Clark Atlanta University has paused classes for the week and rescheduled midterm exams after the fatal shooting of baseball player Jatonne Sterling.
In a letter to the student body and faculty, CAU President George T. French, Jr. said the campus continues to mourn Sterling’s loss. French said the campus would observe a “reflective Mental Health Week” from March 6-10.
“It will be beneficial to pause our busy schedules in order to begin to heal as a community and remember why Clark Atlanta University is here,” French said in the letter.
Midterm exams have been rescheduled to begin on March 20 after this week off and next week’s scheduled spring break.
French said CAU’s administration is developing a more extensive mental health program “for the continuous and longterm benefits of the entire CAU community.” He said students would be “intimately” involved in developing the programming led by the Whitney M. Young Jr., School of Social Work and Dr. Jenny L. Jones.
The college is offering grief counseling services in the wake of Sterling’s death. The 20-year-old was shot to death following a dispute on Feb. 28. Keontay Holliman-Peoples, 25, has been charged with felony murder and other charges.
