Oct 29, 2012 2 min read

This year’s homecoming festivities at Washington & Jefferson College were tempered with sadness over the tragic death of Tim McNerney, a young and talented W&J student athlete, only two weeks earlier. It was a sad and senseless death and a terrible loss for Tim’s family and friends, the college community and our fair city of Washington. We ask ourselves: Why? Why in the world did this happen, allegedly over something as trivial as a cellphone? But when you listen to the news and read the papers about life in Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh and other major cities, you realize that the killing of innocent people, young and old, happens on a daily basis. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it, and it just goes on and on. What’s done is done. We have seen signs that this tragedy is bringing the college and the city of Washington closer together, something that would bode well for all of us. The response from Tori-Haring Smith, W&J’s president, was sincere and compassionate – no blaming, no finger-pointing. Clearly, Dr. Haring-Smith was devastated, as was the student body, the faculty and staff, including Tim’s football coach, Mike Sirianni. Washington’s mayor, Brenda Davis, responded with similar compassion, a good way to start the healing process for all of us. As a longtime resident of this community, I, like many of you, know that these two entities – W&J and the city of Washington – are joined at the hip. What is good for the college is good for the city, and the reverse is also true. So, in closing, I believe that just a little piece of good news can come out of this senseless crime. Together, the college and the city can work to make Washington a better place to live, and this is something for which we can all be thankful. God bless Tim McNerney and his family, Washington & Jefferson College and the city of Washington. Richard R. Cameron East Washington