Please Seek Help

As many fellow Cornellians are aware, we have had three tragedies this past month that have really shocked and saddened the entire community. Three promising students are no longer with us and the news breaks all of our hearts. As an alumna I understand the enormous burden to be successful at a school filled with the brightest. I was and still am proud of our school's reputation within the Ivy League as an institution without the grade inflation that other schools succumbed to but I am also aware that this pressure is extreme, especially for those who have never pondered failure. How can you explain that sometimes you learn more from the failure than the success? How can you explain that what is so big now will seem so small in the grand scheme of things? How do you tell someone with the weight of the world on his shoulders that he has not even begun to really live and please, please allow yourself to live and learn?

From the Cornell Daily Sun: "In response to the recent string of gorge-related deaths — which only exacerbated the pain for a campus community already burdened by an unusually high number of student deaths this academic year — the University launched an aggressive mental health campaign Saturday. It involved knocking on the door of every dorm room, stationing staff at bridges and widely publicizing the University’s counseling services. Student leaders also announced plans for events this week aimed at combating the somber mood on campus."

From Dean Skorton: “Your well being is the foundation on which your success is built. You are not alone. Your friends, your family, your teachers, your colleagues, and an array of counselors and advisers are ready to listen and help you through whatever you are facing. If you learn anything at Cornell, please learn to ask for help. It is a sign of wisdom and strength.”


Finally, I want to share with you who these three young men were because they were special and they will be missed.

Matt Zika ’11, a beloved employee at RPCC dining, tremendous athlete, talented poet, and caring friend, died Friday afternoon after he is believed to have dropped from the suspension bridge over Fall Creek Gorge. A junior operations research major in the College of Engineering, Matt was scheduled to graduate early this May and already had a job lined up with an insurance company in Madison, WI. In high school Zika was a member of the National Honor Society, won numerous writing awards, and was a star on the varsity baseball team – holding hitting records that still stand. Zika was also a volunteer firefighter for the Cayuga Heights Fire Department his freshman and sophomore year, but stopped after a shoulder injury from playing basketball. In addition to remembering his deep concern for other people. (source: Cornell Daily Sun)

William Anthony Sinclair '12, a student in the College of Engineering, was recovered from Fall Creek Gorge on Thursday, March 11. Sinclair, a passionate and gifted student. Having come from a diverse household and grown up in various places, he recognized the value of fostering relationships with students from around the world. “He spoke of wanting to be the first to reach out to international students in a classroom at Cornell, because he knew the value of a friend in a new country,” Interim Dean of the College of Engineering Chris Ober said. Sinclair was an avid automobile enthusiast, and his friends affectionately gave him the nickname “Axel,” according to Ober. Ober said that in high school Sinclair’s passions were jazz and physics. When, one year, he had to decide between taking jazz band or AP Physics during a class period, rather than sacrifice one of his interests, “he found a way to do both.” He elected to take jazz band during the class period and taught AP physics to himself during a free period. He would go on to score the highest on the AP Physics exam. (source: Cornell Daily Sun)

Bradley Ginsburg '13 was an economics major in the College of Arts and Sciences from Boca Raton, Fla. He was a new member of Alpha Epsilon Pi. “He was someone we had only known for a short time, but he made such a happy and positive impact on our fraternity,” Lerner said. “Brad will be remembered in nothing but the fondest light.” (source: Cornell Daily Sun)