User:Catfacemeowmers/Eric Sinacori

Eric Sinacori This article compiles information regarding the overdose of Eric Sinacori, information about student drug informant programs and student drug usage.

Biography
Eric was originally from Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, where he attended Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington, NJ. Eric adored music. He was passionate about EDM, or more specifically, ‘glitch-hop’, which is a style of electronic hip-hop music. Eric also loved Bassnectar, and other DJs including Griz and Lotus. While attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Eric met his girlfriend, Brianne Oliveira, while at a Conspirator concert, after which the two began formally dating on the 4th of July.

Eric Sinacori was a junior kinesiology student at the |Main_Page University of Massachusetts Amherst who died from an alleged heroin overdose while participating in a drug informant program for the campus police department. The district attorney has not commented on the cause of death. Sinacori was found dead in his bathroom by his father, John Sinacori, and stepmother, next to a hypodermic needle on October 4, 2013, at the age of 20 in Amherst, MA.

Eric is survived by his mother, Francesca Sinacori, his father, John Sinacori, For fun, Eric regularly attended music festivals and concerts with large groups of friends. He also enjoyed playing sports, his favorite being ice hockey, which he committed to through the end of high school, playing on his high school’s varsity ice hockey team.

History of Events
In 2012, Eric Sinacori was caught in possession of the club drug Molly (|Main_Page MDMA) and LSD by UMass campus police, along with a hypodermic needle and $700 cash. Instead of following UMass protocol according to the Code of Student Conduct for drug and alcohol violations which includes informing parents or guardians, academic sanctions, expulsion and offering rehabilitation or mental health services, the UMass Police Department offered Sinacori a deal to become a confidential informant to catch other dealers. Sinacori's parents were not notified about his arrest, nor were they alerted about his involvement as an informant for the UMass police department. Few colleges in the United States have known drug informant programs, and the efficacy of such programs has come under scrutiny at Florida State University and several University of Wisconsin campuses. Other UMass campuses do not admit to using an informant program, and UMass drug arrests do not appear in the top 50 highest in the country. In fact, drug arrests have been in decline at UMass over the past few years: from 56 in 2010, to 31 in 2011 to 28 in 2012 on campus. Police returned the $700 to Sinacori after he agreed to become an informant and encouraged him to purchase from a larger dealer. Text messages discovered on Sinacori's phone after his death revealed his struggles with his addiction and guilt about working with the police.

In an official statement sent to students on September 30, 2014, nearly a year after Sinacori's death and following national media backlash, UMass chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy announced the suspension of the campus drug informant program for investigation and possible termination. There is no information on the drug informant program available to the public.

Trends in Drug Abuse
High school drug abuse in the United States have been recently increasing. Some researchers claim that marijuana is to blame. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, with increased popularity of marijuana, adolescents are encountering illicit drugs more often than ever before. With rising marijuana uses, adolescent perceptions have changed. “Historically, as perception of risk goes down, use goes up (and vice versa)”. As high school use increases, this trend continues into college and usually increases. According to research by the University of Michigan, heroin has remained least often abused by students between 1991 and 2013.

In 2013, UMass cancelled its spring concerts that were to be performed by Electronic Dance Music (EDM) groups. The cancellations came as a response to several overdoses in the Northeast earlier in the year. At the time, interim vice chancellor for student affairs Enku Gelaye stated in an email sent to the UMass community, “Molly has been linked to seven deaths in Boston and New York, according to the Greenfield Recorder. Reports of these overdoses have recently prompted a string of concert cancellations throughout the region.” Other EDM concerts in the area were cancelled as well. Electric Zoo, a multi-day EDM festival held on Randalls Island, N.Y. over Labor Day weekend was cancelled on its final day after two concertgoers overdosed and died. The strain of Molly that appeared to be sweeping the northeast was viewed as a serious threat to the student community. The University of Massachusetts’ Enku Gelaye said, “Unfortunately, the factors that led to cancellation of the Sept. 21 concert have not positively shifted. In fact, we have grown even more concerned about ongoing reports of overdoses at such events. The Molly-taking culture at these shows is real and now exceedingly dangerous to the health and safety of concert attendees.” The administration was attempting to do its best, “to address the dangers of ‘Molly’ and other drugs with the greater campus community.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from a study conducted in 28 states, “deaths caused by heroin overdoses [in the United States] more than doubled between 2010 to 2012." Heroin prices are at a historical low; TIME reported that in Chicago, the street price for a bag of Heroin today is $10, compared to the $50-$150 seen just ten years ago. As a result, heroin has become a greater presence on college campuses. Sinacori admitted his addiction and withdrawal symptoms from heroin use in text messages, ultimately resulting in his death.

Criticism
The release of the information that he died of an overdose while an informant to the UMass Police Department has stirred up a great deal of concern and debate among students and faculty of the UMass community. The information about Sinacori's death was released in an article written by UMass students and featured in The Boston Globe on September 28th, 2014. The article called Eric only by his informant name, Logan. It stated that “his death is raising questions about whether the university did enough to help a student with a serious drug problem, whether it had any business making such an offer to a vulnerable undergraduate, and whether it has fully come to grips with the fact that the heroin epidemic has not spared the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts”. Chuck DiMare, the director of the Student Legal Services Office at UMass, is quoted in the article in disagreement with the program, “It’s widespread on college campuses across the United States, and I think it’s inappropriate in most cases.” Sinacori’s mother also told the Globe, “If I was informed, things would have been a lot different. I would have more than stepped in. I probably would have pulled him out of school and got him help or whatever he needed.”

Sinacori's parents and the UMass community have expressed anger and frustration that Sinacori's addiction was not addressed, and several articles have been published across the web expressing criticisms. The Globe article said, "Now, his death is raising questions about whether the university did enough to help a student with a serious drug problem, whether it had any business making such an offer to a vulnerable undergraduate, and whether it has fully come to grips with the fact that the heroin epidemic has not spared the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts."

The UMass Student Government Association is currently working with the Chancellor, the police department, and the students of the university to agree on a solution to this urgent problem and create a safer environment for everyone.

Parents
After his death, his mother, Francesca Sinacori founded The Eric Sinacori Memorial Foundation in order to keep her son’s memory alive and give back to the university by awarding a need-based scholarship to one kinesiology student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Francesca said her biggest nightmare was losing her son. She plans to tell his story to keep his memory alive but also to help others avoid the same tragedy that she and her family is currently, and will continue to endure.