For a few days, West Virginia University has been in the headlines of major news publications and trending on social media websites. Here's a quick summary:
Nolan Michael Burch, an 18-year-old from Williamsville, New York was found unconscious in his fraternity house. He was in critical condition until he passed away on Friday, November 14. A few weeks ago, 19 fraternity pledges from a different fraternity were involved in a street brawl.
West Virginia University administration, Inter-Fraternity Council, and Panhellenic Council made the executive decision to place a moratorium on all of Greek life, banning social and pledging activities until further notice.
With emotions running wild, it is understandable that the students who knew Burch are devastated by his death. His family, friends, and even acquaintances will be affected by this incident for the rest of their lives. While this is a tragic situation, if you saw my Facebook news feed, you would see a variety of responses to this incident.
Some blame chance. They are grieving and simply do not understand why bad things happen to good people. They rejoice in the life of Burch and mourn in his death. This is the typical, average response to losing a loved one, or losing anyone, so unexpectedly.
Some blame Greek life. They feel as though "those Greeks" hazed Burch to the point of causing serious harm and injury to him and potentially others. They see the fun and the parties, that non-Greeks are also participating in, and blame this for this unpredictable accident.
Some blame the university. WVU has been the #1 party school in the nation since I was a kid. And some people do choose to attend this university for that reason, but many students who partake in fun, and sometimes questionable, activities graduate with a 4.0 GPA and/or with the highest honors.
So who is to blame for this travesty, the loss of a friend, a son, a student, a member of the Greek community?
No one.
Sure, you can find a justifiable reason for each entity I just mentioned.
But that's not the point.
The point is: It's about what you do after this incident that means everything. Be smart. Be responsible. But stop using his death as a way to place blame on a group of individuals that is mourning the loss of a piece to their puzzle.
I'm not saying this in defense of Greek life or the events that happened prior to this day. I do not know the exact details. But I know how people are reacting.
So start now to make tomorrow better.
React with love. React with kindness. And if you can't find any other reason to react with grace, do it for Nolan Michael Burch. Tragedy is a time to come together and support one another, and his death is in vain if it tears apart the student community on the campus of West Virginia University. There is no winner in the blame game.
WVU, here's to better days to come. Sending good and positive thoughts and vibes and the utmost respect from my campus to yours.
