Ever since everyone returned from winter break, something undeniably sad and almost all too familiar has been crowding the streets of campus. Something not many people have the heart to talk about, and something most haven’t given themselves a chance to deal with. Ed Board is of course talking about the tragic passing of SMU student Jake Stiles.
Now, we recognize the fact that some of you reading this may feel like news surrounding Stiles’ death has over-saturated the paper since the event occurred. And you might be right. However, there is still something left unsaid.
When the word got out that an SMU student had died, it seemed everything went into a state of panic. Students, friends and faculty gathered and mourned for what we lost. And that was justified; after all, death is never easy.
Sadly though, Stiles’ untimely passing cannot go down as just another unfair and mysterious act of life. The facts are there for everyone to read. The lethal “drug cocktail” of designer drugs like cocaine and the painkiller prescribed to cancer patients, fentanyl, coupled with alcohol is what killed him.
Don’t get the wrong idea though. We’re not here to judge Jake for the choices he made, or to put his character on trial. But we would be remiss to not mention that a lot of what makes this such a tragedy, past his cause of death, is the way that both SMU and SAE are handling the matter.
It’s obvious that this isn’t an “isolated incident.” Talk circulates through campus daily about who is doing what new drug. Considering the general makeup of the SMU community, the difficulty that anyone might have in obtaining this stuff, seems all but nonexistent. So what is being done to curb our university’s evident affinity for drug culture?
Other than making a police report, and sending out a few mass e-mails (including a patronizing “this, children, is why drugs are bad” message) little seems to have been done. And SAE might as well be ignoring the matter altogether, considering it is a major blow to their fraternity – but they are treating it as an open and shut case. And that isn’t fair to anyone, including Jake.
Tragedies like this one shouldn’t be added as just another depressing footnote on a university’s history. Otherwise, no growth takes place, and Stiles will just be a vague memory to students. If SMU, SAE or someone else doesn’t stand up and recognize the fact that there is a very serious problem here, a few years from now this could all very well happen again.
So it’s time for us all to take a harder look at ourselves, our community, and for SMU and SAE to not just let this pass. Otherwise, how can we even begin to hope to come out of this stronger?
