The third student death this semester leaves the Penn community in shock

With yesterday's accidental death of College junior Abraham Huang sending shockwaves through the Penn community, friends of the 20-year-old transfer student found themselves in disbelief.

"He was really friendly, really outgoing. I liked him a lot," said Jorge Gonzalez, Huang's graduate associate in Harrison College House. "Everybody seemed to like him a lot."

Gonzalez added that "the way that everybody came together" was "heartening," saying that some of Huang's friends had dinner together last night.

"It was a very unique loss," he said.

The 20-year old student, a Psychology major who transferred to Penn from Purdue University this fall, was driving his motorcycle on the Schuylkill Expressway early Wednesday morning when his vehicle was involved in an accident on Spring Garden Street and Girard Avenue.

Police are still investigating the cause of the accident, but Huang's vehicle was the only one involved.

The transfer student's accidental death -- the third student death this semester -- prompted offices including Counseling and Psychological Services and the office of the Vice Provost for University Life to offer their services and help students to cope with this latest tragedy.

"The first thing that we're concerned about is the immediate roommate and the close friends," Associate Vice Provost for University Life Juana Lewis said.

Yesterday morning, Harrison College House Dean Frank Pellicone sent an e-mail to the entire house community informing them of the tragedy. The house held an open grief counseling meeting yesterday afternoon, led by officials from CAPS, Special Services and VPUL.

According to Pellicone, some who lived on Huang's floor attended the meeting along with members of Huang's transfer student program.

With Huang's death being the third student death since October, responding officials must deal not only with the immediate tragedy, but with a sense of sadness that has pervaded the Penn community for some time.

"Each time [there is a tragedy], it is just a test of the great network that is here at Penn," Pellicone said. "All of us are just sort of trudging through it together."

Lewis emphasized the far-reaching effects of the tragedy -- and the full mobilization required to respond to it.

"We tried to have a full university response," Lewis said. "I think it's always better that [students] are notified and also have an opportunity to ask questions."

And CAPS Deputy Director Bill Alexander said that the sudden nature of the tragedy may deeply affect people who in ordinary times might have been better able to handle the loss.

"We want to be a little more tuned in as helpers to a kind of ripple effect," Alexander said.

With exams just around the corner, many share the concern that students are already overly stressed.

"I've never seen anything like the kind of stress the undergrads are dealing with now," Gonzalez said. "I imagine what a lot of people need is someone to talk to."

For students who need to speak to someone about the tragedy, CAPS representatives are available through a 24-hour emergency phone number with a psychologist on call around the clock. During business hours, the office can be reached at 215-898-7021, and students wishing to talk after hours or on weekends should call 215-349-5490.

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