To The Newberry College Community,

We are excited that a new academic year is about to begin. With all of the excitement that comes with the start of a new year, we want to pause, and share with you an important message that will give all of us confidence in moving forward. We want all of you to know that the health and safety of all of our students is our number one priority. As we follow the news, all of us have learned that mistakes have been made at other institutions that will not be tolerated at Newberry College. We are saddened by the death of the young student athlete at the University of Maryland. His death is a reminder to all of us that we need to be aware of the policies and procedures for the health and safety of our students and we must act accordingly.

As a result of this recent death, an independent review by national experts in sports medicine is being conducted which quite possibly will indicate that mistakes may have been made. We will all learn from these findings. We want you to know that our sports medicine staff, coaches and strength and conditioning staff have an emergency action plan that will always be followed. In addition to the emergency action plan, our staff and faculty are always on the alert for any indicators regarding issues related to the health and safety of any of our student.

If you see any signs of physical, mental or emotional stress in any of our students, please reach out to them, advise them of the on-campus services available and alert our health services, sports medicine staff or other medical professionals.

In terms of student athletes, it is our policy that the final approval of a student-athlete to participate in practice or games rests exclusively with our sports medicine staff and team doctors. Our coaches will always adhere to the guidance from our medical staff. Our sports medicine staff is held accountable by our team doctors

There is nothing more important to us than our students’ safety. The mental, emotional and physical well-being of our students is our highest priority. This message today is not a commitment just for our student athletes, but for all of our students at Newberry College.

Please keep the health and safety of all of our Newberry College Community in your thoughts and prayers.