When meditating on Wabash College, there is one line of literature that rises above all others. In Shakespeare’s Henry V, the king rallies to his men right before they go into battle “we few, we happy few, we band of brothers” noting how unfortunate it is that others never have the experience they are about to have. Such is the model narrative of Wabash College for a student.
It is with the deepest sorrow that the campus awoke on Sunday to the news of the death of one of their brothers. The death of Johnny Smith came as a shock for the entire campus; All Wallys grieve with the Smith family and the brothers of Delta Tau Delta.
In moving forward, the only thing a community can do in a situation like this – especially a community – is to learn from this tragedy and work with great diligence so that it will never happen again.
The fact is that Wabash has a problem. We function under the precept that we are a band of brothers. The Gentleman’s Rule, our code of conduct and internal compass, only works if we take care of each other – and we sure as hell need to do a better job.
The Bachelor is not, nor should it ever, accusing any individual, fraternity or the administration for what happened this weekend. All the details of the incident are certainly not public. As a student newspaper, it most certainly is not our place and to do so would be egregiously ungentlemanly. What happened this weekend could have easily happened at many other fraternities, residence halls and other Wabash-related living units. We have to do better as an institution.
This begins with fervent support from student leaders. We applaud the fraternities of Wabash who are taking initiative. Many, if not all, have already held house meetings to discuss the incident, are examining their crisis management policies and working with their nationals strengthening their preventative measures. These student driven efforts are vital in making sure the brothers of fraternities are taking care of one another.
But these efforts are not enough. None of the residential leaders, for example were trained through the administration on basic CPR, First Aid or alcohol poisoning signs, symptoms and treatment during their H.E.L.P. “training” (as it was alleged to those in attendance) at the advent of school. Although some of these leaders, such as the TKE officers, have brought in individuals to their living units, no concerted effort in First Aid education has been pushed.
This is unconscionable. It is vital that multiple persons in a living unit know CPR, basic First Aid and have the ability to recognize and react to an individual who has had too much to drink. If the administration is hesitant in providing such instruction, the students should demand they provide it or find someone willing to help provide it.
This discussion cuts to the very core of our institution – ramifications of this incident will be felt by all Wallys. As we are an institution that thrives on intelligent discourse, a community conversation is absolutely necessary. In the first issue of this year’s Bachelor, President White said “There are times when we probably need to come together to understand that whatever’s happening at that moment is not happening to just a group of us or just a part of us - it’s happening to all of Wabash.” This most certainly is one of those times.
We are pleased that President White has chosen to call a mandatory chapel. Although there are instances in the past where one was most assuredly warranted, we applaud his decision and hope that student leaders compel their brothers to attend. Wabash is an institution that prides itself on individuality in many respects, but there are a few times when we need to gather as brothers to figure out where we go from here.
There is one other thing the brothers of Wabash College and the Community at large needs to do – gather and mourn the loss of a fellow Wally. Please attend the memorial service on Thursday. Support the brothers of Delta Tau Delta in their time of incredible grief. Keep Johnny Smith’s family in your prayers.
But afterwards, honor Johnny’s memory by working with the by taking care of one another, becoming educated in first responder preventative measures, and be an active part of the conversation to hopefully ensure that nothing like this will happen again at Wabash.