Images of Fentanyl Victims, Bring Students Face to Face with Problem

This is part of a reporting project drawing attention to the dangers of fentanyl, use of Narcan to save lives and UT Tyler’s Narcan Access Initiative. See at The Patriot Talon on Instagram for more coverage.

By AIDAN KING and CASEY EHLER/Contributors 

Picture being inside a massive NFL stadium packed with 100,000 fans. Looking around, it seems ridiculous that this many people are in one place. It also puts into perspective how large a number 100,000 is. 

Now imagine that many people losing their lives.

In 2023, 112,000 people — more than a NFL stadium’s capacity — died from fentanyl poisoning in the United States. Many were teenagers and college students. 

That is why on Oct. 28 UT Tyler held an event to increase awareness of fentanyl and provide nasal-spray containers of Narcan, which can save the life of someone overdosing from fentanyl or other opioids. 

‘THEY LOOK MY AGE’

At the Narcan Access Initiative, the first thing students saw was that the entire Patriot Plaza was covered with 300 photos of people who had lost their lives to fentanyl.   

“Seeing these signs of people puts it into perspective,” freshman nursing major Andrea Lopez said as she paused to take in the staggering toll of fentanyl deaths. 

The display was provided by Travis’s Voice, a Texas-based group founded by Janice Stahl after her son, Travis Lee Moy, died from fentanyl poisoning in 2021 when someone slipped it in his drink. Now, she and others who have lost family members to fentanyl share their heartbreaking stories.

The images on display are what Stahl calls “their angels.”   

“I think the biggest thing I take away from this is how young a lot of these people (who died) were,” kinesiology major Emily Catt said. “They look my age.”

Among those pictured is Kole Hancock, who died in 2020 at age 19. Hancock took what he thought was the pain medication OxyContin. It actually was fentanyl made to look like OxyContin, says Travis’s Voice website. 

Also commemorated with a photo is 17-year-old Alexis Shank. She died in 2022 while studying to be an auto mechanic at San Jacinto Junior College. She took a drug that she did not know was mixed with fentanyl and died two hours later.  

‘IT’S BETTER TO HAVE IT’

“It’s scary to see how many young people there are,” freshman kinesiology major Kathryn White said. “Not only does it affect young people but all those around them.” 

Fentanyl, often disguised to look like other medications or “cut” into other drugs, is the leading cause of death of people 18 to 45, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin, says a warning from the Drug Enforcement Agency. 

Stahl and event organizers encouraged students to pick up one of the free nasal-spray containers of Narcan that were available.

“I grabbed it because I’m an RA (student housing resident adviser) and you never know if someone might need it,” junior psychology major Rosemary Rodriguez said.

Narcan, the over-the-counter name for the drug naloxone, blocks receptors in the body that opioids bind to and can reverse symptoms of opioid overdose.

Almost 200 spray bottles of Narcan were given out at the event, Elizabeth Caulkins, the Narcan Access Initiative coordinator, said. Students also received information about the dangers of fentanyl and how to use Narcan if an opioid overdose is suspected.

Narcan is now available, “no questions asked,” at the University Center information desk, Muntz Library front desk and in the School of Pharmacy Public Affairs Office in W.T. Brookshire Hall. 

Rodriguez hopes she never has to use Narcan. 

“But it’s better to have it and be prepared than to not have it,” she said. 

Related Stories

The story on Instagram. UT Tyler’s Talon Student Media (@thepatriottalon) • Instagram photos and videos

As Fentanyl Deaths Soar, UT Tyler Provides Free Narcan

Relatives of Victims Say Awareness Key to Slowing Fentanyl Deaths