In Eileen Torrez’s recent piece about the need to examine Princeton’s commitment to the mental health of its students, it was distressing to read how completely she misinterpreted Dean Claire Fowler’s email on the day of Audrey Dantzlerward’s passing. As the dean of a residential college, I can assure you that our immediate thoughts and actions that sad day were about all of the students who were going to be affected by this tragedy. I spent much of the afternoon and well into the evening writing to students to let them know that they should be with their friends and Audrey’s friends that night and not be writing papers for Dean’s Date. I know my fellow deans, directors of studies and directors of student life were doing the same. Many of us couldn’t come to the memorial that night because we were in our offices letting professors know that papers and assignments were not going to be completed. We all understood that, at that moment, we didn’t want students to choose between mourning and schoolwork. Our grief as a community came first.
There might be other points in Eileen’s essay, such as how we communicate to the outside world when such a tragedy occurs, that were valid. But to imply that administrators were being callous that day is far, far from the truth of the matter.
Sincerely,
Oliver Avens
Dean of Rockefeller College
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