Talking Stick - July/August 2011 - 9

Reporting and Responding to Student Deaths
When dealing with the death of a student, college campuses endure not only a period of mourning but also encounter the struggle of ﬁnding the most effective ways to report and respond to the crisis. While emphasis is placed on the need to get out accurate information quickly, campuses can ﬁnd difﬁculty in dealing with the press and social media as they must often wait hours until conﬁrmation from the coroner’s ofﬁce. As more information is made available, issues arise with maintaining respect and privacy for the victim and his or her family while also keeping other students informed about the incident. At the University of California-Berkeley, effective communication and planning are key factors in responding to student deaths. To promote the transfer of timely and accurate information, the dean of students coordinates all communications regarding student death notiﬁcations. While the dean acts as a voice from the university, the family is also asked to select a liaison with the university to keep contact clear and efﬁcient between the two parties. While serving as a helpful resource for immediate communication, certain forms of media, particularly social media, can present issues in regards to the relaying of precise information regarding student deaths. To help alleviate such issues, Marty Takimoto, director of communications and marketing, encourages student housing staff to work closely with appropriate ofﬁces to design response and communication plans for crisis situations prior to such events. “Making sure that information is accurate and timely is important but equally important is making sure this information does not conﬂict with related responses from other agencies or with on-going processes,” he said. Providing an abundance of resources for family and students is an important aspect of the response system that has been designed at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Tonie Miyamoto, director of communications for housing and dining services, notes that the college campus can be a support network if needed for families, offering them counseling services and emphasizing personal contact. Counseling is also provided for university students to voice questions and concerns during crises, and direct feedback is taken into account from students living the experience. At the University of Connecticut in Storrs, establishing and utilizing campus relationships has been an important element in the handling of student deaths. John Armstrong, assistant director of operations for residential life, noted the beneﬁts of such collaborations during these crisis situations. “We have found it helpful to involve both residence education and operations staff to manage this process,” he said. “By involving both teams, we ensure that the physical and emotional needs of the family, students, and staff are met.”

JULY + AUGUST 2011

Talking Stick - July/August 2011

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