The Dions have filed a notice of claim, which is the first step in filing a lawsuit under Wisconsin state law. The suit seeks $250,000 from the city of La Crosse and the university.

The Dions claim that their son would not have consumed as much alcohol if he had to drive home the night he died. Instead, Dion used the university's Safe Rider program, which transports students between campus and the bar district in La Crosse. The family also says the school encouraged binge-drinking by allowing the school paper to print advertisements from bars.

"[Safe-ride] programs have been a bit of a source of friction in our field, between the individual health consideration and the public-health consideration," said Ann Bradley, a spokeswoman with the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about the Safe Rider concept.

The claim also blames the city for failing to implement measures in response to the six other alcohol-related deaths of university students in previous years. Among the measures discussed but not implemented were increased nighttime police foot patrols in the riverfront park where Jared Dion fell into the Mississippi River and drowned; barriers blocking entrance to the park; and a secure railing along the waterfront.

Bryan Dion said the purpose of the lawsuit is to encourage the city and university to address the issue of drinking among students. "I could have said I'm going to sue you for a dollar, and they would have given me a dollar and told me to shut up," he said. "The only reason we're doing this is because nothing has been done."