And Naomi isn’t the only person from Katie’s life looking to make meaningful changes in the wake of her death.
Katie’s parents, Gina and Steve Meyer, have created the initiative Katie’s Save—a university policy that requires an email be sent to an adult of the student’s choosing if the student is, for example, prescribed medication by a mental health professional, hospitalized for a physical injury or facing academic probation, in addition to other circumstances. Students have the option to opt out of the agreement.
The initiative is in part a result of Katie receiving a disciplinary letter in February 2022 regarding a former incident from Stanford’s Office of Community Standards on the same day she died. In November, Katie’s family decided to sue Stanford regarding the incident, accusing the university of inflicting “emotional distress.”
“The Stanford community continues to grieve Katie’s tragic death and we sympathize with her family for the unimaginable pain that Katie’s passing has caused them,” the university said in a Nov. 28 statement to E! News. “However, we strongly disagree with any assertion that the university is responsible for her death.” (As of May of this year, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Frederick Chung had dismissed six of the suit’s eight claims, however the wrongful death claim remains).
“A lot of people know her as a soccer player, and she was so much more than that,” Steve told Today in May 2022. “She was a brilliant student, charismatic speaker; she had incredible opportunities coming her way in that realm away from soccer.”