I want to thank Tyler Stigall for his thoughtful editorial response to the posting of a wellness display on common drugs used on college campuses in the Campus Center Lobby. I want to acknowledge the concerns expressed by the community regarding the treatment of the information in the display that was posted by the Office of Student Life. The display was designed to be educational in nature, focusing on student health, common college drugs, myths and risks associated with the abuse of prescription and other drugs. The information for the display was taken primarily from brochures obtained from an alcohol and drug resource center and website focused on drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs that reached out to me to offer their website as a resource for our students.

On behalf of my colleagues in the Division of Student Affairs, I acknowledge that display was not appropriate and extend my sincere apologies to the Allegheny community.  We are committed to moving forward and have taken steps to address the concerns expressed by members of the community.  Moving forward, the Office of Student Life will work collaboratively with organizations like Active Minds and interested faculty and staff to create more collaborative displays that offer an educational approach to a variety of health and wellness topics.

We welcome any comments and want to offer additional support to the Allegheny community.  To that end, I encourage you to visit me and/or any of my colleagues in the Division of Student Affairs to continue the dialogue and efforts to bring about a more inclusive, welcoming community of people who learn and grow together.