By wpengine April 16, 2003
Kristen Osborne ’04, a student in the School of Hotel Administration, died Monday night after sustaining serious head injuries following a fall at her Collegetown residence. Osborne’s death is the third student death at Cornell in the last two weeks. Word of Osborne’s sudden death circulated quickly yesterday morning and by mid-day, shocked and visibly shaken Hotel students had gathered outside of Statler Hall. Many sobbed, hugging and speaking quietly with classmates. “It was the eeriest day I’ve ever seen in the Hotel School. I’d say the one word is just shock. It was unbelievable. The lounge was just another world when everyone found out,” said Kim Glassman ’05. The incident occurred Monday night at approximately 7:40 p.m. at Osborne’s residence at 403 Elmwood Ave., according to Linda Grace-Kobas, director of the Cornell News Service. “Apparently, [Osborne] fell three stories in an open stairwell of her building,” Grace-Kobas said. The IPD, the Ithaca Fire Department (IFD) and members of the Cornell University Police Department (CUPD) all responded to the scene. Osborne was immediately airlifted to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Pa. by a Guthrie medical helicopter that had landed on Alumni Fields. Doctors began treating Osborne upon arrival. She was pronounced dead at approximately 10:40 p.m., according to Grace-Kobas. “These deaths on campus — also in the context of what’s going on internationally — are bound to be distressing,” said Provost Biddy (Carolyn A.) Martin. “We [members of the administration] will do what we can in every single situation and additionally let students know what resources are available to them.” “Words cannot express how devastated we are about this tragedy,” said David W. Butler, dean of the School of Hotel Administration, in an e-mail to all Hotel students, faculty and staff. “Please join me in offering our support and sympathy to Kristen’s parents and her young brothers, David and Jeffrey, during this painful time.” “Ithaca Police department officials have declared the fall as accidental,” Grace-Kobas said. The cause of Osborne’s fall, however, and whether or not Osborne had been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, is still under investigation by the IPD, according to Grace-Kobas. When reached for comment last night, the IPD stated that no report detailing the incident was available. “We ask that you refrain from talking about the accident itself, as it is still under police investigation,” Butler wrote in a second e-mail to all Hotel students, faculty and staff. “It is of course critical to avoid repeating unverified information.” Osborne’s parents, Newton and Janet Osborne, are doing “as well as can be expected under the circumstances,” according to Ken Clarke, director of Cornell United Religious Works (CURW). “This was a huge shock to them.” Osborne, from Bethesda, Md., had attended Walt Whitman High School. “Kristen was an inspiration,” said Susan Miller, a junior at the University of Illinois, who went to Walt Whitman with Osborne. “We loved her so much.” Osborne had been actively involved in my aspects of student life at Cornell. She was the marketing director for the seventy-eighth Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC), a teaching assistant in the information technologies department and the publicity director for the Cornell University Jazz Ensembles (CUJE). “She was one of those special spectacular people who was incredibly talented at all she did,” said Jeremy Adler ’03. “She brought joy to all those around her and will always be remembered with a smile emblazoned across her face.” A memorial service for Osborne will be held tonight at 7 p.m. in Sage Chapel. Throughout the day, many students confused the events leading up to the death of Osborne with another critical incident occurring at 8:30 p.m. on Monday night at the Telluride House. According to Grace-Kobas, an 18 year-old male, the brother of a Cornell staff member living at 217 West Ave., “climbed onto the roof of the building (25-30 feet off the ground) and probably jumped.” The male then fell to the ground, apparently unhurt, and “jumped a second time,” according to Grace-Kobas. Members of the CUPD, IPD and IFD all responded to the scene. The male’s critical status required him to also be airlifted from Alumni Fields by Mercy Flight Medical Helicopter to Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse. How the male reached the roof of the building, whether through a window or off a balcony, is still unclear, and the entire incident is still under investigation, according to Grace-Kobas. As of 3 p.m. yesterday, the male was listed in stable condition, Grace-Kobas said. Osborne’s death and the fall of the 18 year-old male were unrelated incidents, according to Grace-Kobas. Although there have been three student deaths in the last two weeks at Cornell, in the last five years, there have been an average of four deaths per year, according to Sharon Dittman, associate director for community relations at Gannett: Cornell University