some of these things in real life, especially at a wake or a funeral, they'd get decked.
There is a place for alternative viewpoints, of course. But to hide personal offensiveness (particularly offensiveness with no other point to it) behind the guise of Freedom of Speech is the hallmark of the true coward.
jonas_opines (anonymous) says…
Not to call referenced poster a coward, for that matter. As near as I read, there were no particularly offensive comments from that source, and the defense was of other posters.
MacHeath (anonymous) says…
I really don't think the founding fathers had anonymous forums in mind in regard to free speech. Trying to defend these forums on that basis is like trying to call graffiti "free speech".
My condolences to friends, and family. Its very hard to deal with this sort of unexpected loss.
slowplay (anonymous) says…
Eliminate anonymous posting.
Condolences to the family and all who knew him.
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
Sad story. Condolences to the family.
This isn't a freedom of speech issue. It is a private company's website. They can allow whatever they want to be posted.
Pywacket (anonymous) says…
Get over yourself, lkwjr. You're the biggest hypocrite here. That last line was truly mature and classy---not!
Note to misguided censorship proponents: this is a public discussion forum, not a funeral home's "Tributes" page. While I support the LJW's pulling of any deliberately nasty comments directed at victims, I also support their policy of allowing discussion to take place on discussion forums.
Most of us here are deeply sympathetic to the anguish this family is experiencing. I, for one, expect that they have far better things to do at the moment than read and dwell on the comments of a bunch of strangers. Every parent's worst nightmare has been visited upon these people. Don't flatter yourselves (and the rest of us) by thinking that any discussion here can possibly intensify or mitigate their pain.
It's natural for people to discuss the news--whether the news is good, bad, ugly, happy, or tragic. We've moved from the water cooler to the computer screen. I don't think it matters that we post anonymously--we still have a sense of community with other posters. And this is what communities do--discuss things, go off on conversational tangents, quibble over meaning, etc. It's normal.
Boston_Corbett (anonymous) says…
What TOB said.
redmoonrising (anonymous) says…
Condolences to the family and friends of this young man. I have never lost a child but have known others who have. It is a life changing event, for many one that takes away any sense of a normal life for years or even a lifetime afterwards. It would be ideal if we all wrote posts as if they were being written to us if the situation were reversed.
HW (anonymous) says…
As with the majority so far, my condolences to family, friends and brothers. The brotherhood that many greek members share is just as strong as most of their familial relationships.
That said, I agree with logic. If you don't agree with the posting on these topics, don't post. Along the same lines, if you don't agree with people posting anonymously, then don't post anonymously. Step up to the standards you want to set for others. There are many good reasons to post anonymously.
Third, the LJW has a pretty good policy already. Once somebody requests removal, it doesn't take long for Jonathan and the others to remove the post. Practice some self control and don't read the comments if your going to get your feelings hurt.