Amherst College Responds to the Tragedy at Virginia Tech

April 17, 2007

To all members of the Campus Community:

The Virginia Tech tragedy has stunned and horrified all of us. Our thoughts today go out to those who have friends and family in the community there. We remind all members of the Amherst College community that there are many people on campus who can support you during difficult times. The Counseling Center staff are available to meet with students on a walk-in basis, and appointments may be made by calling ext. 2354. Religious Advisors are also available for assistance and spirtual counseling; you may contact them through the Cadigan Center for Religious Life at ext. 2181. As always, the Deans in the Dean of Students Office (ext. 2337) and your faculty stand ready to help in any way they can.

While there is no guarantee that this sort of terrible event will never happen on our campus, I do want to let you know that we make every effort to be vigilant and prepared for an unexpected occurrence here. There is an identified group of staff who work to keep campus leadership and support personnel ready for an emergency event at or near the College. The group periodically updates its strategies and provides training for relevant staff. In the last several weeks, they have involved those staff in an exercise to practice established plans if an extraordinary situation should require immediate attention. Read more about Amherst's emergency preparedness.

—Anthony W. Marx