Bryan College Triangle

By Tim Baldi
Triangle Staff Writer

Savannah Stroud

Bryan sophomore Savannah Stroud is in stable condition today in the Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit at University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after fainting and going into cardiac arrest Wednesday night. Since then, dozens of prayers and well wishes have covered her Facebook wall as friends, family and fellow Bryan students pray for her continued recovery.
On Wednesday evening, Stroud was working with high school students at Young Life in Sweetwater, Tenn.  According to Savannah’s hallmate, sophomore Sarah Becker, Savannah was setting up a game for the students when she fainted and hit her head.
Savannah’s heart stopped beating for approximately 15 minutes while two Young Life high school students performed CPR on her, according to Resident Director Kristina Anderson. The students had just recently completed a CPR training course.
When emergency personnel arrived, they resuscitated her using a defibrillator.
Savannah was taken by ambulance to Sweetwater Hospital where she was sedated before being flown by LifeFlight medical helicopter to UT Medical Center, said Anderson.
Doctors are currently determining the cause of Savannah’s heart problem.
Savannah’s RD, RA, roommate and three other Bryan girls joined Young Life students and staff who had gathered at the hospital to pray as they waited for news about Savannah, according to Becker.
Beginning Thursday morning, Savannah was gradually taken out of sedation. She was able to squeeze her mother’s hand around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Anderson said.
Later in the afternoon, she regained consciousness and could talk in whole sentences, according to Becker.
The Strouds say they are very thankful for the love, prayer and support that they have received. However, because of the stress on the family and hospital, the Strouds request that prayers be offered from home and school rather than at the hospital, so that Savannah may rest during her recovery and the family can spend time together.
The Stroud family will provide updates regarding Savannah’s health on the Facebook page “Updates for Savannah Stroud.”

by Joy Hartman, senior staff writerSeveral students remarked on an unusual scene at Bryan that occurred in the Rhea County Room earlier this semester – a meeting consisting only of black students. Ironically, the fact that this was such an anomaly here at Bryan was exactly why the meeting was held.

According to sophomore Jared Sharp, who is black, he and several friends were talking in their dorm one night about things that Bryan could change to attract more minority students and decided that it was time for action. They asked Dean of Students Bruce Morgan, as a minority faculty member, if he would meet with them and their fellow black students to discuss the issue. Read full story »