Dear TCNJ Parents and Families,
The loss of a student is a stunning blow to a campus community. We mourn with families and friends, reach out with care and services to those affected by the tragedy, and turn to one another for understanding and support. That the TCNJ community has lost four students this academic year—each individually a deep hurt and collectively a distressing sorrow—makes our services, support, care, and mourning all the more essential.
Many of you have reached out to learn more about how the college responds to a student death. I am grateful for the opportunity to share here the considerable amount of work that takes place behind the scenes in providing outreach and support.
Doing so requires a lengthier email than is normal. Thank you for bearing with me in this effort to respond to your queries.
When we learn of the death of a student, at least two members of the Dean of Students staff, often with representatives from the counseling center, respond. After being briefed by Campus Police, they implement our Critical Incident Response Protocol. The first priority is to identify those members of our community who have a connection to the student. This could include faculty, advisors, roommates, student clubs, siblings, and relatives. In the event of a death by suicide, we also provide outreach to those on campus who were touched by a previous death by suicide and for whom this news might be a trigger. In all cases, the goal is to arrange group meetings or individual sessions prior to the sending of a campuswide message. We want them to hear the news in person from college staff with counselors present.
The Dean of Students will also make contact with the family to express the college’s condolences. That communication will continue for some time as we confirm with them what they will allow us to share with the campus, gather details of funeral arrangements, help them retrieve personal effects, and assist with any business matters at the college. If appropriate, we will seek their input on a campus memorial service.
In communicating to campus, the college’s commitment is to be as transparent as possible, but several factors affect what we are able to say:
- We must not speculate on cause of death in an official email; we can only say what we know to be fact. A death often triggers an investigation, in which case we have to wait for investigators or the medical examiner to determine a cause of death.
- We also need to respect the wishes of the family. When details of the death are available, we would share them only with the family's permission.
- In the event of a death by suicide or suspected death by suicide, the college follows “safe messaging” guidelines, consistent with recommendations from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. These are discussed in greater detail below.
Lastly, it is considered best practice to include resources when communicating about a death, so you will always see a list of those at the end of such a message.
The college has a postvention team that the Dean of Students convenes on the day following a student death. This group, which includes the leadership of the Division of Student Affairs, campus police, communications, and others as appropriate, meets to assess the college’s response to date, identify additional outreach needed, and discuss the possibility for additional communication. The individual and group counseling that began immediately following the notification of a death will continue for several weeks to support students as they continue to process the loss.
Postvention is particularly important following a death by suicide. Suicide contagion is a real concern. Research has shown that knowledge of a suicide may facilitate the occurrence of a subsequent suicide, so our primary focus is to identify others on campus who may be at risk. Since vulnerable individuals may identify with the attention given to someone who has died by suicide, we pay particular attention not to sensationalize the death in any way, oversimplify potential causes, or provide details or methods of the death as these have been shown to increase contagion. In addition to these safe messaging practices, the college will avoid tributes and campus memorials. It is important that someone who has died by suicide not be seen as a potential role model.
There’s a perception on campus that the college has cut mental health resources recently. Perhaps this stems from conversations two years ago about possibly closing the TCNJ Clinic. In the end, the clinic was not closed and the college has significantly increased CAPS staffing (>50%) since 2014. The college has also partnered with the JED Foundation, a national suicide prevention organization, to both evaluate and enhance the mental health services on campus. Please know that the college’s investment in mental health resources has never been greater than it is today.
I am deeply grateful for your support for the wellbeing of all at TCNJ. It is another demonstration of our community’s compassion and is an essential building block for healing and resilience.
Sincerely yours,
Kate Foster
President
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