As I write this, I noticed that I happen to be wearing my Colorado State University sweatshirt. Total coincidence. I've been meaning to post this all day and now that it's 10:30 and I have done (most) of my activities for the evening, I finally have some time to sit down.
Evidently a couple undergrad students died in residence halls on the CSU campus in the past couple weeks. I had no idea until I got this email from President Tony Frank. Tony Frank is an amazing guy. He sends the BEST campus-wide emails. Not too often, not too sparse and always interesting, entertaining and genuine.
You can see some pictures of him on the CSU website here: http://www.president.colostate.edu/ He just looks like such a nice guy. I want to be his friend.
I found President Frank's response to the tragedies on campus to be very well put so I decided to share his email below. Even though I am not on campus, I always feel a little more connected to CSU when I get an email from President Frank, even under circumstances like these.
Dear Students,
In the past two weeks, two of our first-year students have died in
our residence halls. Many of you knew these students and have been
personally affected by their loss. Others of you have lost other
friends through illness, suicide, accidents – and recent events have
awakened many of those memories. And so today, many on our campus
are struggling with anger, guilt, sorrow, questions, and even fear.
Some of you are worried. Others want to know what the University can
and should be doing to honor these students and help others in need.
Maybe it’s the leaves falling from our trees or the chilly and
cloudy skies, but I find myself struggling with what to say to you
that might offer something useful, something with comfort and
perspective. Words seem insufficient, but please bear with me while
I try.
There’s so much that all of us at the University want to tell you:
Ask for help when you’re hurting. Take care of yourselves and each
other – and tell someone when you have concerns for a friend who’s
struggling. Understand and never forget that you are important and
have value, not just to your families and our University community
but to our world. In an age when our planet faces enormous
challenges that are increasingly complex and perplexing, we
desperately need your minds, your talents, your energy, and the
insights that you and you alone will bring in the years ahead.
I also want to let you know that your residence hall staff and our
Student Case Managers are here for you and want you to come to them
when you feel lost, that the counseling services in our Student
Health Network are available 24/7, that the CSU safety site
(www.safety.colostate.edu) has a wealth of resources and
information, and that every single member of the CSU faculty and
staff is invested in your personal and academic success and above
all your well-being. I want you to know that this generally has been
and remains a very safe campus and that your safety is among our
greatest responsibilities and our absolute highest priorities.
Still, I know you’ve heard all this from me before. What I want to
write to you today is a bit more personal. On a campus of more than
35,000 people, we share all the joys and grief that are part of
human life and community – births, weddings, graduations, illness,
and deaths, some of which come at the end of a long, productive life
and some that come much too soon – knocking us off balance, shifting
our view of the world, challenging our own thinking on mortality,
and sometimes just breaking our hearts.
As an older person writing to a group of people who are mostly quite
a bit younger, it’s easy to say that this is a difficult part of
life and one that we all have to come to terms with at some point.
But I’m not sure it’s possible for thoughtful people ever to really
come to terms with losing a young person of extraordinary gifts who
seems to have so much yet to hope for and look forward to. At least
that’s not something I’ve ever been able to fully come to terms with
myself. With proximity of space and time, that loss is deep and raw.
But still, we do have to find our own personal ways to move forward
that are healthy and meaningful, and that’s where your youth gives
you an edge over some of us older people. Your anger, your sense of
loss, your questions can transform your view of the world and give
deeper meaning to the choices you make and the ways you spend your
days, months, and years going forward. You have the great and
wondrous gift of time, and what you’re learning through all of this,
however painful, will deepen your perspective and be yours to teach
to others in the years ahead.
And one of the most difficult lessons to accept is that some of your
questions may always remain unanswered. When someone dies, we all
have to respect the rights of family members and close friends to
grieve privately and in peace. This can be difficult and in some
ways unsatisfying, but it’s a part of what we have to do.
We also need to find ways to recognize and honor the lives we’ve
lost and the friends and colleagues we miss. And so we’re going to
start a new tradition this year at CSU – a tradition that recognizes
that we are part of a great community and that the connections among
us – including the sinew of memory – are lasting and strong. We’re
going to find an evening for the campus to come together – to
gather, reflect, and pay tribute to the members of our community who
have left us during the year. It will be a time to remember and a
time to look forward. Dean of Students Jody Donovan will lead this
effort and will work with our student community to create an event
that will be meaningful and respectful for all of us. It’s not an
answer, but it’s something we can and should do. And so we will.
As we head toward the coming weekend, I have a request of you: Let’s
all work to be a little bit kinder, a little bit more decent, a
little bit more responsible toward each other, acknowledging that
while we never fully can understand someone else’s struggles – while
we never actually can walk in their shoes – kindness and compassion
never hurt. Make smart choices. Take care of one another. And
remember that we need each of you. Our world needs you. CSU needs
you. Each and every one of you is irreplaceable.
-tony
Dr. Tony Frank
