Victim recalled as 'caring' friend

Friends remembered Michael Yang, 18, for his outgoing, gregarious nature and tireless work ethic. A poem written by a fellow hallmate entitled "Nothing Seems Important Now That You're Gone" hangs on the white wall of Michael Yang's second-floor Hill College House suite, preserving the memory of a young man described by friends as compassionate and friendly, intelligent and worldly, easygoing and jovial. Yang, an 18-year-old Wharton freshman from Korea, died Tuesday after the bicycle he was riding collided with a truck at the corner of 33rd and Spruce streets. He was pronounced dead at 3 p.m. upon arrival at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The students on Yang's floor yesterday recalled a friend who was so hardworking that he spent many a night asleep on the study lounge couch, and so helpful that he once spent 45 minutes helping a suitemate catch a cockroach. The hall's designated computer wiz, he was, according to those who knew him, a friend to everyone on the floor and an indispensable part of the suite's social life. "Everybody seemed to know him. He seemed to be well-known around campus," Wharton freshman Aaron Shapiro said. "He was pretty much friends with everyone. He'd just walk into peoples' rooms and start up a conversation," said College freshman Elizabeth McWhorter, who lived on the same floor in Hill as Yang. She recalled a recent conversation she had with Yang in which he entered her room, took a poster on her wall and used it as the basis for a long philosophical debate. "He was always really caring. If you needed to talk to someone, you could talk to him and he'd be mature about it," College freshman Leslie Evans said. Evans said she, Yang and several other students from the suite had recently gone to Chinatown and dined on Thai food. Like others on the floor, Evans said she is finding it hard to deal with the fact that her friend is actually gone. Friends described Yang, who spent time rowing on the freshmen heavyweight crew team and listening to his downloaded MP3s, as a hard-working student who liked to stay up late studying but still enjoyed hanging out -- and joking around -- on the weekends. "He was very talkative and just a cheerful guy," said College freshman and Daily Pennsylvanian staff member Jon Rosen, who also rows on the crew team. Most students received word of Yang's death as they returned to the dormitory Tuesday afternoon. Many described themselves as being totally "shocked" when they first heard. "Even though I didn't know him as well as other people [did], it could have been me. That's just so terribly frightening to think about," said College freshman Marilyn Arenas, who lives in a different suite in Hill. "I went down to Dining and someone just said, 'Did you hear what happened?' I immediately knew it was him. He was the only one on the floor with a bike," Shapiro said, adding that the death is still "not sitting in." Students in Yang's suite went to the intersection last night where he was killed and placed flowers and letters there. Cheryl Gross, Yang's graduate associate in Hill, said the accident was easily the "worst experience" that she has had in her three years at Penn. "His face has been in my memory ever since this happened," Gross said. "We'll never forget Michael. He was such a good-hearted, good-natured guy." The entire floor attended a special counseling service Tuesday night with representatives from Counseling and Psychological Services and University Chaplain William Gipson. University officials notified Yang's family, who live in Cairo, Egypt, late Tuesday afternoon. They are expected to attend today's funeral, which will take place at 2 p.m. at the Keeho Kim Funeral Home at 5800 N. 5th Street. Hill House will be providing transportation.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.