"Back From the Dead, Teenager Casts Light on Shadowy Game" (3/28/07 p. A1)

The only reason I know what the "pass out game" is, is because I tragically lost a friend to this ridiculous behavior. I haven't heard of it again, until just reading about it on the front page of the New York Times. Reading about it brought back the memories of losing Dan, and I realized I sometimes forget how he died. Why isn't this more publicly discussed? Apparently The Times feels the same way.

Levi Draher is the "main character" of this article. He was playing the pass out game by himself when he passed out faster than he could react and suffered a heart attack. His mother was the one to find her son suspended from a rope off the frame of his bunk bead. Levi, clinically dead, had starved his brain of air for more than three minutes.

Now, Levi, a medical miracle, is speaking out to his peers about his experience and educating people on the subject that remains hush hush in many schools and families. Levi explains that kids are playing this game because it gives them a temporary high and they assume they won't get caught.

According to The Times, asphyxiation games have been around for several years, but hasn't been widely publicized. Teens are seeing seeing the game on the Internet on sites such as http://www.youtube.com/. The game is seriously threatening especially when kids like Levi, or my friend, Dan, are playing it by themselves.

Stephen Wallace, a psychologist and chief executive of Students Against Destructive Decisions claims that as a society we shouldn't be timid in addressing like we have been in the past. This is where the main ethics come into play with this article. Why are people, especially schools avoiding this dangerous issue? Some claim because not only does the game give you a feeling of a "high" sensation, it can also be related to sexual anxiety. The game can be associated with auto erotic practices of masturbation or intercourse and increases orgasms. Either way, this isn't something to be left alone. If teens were more educated about the harmful and possibly fatal risks associated with the game, they may not be doing it as much or at all.

This notion of course, can bring up the argument of drug use. By now, most teens are aware that drugs are harmful and can kill you, however, they use them anyway. Why would this game be anything different? Maybe if the facts were out there, it wouldn't be done as much.

What is suspected is that the game has been around for years and caused more deaths than are realized. Many deaths that may have been in relation to the game may have been ruled as suicides and didn't call for any further investigation. Because of this, medical examiners and other health officials don't know much about the process at all. They have the knowledge that risks include brain damage, medication and physical disfigurement. However, there is still murkiness as to how the brain and body react to such practices.

Mrs. Draher says she had never heard of the game before what happened to Levi. She is now part of a national group called Games Adolescents Shouldn't Play.

People need to pay attention to this growing problem. Schools need to educate students about it. If people are afraid that educating students will put ideas in their heads, they need to realize the amount of teens it would be saving is a far greater number. We're educated about everything else, this needs to be added to the list so more people don't suffer the loss of a friend or loved one like I did.


**I searched on youtube to find some video of the game and sure enough, there were several:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tkm_cvQCkY
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OTvBISxYh0I
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EVGs_ZAItzw
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tng47LsNWR4

The comments following these videos are something to take note of. Some of them acknowledge the harmful effects of the game, others think it is funny to watch someone pass out. How is that funny? At least those that encourage the people passing out in the video to stop have some common sense.

Article by: KIRK JOHNSON