Last night a student at Ashland University jumped out of a 7th floor window of a residence hall and died early this morning. When I got home from this weekend’s Sr. High Retreat @ Mowana (more on that tomorrow) this afternoon, that was the news that met me in my e-mail inbox. There aren’t many things that leave me at a loss for words, but death is one of those things – particularly when a life is so tragically cut short.
I remember the atmosphere on campus my sophomore year after a tragic accident resulted in the death of one of my classmates. I remember the silence, I remember the compassion, and I remember the unity of the campus. The empty seat that was left in my EDUC 250 class was a reminder for the rest of the semester of the void that had been left in our community.
So tonight I pray: for Ashland University, for the Delta Zeta sorority to which she belonged, for her family, for the students in her classes, for the girls that lived on her floor, for her roommate, for her friends, for the Colegian staff with whom she worked – I pray for a peace that transcends all understanding. I pray that God would wrap his loving arms around that campus and overwhelm the students with his unfailing love during this time of tragedy.
Please join me in intercession.
I was really surprised to hear about this. How incredibly sad. Working in a university has really opened my eyes to how many of our students are dealing with some type of mental illness. Unfortunately, despite how hard we try, we cannot always reach out to everyone.
I can only hope that the AU community will pull together like it did after Krista’s death. After all, that’s when we became good friends, remember?
I miss you and hope everything else is going okay for you.