Around 12 months ago we drew some lessons from Virginia Tech’s management of communications in the wake of the tragic killings of 32 students and staff.
This year a school much closer to home suffered its own crisis. Elim Christian College and its community had to deal with the deaths of six students and a teacher involved in outdoor education activities.
Nothing prepares a school community for a tragedy such as this, so very often responses are instinct-based. In this case the school was well-served by its instinct for openness. In contrast to the often-used response ‘give us space’, Elim threw wide its gates to all, including the media.
Such easy access short-circuited the tension that can build and fester among the media when the shutters go up.
The other atypical response was the refusal of the school and its parents to descend into the blame game. For this group, issues of faith and the life celebrations for their loved children were at the fore, and questions of responsibility would be dealt with at a later date. And they will.
The result was some of the most mature media coverage experienced in a long while. Even the Outdoor Pursuits Centre refused to be drawn into the blame game.
In the midst of such issues it is almost impossible to respond as quickly as the media and other audiences demand, but Elim did. Its extraordinary openness resulted in positive outcomes, and won it many admirers.
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