The Elon community is mourning the death of a freshman student who died Monday, Sept. 20. Will Stoneman, a freshman student enrolled at Elon for the fall semester, died at his home in St. Louis, Missouri.
Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley told Elon News Network that he encourages any students affected by the news of Stoneman’s death in any way to seek out resources, such as the Truitt Center and Student Care and Outreach, in the days and weeks ahead.
“The death of a student is really heartbreaking,” Dooley said. “We definitely encourage people to reach out.”
Following a university wide email regarding Stoneman’s death, the university held a community moment of remembrance on Tuesday and offered counseling in Numen Lumen Pavilion. Rev. Kirstin Boswell spoke to students, faculty and staff in attendance, holding space for those to speak and for silence, as well.
“A wise person once told me that the loss of any community member is like a nail in a fence. Once the nail is removed, the hole remains,” Boswell said. “We learn by going where we have to go, and so we're learning now to go forth carrying both sorrow, but also love and unity with us always.”
For resources, please contact Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life at 336-278-7729, staff with Student Care and Outreach in the Office of the Dean of Students at 336-278-7200, or counselors from Counseling Services at 336-278-7280.
Students can also access the 24/7 resources from the crisis counselor on-call at 336-278-2222 or the Student Life administrator on-call through Campus Safety and Police at 336-278-5555. Faculty and staff may also utilize Elon Work-Life Resources for support.
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Graysen Shirley contributed to the reporting of this story.