Student dies; cause unknown

Autopsy postponed, may lead to clues

By Jacquelyn Nixon

Daily Staff Reporter

An autopsy was postponed yesterday for a School of Art and Design sophomore who died Tuesday afternoon after being found unresponsive in her Mosher-Jordan Residence Hall room.

A fellow student notified police after finding Candy Wei, 20, in her room, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Diane Brown said. Wei was rushed to the University Hospitals' emergency room, where she was pronounced dead at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday.

"It appears not to be natural causes," Brown said. "Preliminary investigation indicates an absence of foul play."

An autopsy, which could help determine the exact cause of Wei's death, was delayed yesterday for unknown reasons and may be rescheduled for today.

Wei's mother arrived yesterday from Durham, N.C., and was met at the airport by University Vice President for Student Affairs E. Royster Harper.

Fellow Mosher-Jordan residents were informed of Wei's death at a hall meeting Tuesday evening.

"There have been grief counselors at Mosher-Jordan since shortly after this happened," Brown said.

LSA senior Matthew Schultz filled with emotion as he recalled Wei's passion for art. "She is one of the few examples of a true artist. Everything she produced was meaningful and touching," Schultz said. "She is someone who was engaged in the world."

Richard Kunst, owner of Humanities Computing Laboratory, a computer-assisted learning program based in North Carolina, hired Wei to work for him while she was in high school.

"She was a wonderful artist," Kunst said. "She was someone who was in touch with a lot of parts of her personality."

Wei drew sketches for numerous literary and art publications. "She published a literary magazine in high school called 'yteicos,' which is society spelled backwards," Kunst said. "She also did sketches for it."

Schultz, who worked with Wei on the literary and art online publication "Eat the Monster," said she was a gifted artist in many different ways. Wei also wrote short stories and worked on the website for the Michigan Independent, an opinion magazine.

While working with Wei, Schultz found she was ambitious academically and artistically.

Schultz described Wei as a hard worker who put a lot of pressure on herself.

"She tried to involve herself in many things," Schultz said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.