Unfortunate, unexpected and unnecessary–these adjectives describe the deaths of three SMU students, due to drug-related incidents, this past academic year. On a campus as intimate and close as that of SMU, these deaths are not only shocking, but also especially painful. They force us as members of the SMU community to confront an issue that until now has been largely unacknowledged, or even worse, accepted. Yet, it is moments like this when we are forced to admit our short-comings and mistakes.It is moments like this when personal and communal growth are most readily achieved. It is in this time that we can adequately honor the deceased by learning from their untimely departure and committing that lesson to sobering memory. With the deaths of Jacob, Jordan and Meaghan, SMU – as both an entity and community – has entered a period of important self-evaluation.However, when the Bosch and Stiles families began to point fingers last month, this important time of introspection turned ugly. These families understandably want answers, and their grief entitles them to such that can provide closure to their suffering. But when the “blame game” begins, polarization rather than unity is achieved. I sympathize with these families greatly, and do not contest to even begin to understand the agony they have endured over the past year. However, if they are truly sincere in their quest for understanding their loved ones’ deaths, they will place the issue of guilt aside and instead embrace a spirit not only of cooperation, but of honesty. Pointing fingers only hinders communication as people begin to take sides on who is “really” to blame. Perhaps I am too insensitive to grief’s grip on human emotion, but it seems logical that the only way to achieve growth – the only way for SMU to emerge from this situation improved – is to accept fully that which has occurred and to look openly at that whatcan be done. Guilt and blame achieve nothing more than to artificially bolster one party and to degrade another.What is achieved if SMU is found “guilty” for these deaths, besides resentment and division within the SMU community? What is understood if the Greek system is made a scapegoat for a handful of students’ poor choices? Even in this dark hour, we must think and act as one if we ever hope to achieve a policy that will genuinely confront the issue of drugs on our campus. Assessing degrees of blame retrospectively not only hinders genuine introspection, but also distracts from the issue at hand.As much as this is a time of remembrance, it is more importantly a time for our future and a time for growth. As I pray for the families of the deceased, I also pray for the special task-force assigned to confront our problem; may honesty, openness and compassion govern their meetings as they face the grim realities of three unfortunate, unexpected but most of all, unnecessary student deaths.
About the writer:Todd Baty is a senior History and Music major. He can be reached at [email protected].
