Dr. Kevin J. Manning
President
Stevenson University
1525 Greenspring Valley Rd.
Stevenson, Maryland 21153-0641
Dear Dr. Kevin J. Manning ,
My name is Nia Neloms and I am a freshman who attends Stevenson University. I am writing to you in order to bring to your attention about a very serious health issue that has been occurring on our campus for far too long: there are no EpiPens kept on the Greenspring Campus. This issue must be resolved before innocent student’s lives are taken, the university gets sued by angry parents, and Stevenson University name becomes tarnished.
Stevenson students have classes on the Greenspring campus, they eat at the cafeteria there and at Sub Connections. Many Stevenson students have food allergies, and some are deadly. The most common food allergies are “nuts, shellfish, and soy” (Asthma/Allergy). Imagine a student with a peanut allergy is on their way to class but they stop to get food from the cafeteria. The food they get contains no nuts but someone around them has a peanut snack. Some allergic reactions can be triggered from the smell. The individual left their EpiPens at their dorm, or they don’t have one, or worse they never knew that they had food allergies and it just started to develop. Then what? Security is called, but it is too late for the individual to be rushed to the 15 minute ride back to Owings Mill’s health center where EpiPens are stored. Why is it too late? It is too late because the individual is going through anaphylactic shock. Anaphylactic shock is when one’s throat begins to close up due to an allergic reaction and the individual could die if medical treatment is not assembled (Caple. C). Anaphylactic shock can be stopped with an EpiPen. An EpiPen is an enclosed needle that contains epinephrine, a drug that slows down the allergic reaction, (Asthma/Allergy). You may disagree with my point and think that students who have food allergies should be responsible enough to carry their own EpiPens. But what if a student is not aware that they have food allergies and one tragic day find out once they go into anaphylactic shock? If something is not done soon, Stevenson may have their first lawsuit case from the angry parents of their deceased child.
Stevenson is a beautiful private and popular school. The Stevenson logo “design your career, build your future” has a strong message of what Stevenson is all about. It would be awful if a preventable food allergy death or near death experience from a student tarnished the Stevenson University name. There is a company called Mylan that recently forced all U.S. schools to carry EpiPens and to use them on student’s even ones who may not have food allergies. If they show signs of a food allergy the EpiPens is pulled out (Mylan C.). If elementary, middle and high schools carry free EpiPens, why don’t colleges carry them? Why doesn’t Stevenson University? If we are such a great school that cares for our students and are helping them build a future, why should we not carry EpiPens on all three of our campuses and not just one?
You may be wondering why do I feel so strongly about this issue. I have food allergies so I can relate. It takes only seconds for an allergic reaction to occur, and there is no time to waste. Please for the wellbeing of all Stevenson University students and future students to come, allow EpiPens not only on Greenspring but Owings Mills North and in all of the security vans. Then, Stevenson students can accomplish their career goals, the university does not get sued from angry parents, and the Stevenson name does not become tarnished.
Thank you for you your time.
Sincerely,
Nia Neloms
