Three Boston University Students Killed in New Zealand Crash

Three Boston University students, Daniela Lekho, Roch Jauberty and Austin Brashears, lost their lives Saturday, May 12, 2012 near Taupo, New Zealand when the minivan they were traveling in rolled over.

Road fatalities in New Zealand are among the highest in the world, particularly for young inexperienced students.  On a per capita basis New Zealand is alongside Cambodia, Malaysia, Lithuania and Slovenia.

Unfortunately, despite the high road fatalities in New Zealand, their national government permits any foreigner to drive with the permit they were issued ‘back home’ for up to twelve months.

Road-fatality figures from 33 countries released by the International Transport Forum (ITF) reveal that New Zealand has the seventh-highest ratio of deaths per billion vehicle kilometers traveled and is the ninth highest in the world in per capita deaths.

ClearCause Chief Security Advisor, Ed Lee, has lived and worked in left-hand-drive nations the majority of his life. He said, "Converting to left-hand-drive from right-hand-drive is no easy task, particularly given the condition and challenging terrain found in New Zealand."

"I swerved to avoid a wild pig some years ago.  My minivan flipped over the edge of the road after the gravel edge collapsed. I had to climb out through broken glass in the rear window as I was trapped inside the car with petrol spilling out. I am happy to have made it out alive and able to celebrate Mother's Day today." Said Elizabeth.  She gave Ed Lee a New Zealander's perspective on road hazards:

• New Zealand roads are not like those in North America or Europe; they are narrow, curvy and mostly two lanes.
• They are designed poorly, not accounting for sun glare, which is severe.
• Few of them have shoulders, just crumbly gravel edges, easy to plunge over, no guard rails.
• Kiwis are impatient and aggressive drivers passing in places they should not.
• There is a lot of rain and wind.  Autos sitting high on their axles like SUVs and minivans are more unstable in these conditions.
• Kiwis have high rates of drunken driving and cannabis use per capita. School bus drivers, lorry drivers and adventure tourism operators should be drug tested and are not.
• Cyclists also use the roads with no shoulder.
• Many roads are elevated with few guard rails increasing risks.

ASIRT: The Association for Safe International Road Travel has valuable road safety information for more than 100 countries.

YOU NEED TO KNOW - Minnesota Deputy Secretary Jim Gelbmann

There is a statute in Minnesota that gives the Minnesota Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie, the power to sanction programs who place foreign exchange students in harms way: MN Statute 5A.01-07

Deputy Secretary Jim Gelbmann, is one of the champions behind the law.  Minnesota Representative Phyliss Kahn sponsored the bill. Mr. Gelbmann's interview with WCCO's Don Shelby explains why and how the law came about.  The law gives Minnesota the power to investigate and terminate registrations of organizations that don't meet standards set by the state of Minnesota. Similar law to protect Minnesota students going abroad are non-existent.

When ClearCause director, Sheryl Hill, asked Secretary of State Deputy Director, Jim Gelbmann, to expand the law to include Minnesota Students going abroad he said, "It makes sense."

It may be too late for the law to enact this year.  Look for Minnesota - a national leader in child protection to step up.  Please write to Minnesota's Secretary of State and thank him, and Jim Gelbmann, for stepping up. Ask your state's representative to enact similar law - Secretary of State.

Safe Global Youth Travel - let them see the world, safely.

Welcome - Retired CIA Patti Weber

We are so honored to welcome Patti Weber to ClearCause Foundation's Advisory Board.      Ms. Weber currently lives and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Her partner in Pierce-Weber Partnership, LLC, Deborah Pierce, retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Senior Executive Service.  On May 1, 2012 Ms. Weber becomes President of the 105 year-old Woman's Club of Minneapolis.

Patricia A. Weber retired from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Senior Intelligence Service in 2004, after a 31 year career in operations.  Prior to joining CIA Ms. Weber served with the Department of State at the US Embassies in Paris and Bangkok.  As a Senior CIA executive and operations officer, Ms. Weber managed several staff and operational elements in the National Clandestine Service (NCS).  In her last position prior to leaving the Agency her broad portfolio included working with the U.S. military and other federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies on such front page issues as watch listing terrorists and information sharing.

As the senior policy manager for the NCS she also was responsible for information management and technology issues as Chair of the IT Oversight Board.  In a previous position as Chief of the NCS Human Resources Staff, she spearheaded a remake of the competency based personnel system, managed the training and deployment of new employees as well as the promotion panels for senior grades, and helped to revamp the basic operational training courses.  Prior to these senior staff assignments Ms. Weber served abroad in Asia, ran the course for hostile environment operations, and headed up several elements providing operational guidance and support to overseas components.

Ms. Weber grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and received her B.S. in Political Science and Government from American University, Washington, DC.  She also completed the program “Leadership in a Democratic Society” at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia and was a member of the 1998 Director of Central Intelligence’s Intelligence Fellows Program.  She received several Exceptional Performance Awards throughout her career and was awarded the Agency’s highest retirement award, the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, upon her retirement.  She also received the US Secret Service Director’s Recognition Award.

Ms. Weber continues to serve on the Director of National Intelligence’s Senior Diversity Advisory Panel for the Intelligence Community.

Welcome Kacie Griffith, Social Media Manager Intern

Social Media Manager

For the past year ClearCause has invested heavily in some pretty heavy hitting social media talent.  We're grateful for the support, outreach and life lessons.  You'll find ClearCause in the cool 'SoMe' places: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Causes, Blogs and more.

Meet Kacie - ClearCause Social Media Manager.  Kacie is a 2012 graduate at Colorado State University earning a degree in business administration.  Go Rams!  She shares many memories growing up with Tyler Hill, the inspiration of ClearCause Foundation.

