Student dies after fall from Dennison

By Stephanie Hepburn
and Jason Stoffer
Daily Staff Reporters

A 21-year-old male University student died yesterday afternoon after falling from an upper-level window of the Dennison Building.

The incident appears to have been a suicide, said Lester Monts, associate vice provost for multicultural initiatives. The student was from Korea, he said.

Department of Public Safety spokesperson Elizabeth Hall said the name of the student will not be released until his family is notified.

"We believe (the student) was alone, but there were two or three witnesses," Monts said. "There is suspicion it was a suicide, but we have no further details."

At 2:42 p.m., DPS received a phone call that a man had fallen from Dennison. As police and ambulances arrived, students and staff gathered around the bridge area between C.C. Little and Dennison, where the student lay on the ground.

LSA first-year student Anish Shah said that when he went to take a final exam at 3 p.m., technicians already were covering the body with a white cloth.

"Everyone assumed that he jumped," Shah said. "It's scary to think that a student committed suicide. People are so stressed about finals."

Hall said preliminary findings indicate that the victim fell from a window on the ninth or 10th floor.

"The victim was dead upon arrival at the scene," Hall said. "Efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. We are investigating the incident and don't want to speculate on what happened."

Monts and University Provost Nancy Cantor arrived at the scene following the incident to begin overseeing the response by DPS and medical examiners.

A professor, who wished to remain anonymous, said he watched emergency personnel administer CPR and oxygen at the scene.

"Emergency Medical Technicians worked on the man for a good five minutes while I was there," the professor said. But, "they were unable to revive him."

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