Whitman County Gazette - Serving Whitman County since 1877

Alcohol is just part of life at any university. Every campus has its problems. It's nothing new.

But sometimes it takes a tragedy to evaluate just where the line is between a good time drinking responsibly and a binge culture causing dangerous situations.

Sam Martinez was a 19-year-old from Bellevue attending Washington State University. He planned on getting a degree and where he wanted his future to go. He never wanted to fall asleep on a basement couch and die.

He drank himself to death. He wanted to be part of the fun. He wanted to be part of Alpha Tau Omega, the longest continuously ru...