Student accident victim remembered

The commemoration of a life ended too soon brought Penn students together with memories, music, food and laughter Saturday night.

Students packed into the rooftop lounge of Harrison College House for a coffeehouse to remember Abraham Huang, who died in a motorcycle accident last December.

Although Huang was a recent transfer from Purdue University, the College junior quickly became a part of the school, joining Penn Musicians Against Homelessness and volunteering for the Ronald McDonald House.

He was remembered by all who knew him as a loyal friend and a gifted musician. His love for music influenced the organization of the coffeehouse in his memory, where musical groups volunteered their time and energy in support.

The Chi Omega sorority and the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity sponsored the coffeehouse, with all the proceeds going to the Abraham M. Huang Memorial Scholarship -- a musical scholarship established at Huang's high school in Connecticut.

Because students never had the chance to remember Huang in a formal memorial service at Penn, the coffeehouse was a chance for both those who knew him and the many who didn't to join together again almost six months after his death.

"We wanted to kind of do something so his friends could come together again," said Huang's former roommate Tom Lione, a College sophomore. "It's raising a lot of money for his scholarship fund."

Lione was "very impressed" with a turnout numbering almost 150 students at one point in the night. Noting that there were "a lot of people I've never seen before," Lione reflected that "it's nice to see."

Organizer and Chi Omega sister Kristin Sahradnik was also amazed with the amount of students who flocked to the event.

"I am so glad everyone came out to support this event," she said. "We surpassed our goal."

Sahradnik said the original goal of the coffeehouse was to raise $500 for the scholarship fund. But after selling almost all of the tickets for the coffeehouse by the end of the night, students had contributed nearly $1,000 to the fund.

Penn Masala was one of the featured musical groups, performing both Indian and more typical pop a cappella songs.

"This is an awesome event we're happy to be a part of," said Viral Juthani, a College junior and president of Penn Masala.

As a reflection of the way organizers intended music to bring students together in memory of Huang, Lione noted that "Penn Masala was also one of Abe's favorite a cappella groups."

Although the lounge was filled with music and talk throughout the night, the crowd fell silent as College sophomore Sarah Singer came forward to pay tribute to her friend.

"Abe was a close friend of mine," she said, recalling that the two would often meet to play guitar together.

Huang "was a much better guitarist," she said, and it would always end up being "me asking him to play and I sang along."

Singer shared their times together with the audience by singing some of Huang's favorite songs, the songs they once sang together.

Students enjoyed the coffeehouse and the tribute to Huang.

"It's a good cause and... a very commendable effort" by the organizers, College sophomore Paul Martin said.

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