At CSU Kacie was Captain and All American College Hockey Association player for Colorado Ram’s women’s Ice Hockey Team.  Kacie championed many hockey fundraisers and managed all of her team’s accounts and social media outlets.

On June 6, 2011, the anniversary of Tyler Hill's 20th birthday and ClearCause's official launch, Kacie initiated a fan page, "Celebrating a Life Worth Remembering."  Hundreds of Ty's school mates and friends wore a memorial "Walking on Sunshine" bright yellow tee shirt, took photos, and posted shout-outs on the Facebook wall. Compassion and talent healed broken hearts around the world.

She's smart! She's athletic! She's Savvy! She's authentic and transparent! In one week, Google analytics and Facebook Insights reflect a 400 percent increase in reach.  Kacie is dedicating her time and talent to ClearCause Foundation – sharing a vision of SAFE GLOBAL YOUTH TRAVEL for all.

WELCOME!

Welcome Julie Nekola - Outreach Director

JULIE NEKOLA
ClearCause Foundation Outreach Director

Julie Nekola manages all ClearCause policies and procedures, DataBank, accounting, and outreach for ClearCause Foundation.  She is an accomplished author with more than three decades of award winning experience as a technical writer with Cargill.  Julie is recognized as a customer advocate who is dedicated to quality and continuous improvement.  Julie enjoys time with her family and two dogs, scrapbooking, crafting and celebrating holidays with friends and family when she isn't diving into the next big deal for ClearCause.

YOU NEED TO KNOW - Binge Drinking Kills

The Center for Disease Control reports that "about 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the United States is in the form of binge drinks."  TODAY stated that up to 42% of college students binge drink.

Binge drinking caused 19 year old star student Molly Amman's death.  Her friends put her to bed to sleep it off but she never woke up.  She's not alone.

Salvador Guevara Preciado, was found dead at a friend’s house on Saturday near school.  He might have survived a night of binge drinking had others sought medical help for him.  South California NBC News reported, "The Los Angeles Unified School District has launched an administrative investigation after allegations surfaced that a seasonal assistant football coach may have driven Preciado from the party to another friend's house, but did not alert the family nor school officials of the boy's condition."

Hundreds of American students die every year from alcohol poisoning.  The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above. This typically happens when men consume 5 or more drinks, and when women consume 4 or more drinks, in about 2 hours.

Schools and fraternity's are being held accountable by parents who are suing wrongful death.  Parents of Michael Starks, a Utah State University student who died of alcohol poisoning in a 2008 fraternity hazing sued for wrongful death.  His parents dropped the lawsuit when the University committed to make changes.

Alcohol is a primary contributor to date rape.  Mob mentality, peer pressure, group think are often blamed for alcoholic inebriation.  You are trusting your friends with your life and health when you binge drink.  Average emergency room costs for binge drinking detox is $1,300 a night. It's less expensive than a funeral.  Passing out from alcohol can be deadly.

On abroad programs - health insurance may not cover alcohol and drug 'incidents'.

On a sandy beach in Cabo, Mexico during April 2012 spring break, a man with megaphone calls out to students strolling the beach, "First two Kamikaze's on us!"  There are many takers.  Kamikaze defines a suicide mission.  Rightly so.

The Last Student

In early 2011, political turmoil had taken its toil on Egypt and University of Minnesota officials quickly evacuated their three students who were completing study abroad programs there. However, they forgot one.
When Stacey Tsantir, the university’s director of international health, safety and compliance, found out that there was a University of Minnesota student stuck in the Cairo airport, Tsantir said, “Surely, he’s not our student.” But the student was from the University of Minnesota and there was no record that he had even left campus, Tsantir said, although the university advises their faculty members to report student travel.
After contacting the student, Tsantir said she called the student’s mother. “The first words out of her mouth were, ‘I didn’t think anyone cared about my son,’” said Tsantir. "If that's not close to my worst nightmare, I don't know what is." The student eventually made it safely home, but this story has added to higher education officials’ growing oversight of international travel.
According to an article called "Tracking Travel", political unrest in the Middle East and natural disasters in Japan are recent tragedies that have highlighted the risks in sending students abroad without proper training and safety procedures. "If someone's injured or hurt, the question is always going to be asked of the university, 'Shouldn't you have known?' " said Bill Powell, an area executive vice president for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. who specializes in higher education.
The number of students studying overseas has more than doubled since the 1990s, according to the Institute of International Education, a New York-based nonprofit. Close to 274,000 students left the U.S. during the 2010-2011 academic year, up from about 130,000 in 1998-1999.
While abroad, many students conduct research, work internships or volunteer in service work outside of the academic year. Students are also choosing to travel to more countries. The top 15 destinations in 2010-2011 included England, France, Brazil, India and Mexico. South Korea, recently threatened by its nuclear-armed neighbor to the north, was No. 23 on the list, attracting nearly 2,500 U.S. students.
Tsantir, who also serves on the ClearCause Foundation’s board of directors, said that the University of Minnesota’s policy regarding students studying abroad was put in place in 2004 and urges faculty to make sure that students develop an emergency communication plan, obtain international health insurance and take other safety precautions before leaving the United States. Tsantir said that about 99 percent of undergraduates and their advisors follow this policy, while only 75 percent of graduate students comply with the policy. The University of Minnesota has approximately 65,000 students in their five campuses with about 5,000 students traveling abroad in any given year. Without the necessary tools and safety preparations for their time abroad, these students may be at huge risk while overseas.


Source:
Berg, Joel. "Tracking Travel." RiskAndInsurance.com. LRP Publications, 1 May 2013. Web. 5 June 2013. <http://www.riskandinsurance.com/story.jsp?storyId=533353998>.