On the morning after the Dec. 13 shooting, the Brown community woke up to the words “EVER TRUE” stamped in the snow on the Wriston Quadrangle. About three weeks later, on Jan. 5, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 announced “Brown Ever True,” a campus-wide recovery initiative.
The Herald sat down with Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Matthew Guterl, who is heading the initiative, and Interim Dean of the School of Public Health Francesca Beaudoin to discuss the University’s plans for recovery.
Administrators were scrolling through Sidechat to try to get a sense of the feeling on campus, Guterl said, when they came across a photograph of the words — an homage to Brown’s official fight song — in the snow.
“We were moved by that,” Guterl said.
“It felt very appropriate that that was our fight song and then became the brand for this whole campus recovery and resilience response,” Beaudoin added.
From there, Brown Ever True, the University’s campus-wide recovery effort, was born.
The morning right after the shooting, a small group of administrators began thinking both short and long term about what they could do to support the Brown community, according to Guterl.
“It is almost a little bit of cognitive dissonance to think about recovery and resilience when you’re still in the midst of crisis,” Beaudoin said. But administrators knew that “there was no time to really lose.”
In the early days following the shooting, Guterl, Beaudoin and other administrators had to focus on the immediate, upcoming events, such as the start of Winter Session classes one week later and the oncoming arrival of medical students, student athletes and spring transfer students.
“So, the long-term really wasn’t that long-term,” Guterl said.
According to Beaudoin and Guterl, the University received guidance from peers and outside organizations, including universities that have been through similar experiences and expert resources like the National Mass Violence Center.
“This is a very small peer group that we’ve entered here, and there aren’t a lot of universities that have been through what we’ve been through,” Guterl said. “Many of them reached out to us before we even had a chance to reach out to them.”
Alyssa Rheingold, a clinical psychologist and the director of response, recovery and resilience for the NMVC, said that the center, which is housed at the Medical University of South Carolina, provided consultation to University leaders following the shooting. When mass violence incidents occur, the center puts together and shares a “curated list of resources based on the incident characteristics.”
The Brown Ever True website lists 29 different mental health resources, ranging from the University’s academic advising deans to an off-campus trauma process yoga group.
According to Guterl, a major part of Brown Ever True is a mental health campaign focused on repeatedly sharing “even the most banal and obvious of resources” with the community.
“The University had a lot of infrastructure already in place, and so we had to look at what was needed that was additive to what already sits within campus life,” Beaudoin said, pointing to Counseling and Psychological Services and the Employee Assistance Program with Spring Health.
“It was building off of what was already here and making sure that nobody feels like they’re falling through the cracks if they need help and support,” Beaudoin added.
Multiple departments across the University and community organizations are working in collaboration to support the Brown Ever True initiative. For example, at the University memorial service held last Saturday, the Division of Campus Life, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Family Service of Rhode Island.
Two initiatives currently in the works include the “Brown Loves Providence” campaign set to launch on Valentine’s Day and a community-based resiliency center in collaboration with Family Service of R.I. The Brown University Community Council, the advisory body for Brown Ever True, will be in collaboration on such initiatives, Beaudoin said.
“The plans are to have a Resiliency Center that becomes part of the community, not just to help with recovery and healing from this incident, but to be a resource for the community in recovery from other types of trauma,” Beaudoin said.
He also emphasized the importance of finding small moments of joy during difficult times.
“We’re navigating this using the best that we can glean from our peers,” Guterl said, “but also recognizing that our community is dynamic in a very different way.”
Guterl explained that many of the Brown Ever True initiatives have come together somewhat organically, adding that the University has received many suggestions from students, alums and community members. Guterl also said he has received feedback from groups across campus, including the Graduate Student Council, the Undergraduate Council of Students and faculty members.
“We have to be very receptive to feedback and have our ear open to it,” he said.
But administrators are “always asking” themselves whether they are “getting feedback from all the sources that (they) need,” Beaudoin said.
Looking forward, both Beaudoin and Guterl stressed the importance of carefully monitoring the evolution of community needs. “There are certain times that are going to bring up … both challenges and opportunities, honestly, to come together as a community,” Beaudoin said, specifically mentioning the return to campus after spring break and commencement weekend.
“This community is here for support, and so we just sort of need to put our big Brown bear hugs around each other and give people the space and the grace to have the path that they’re going to have,” Beaudoin said.
Roma Shah is a senior staff writer covering University Hall and higher education. She's a freshman from Morgan Hill, CA and studies Neuroscience. In her free time, she can be found doing puzzles, hiking or curled up with a book.
Jeremiah Farr is a senior staff writer covering university hall and higher education.
