On Nov. 4, 1998, MSU student Bradley died after attempting 24 shots in two hours on the eve of his 21st birthday.

Bradley’s mother, Cindy McCue, and her husband began the Be Responsible About Drinking, or B.R.A.D., organization to educate young adults and parents about the dangers of excess alcohol use and how to avoid repeating what happened to Bradley. MSU students were the first of more than 130 colleges and universities in the U.S. to receive B.R.A.D. cards before their 21st birthday, which include information on B.R.A.D. and a wallet-sized card with alcohol poisoning facts.

“(There) was nothing different about him,” Cindy McCue, a Clarkston, Mich., resident, said. “(He was like) any other student at Michigan State, other than he made a mistake that night.”

According to the MSU Student Health Assessment: Spring 2012, about 38 percent of students surveyed claimed to have drank alcohol on six or more of the past 30 days.

Morgan Chavez, an environmental studies and agriscience junior, received a B.R.A.D. card at her parents’ house before her 21st birthday, and it hangs on the fridge to this day.

Bradley’s story lives as a reminder to students, including Chavez, to think twice when celebrating their 21st birthday.

Dennis Martell, director of health promotion at Student Health Services, has been involved in B.R.A.D. since the organization started in 1999.

“The first legal time that students are allowed to drink is when they are on campus, that’s why I think the card does work,” Martell said. “It starts the dialogue that they need.”

Remembering a life, saving another

Bradley, who was a parks and recreation management junior, celebrated his birthday with friends at Rick’s American Café. He died of alcohol poisoning, with a blood alcohol concentration of .44.

“He was fun loving, always the one that was going to have a good time (and) give his mom gray hair,” McCue said about her son, adding he was a good student, athlete and worker.

East Lansing police Capt. Jeff Murphy said he was working at the department the year of Bradley’s death.

“It was extremely tragic,” Murphy said. “Any time a young person dies for something like that — obviously that was an accident — it just seems very unnecessary.”

After the incident, Bradley’s parents met with university officials to talk about a way to prevent future alcohol-related deaths. The group deliberated and came up with the B.R.A.D. cards.

“It was a very sad moment for all of us because we all experienced the loss,” Martell said. “But they wanted to make it into something educational.”

McCue said about 64,000 MSU students and about 400,000 students across the country have received hand-signed cards so far.

McCue continues to give talks to high school and college students, telling her son’s story and reminding students of the dangers of over intoxication.

“It’s always good to have another reminder, (and) unfortunately, it’s still needed,” McCue said.

The drinking age

Before the age of 21, U.S. citizens are allowed to vote, get married, serve in the military and drive a car.

Becky Allen, an alcohol, tobacco and other drugs health educator with Student Health Services, said she advocates changing the drinking age back to 18, but with some stipulations, including a required safety program. Michigan’s drinking age was changed from 18 to 21 in 1978.

“We trust young adults with the responsibilities around (adult duties), except alcohol, and that makes alcohol way too special,” Allen said. “It’s put on a pedestal.”

German junior Emily Robinson has been living and studying in Germany since September, but came back to Michigan for her spring break and made sure to take one night to celebrate her 21st birthday with friends in East Lansing. Robinson said in Europe, there is a different attitude towards drinking.

“It’s a lot more about having a good time, not going totally crazy,” Robinson said. “You hang out with parents and share a beer with them.”

Allen said that the penalties for underage drinking and the need to make it a secret increases the risk of harm to the individual, which is something not present in other countries.

Chavez said she was looking forward to celebrating her 21st for a while, especially because most of her friends turned 21 before her.

“I think it deserves all the hype. I had such a fantastic time on my 21st, everyone makes a big deal out of it,” Chavez said. “I feel like it’s the last step of freedom as a kid, and it’s all downhill from there.”

Martell said the university faces many difficulties when it comes to 21st birthdays because most students are at school rather than at home when it comes to celebrating the occasion.

“A lot of times, students don’t sometimes experience their first drink (until) college, (and) they sometimes don’t have the sort of family around them,” Martell said. “They have friends, but they think of it as a time for them to get drunk.”

In 2002, Martell and other MSU researchers looked into the existence of celebration drinking during occasions at MSU, such as Welcome Weekend and Halloween.

“What we concluded was that there is a population of students who only drink on celebratory occasions and students drink a lot more on celebrations,” Martell said.

Staying safe

While the B.R.A.D. cards continue to serve as a reminder to students to celebrate responsibly, other laws and services have been put in place to encourage safe celebrations.

Changes to the Michigan Liquor Control Code last year now allow for medical amnesty, which exempts a minor who consumed or possessed alcohol from receiving legal repercussions if put in a life-threatening situation.

Murphy said as part of enforcing the law and keeping people safe, officers will act when they see someone who potentially has drank a life-threatening amount. He said because of the recent medical amnesty law, officers will make the student’s well-being a priority.

In 1999, the East Lansing Responsible Hospitality Council, a group of at least 17 establishments that serve alcohol in the East Lansing area, was created to discusses how to handle alcohol responsibly.

The council has sets of 21st birthday best practices, which includes making the manager and staff aware of someone celebrating their 21st birthday.

At a bar, the manager speaks to the birthday person and their friends, a specific server and employee will be assigned to the party to monitor the number of drinks, there will be no birthday specials and other establishments will be notified after the birthday person leaves.

“It’s an unusual situation in most college towns for bars to work together to ensure that they serve their patrons (responsibly),” Allen said.

Staff reporter Darcie Moran contributed to this story.