Cornell Student Drowns in Fall Creek Gorge
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Local emergency officials declared a Cornell student dead when his body was recovered from Fall Creek Gorge below the suspension bridge leading to North Campus last night around 9:20 p.m. He was later identified as 18-year-old Douglas Lowe from Shelton, Conn, a student in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Lowe was said to have been swimming in the gorge with about 12 other people when his body was pulled under the current, the Ithaca Journal reported. He slid down a smooth rock surface that leads to a swirling pool of collected water — often a popular swimming spot for Cornellians.
Cornell Police, Ithaca Fire Department, Ithaca Police Department and Bang’s Ambulance all showed up to the Fall Creek Gorge, though the rescue team declared him dead before his body was actually removed from the water, according to the Journal. The case is still under investigation.
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According to Ithaca Fire Department Lieutenant Dave Burbank, swimming in that area of the gorge is illegal and many emergency response groups have tried to spread concerns regarding the danger of swimming at that site. However, stairs and a dirt path that lead down to the gorge from University Ave. and McGraw Place, make access relatively easy. The IPD statement said, “water flow in the gorge at the time of the incident was relatively calm due to a lack of recent rain.”
The area remains one of the most popular sites for gorge swimming, due to a large flat rock that many students like to lounge on, especially in the summer. However, this is not the first death to occur in Fall Creek. Plaques in memory of students who have died in the gorge line the path down to the basin.
On Aug. 14, 2006, Aravind Lakshmanan, a 23-year-old graduate student also drowned in the Fall Creek Gorge. His death was the third gorge-related death that month. More recently, a student drowned on Sept. 8, 2007 after falling into the Cascadilla Gorge.
Simeon Moss ’73, director of Cornell Press Relations, said that people “can’t swim in the gorge areas … only where there are lifeguards … I urge people to pay attention to signs and the fact that you’re not allowed to swim there.”
Moss said Lowe was in Ithaca taking classes as part of a three-week summer session. Since Lowe had been dorming in Balch, there will be a community support meeting in the dorm tonight. Other support services will also be available to Lowe’s friends and acquaintances.
LeNorman Strong, Cornell University assistant vice president for student and academic services, issued a statement regarding Lowe’s death: “The news of Douglas’ death has been very difficult for many here on campus. It's very sad — Douglas was such a wonderful young man with a promising future. I want to convey heartfelt condolences from the Cornell community to his family and his many friends. He will be remembered.”
Please continue to check back for more updates regarding this developing story.
wow. This is horrible. These
wow. This is horrible. These spots should be completely closed off, and all those stairs that provide access knocked down.
Please! Stop the silly
Please! Stop the silly hysteria.
If someone wants to take the risk, its his/her choice to make.
The State does not need to protect me from myself.
People need to be protected
People need to be protected from themselves. Especially young males. Laws help prevent senseless death.
To the person who said Stop
To the person who said Stop the silly hysteria--- if you knew Doug... you're answer would not be the same. Perhaps it was a poor decision, but to lose such an amazing person is quite painful, and I agree that something needs to be done to make sure we don't lose any other people with amazing futures.
Misguided response by authorities
This is a very tragic event, as you all know.
So tragic, in fact, that it MUST transcend the usual struggle between the "authorities" and the students swimming in "illegal" areas. If we want a response to this event that will produce results, it needs to be framed within the realities of the gorge swimming areas and their place within the Cornell culture.
One reality is that we live in a society so full of litigation that almost any natural swimming area is considered "off-limits" without a lifeguard. As a result, people notice that the vast majority of swimming areas that are considered "off-limits" are perfectly fun, secluded, and popular places to swim. People who swim in these areas are not irrational criminals or rebellious teens, they are the majority of Cornell students and they've made a rational decision based on what they've perceived.
Another reality, that we can see in every campus and in every generation, is that the WORST way to get undergraduates to do something is to approach them as a higher authority figure and tell them, in black and white terms, what they can and cannot do.
The third reality is that gorge swimming is and always has been a central part of Cornell culture. I'm sure there have been numerous failed drives to stop it in the past. It simply will not work.
An effective response, then, takes these realities into account and makes an effort to spread information about the truly dangerous ASPECTS of gorge swimming, instead of simply saying that it is "off-limits." That way, concerned students will self-enforce the most dangerous activities in the gorge. This can be done easily during orientation week, as long as it doesn't look like its coming from an authority figure that is telling students what they can and cannot do. It needs to be perceived as a genuine representation of the dangers. KISS - keep it simple stupid. Emphasize the three or four most dangerous aspects or activities in the gorge rather than telling people they just shouldn't go there or rattling off a long list of dangerous activities.
Any response that takes on a simplistic and morally judgmental tone over the gorge swimmers is not really a response at all as it changes NOTHING about the situation. I do hope that the Ithaca Police and Cornell will have the wisdom to consider the realities of the situation and take action aimed at educating people to really make it safer. Perhaps it is more convenient for them to simply arrest the gorge swimmers every once in a while, but It is certainly not more effective. These gorge deaths are tragic, its time to take real action to prevent them.
I was there not 1.5hrs
I was there not 1.5hrs earlier, and it was my first time in any gorge, and I had no idea nor remember seeing any sign that it was illegal. I remember thinking wow its a pretty strong current that might bump me into some rocks (rocky bottom in the shallows). While I was there, there were at least like 12-15 people, many diving in or jumping from a cliff and repeated waterfall slides.