Today, the Herald published a story covering the death of a WKU student. We now recognize our errors in judgment in the content of this story. We sincerely apologize for insensitivity that caused further pain or grief to family, friends and all those impacted by including specific details. They have since been removed from the story. We understand and apologize for this mistake.

We shared this story with the goal of providing accurate information to the WKU community. As students, we were aware of various rumors circulating about what had happened, and as journalists, we felt it was necessary to then provide an accurate story with public records we obtained. We fully understand and recognize, however, that certain details included in the initial story were unnecessary and harmful. 

As a student-run news organization, we are aware we have made a mistake. One of our goals is to ensure that we, the students here, always learn from these mistakes and make sure they are not made in the future. As a publication, we appreciate and have taken into consideration the concerns of those who have reached out, and we plan to adjust how we cover stories of this nature in the future. We will continue to respond to those who have reached out regarding our coverage, because we recognize that it is you who we serve.

This year at WKU has brought too much grief to the student body and the WKU community. We have experienced the passing of too many of our fellow classmates, and we as well feel the deep impact of these losses, and grieve as many others are. 

We deeply apologize for adding to this pain.

If you are struggling with your mental health, please contact the WKU Counseling Center at 270-745-3159. If you are having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or the Crisis Text Hotline at 741-741.