Health Services. Still, “people don’t have a chance to get their feet back under them” when deaths follow each other so closely, Dittman said. “Young people aren’t supposed to die.” Last year, there were five student deaths, three of which were suicides and two accidental, according to Dittman. In 2000-2001, there were three student deaths, two of which were suicides and one due to medical complications, Dittman said. In the years prior, there were two suicides in both 1998-1998 and 1999-2000. “In terms of statistics, the national rate is one suicide per every 10,000 students,” Dittman said. This year, there have now been four student deaths, according to Dittman. Karl W. Brown ’04, who had currently been on leave, fell to his death from the Stewart Avenue bridge into the Cascadilla Gorge late last Thursday afternoon. The cause of the April 1 death of Vinod Kundnani grad is still under investigation, according to Grace-Kobas. Although an autopsy has been performed, the medical examiner currently awaits the results of toxicology tests. According to an April 14 story in The Sun, investigators may be treating the death of Kundnani as a suicide. Ritseh S. Shetty grad, who disappeared on Sept. 26 of last year, was found in the Six Mile Creek gorge area in late February. An autopsy later performed in Binghamton ruled that Shetty’s death was a suicide caused by hanging. “We [members of] the administration need to take a pro-active role and reach out to students,” Martin said. Both Martin and Dittman encouraged students having a difficult time coping with the recent string of student deaths to seek support services such as Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at Gannett: Cornell University Health Services, Empathy, Assistance and Referral Service (EARS) and chaplains of CURW. “Students need to be able to rely on their college’s advising office, faculty, staff and peers as well as the resources at CAPS, University Counseling and Advising Network (UCAN) and CURW,” Martin said. “The most important work is person by person, friend by friend,” Dittman said. “Our willingness to talk and listen is so important.” According to a Sun story in Nov. 1977, there were three suicides at Cornell in the fall. At that time, however, students were told not to be alarmed by the spokesperson
By wpengine April 16, 2003
This Saturday, one of the biggest Ivy League events is coming to Cornell. At 1 p.m. on Schoellkopf field, the No. 11 men’s lacrosse team will take on the No. 4 Princeton Tigers. Not only will the winner most likely be crowned the Ivy League champion, but they’re also likely to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Parents, fans and townies everywhere are salivating. Heck, my friend Scott, who’s been a lacrosse fan since 8th grade, is driving three hours to cheer on the team and he doesn’t even attend Cornell. It’s funny if you think about it. When I look at the faces in the crowd on Saturday, I’ll see Scott, I’ll see the parents, and I’ll see one of the greatest acts of hypocrisy at Cornell this year. For those of you who aren’t keeping up on your current University events, the Student Assembly passed a resolution two weeks ago supporting the men’s hockey team. Whoo – hoo (because it did a lot of good … !). In the same meeting, a similar majority questioned why there was no transportation for students to go to the Frozen Four. I find that interesting … laughable even. A majority of the SA wanted transportation so students could go to the Frozen Four, yet I’d bet almost anything that the same majority won’t be in the stands this Saturday, nor will they pass a resolution advocating students go to the game (not that their resolutions change the world anyway). That’s about as hypocritical as it gets. Why should the athletic department be expected to provide transportation to away games when almost no one goes to the ones at home? The argument is even weaker coming from the Student Assembly, a group of people whom I have never seen “en masse” at any Cornell sporting event, and I’ve been to several polo, wrestling, field hockey, and lacrosse events. Having the SA bring this issue to J. Andy Noel and the athletic department is like having a kid without feet ask for new shoes. Neither party truly has a proper leg to stand on. Besides being hypocritical, the Assembly was also being impractical. There was a reason that the men’s volleyball and gymnastics programs were cut in the early 90’s, and it had nothing to do with the fact that our former AD didn’t like men in spandex. These programs were cut due to a lack of funding. Sure, a bus to Buffalo might not cost the athletic department as much as an entire program, so they could do it. After all, they would only need to cut a recruiting trip, or stop buying equipment for one of our teams. But is that worth it? Do we really want second class athletic teams just so fans can have first class travel accommodations? I think not. A question was raised by an assembly member as to what we receive from student support of the athletic department, and to be honest, it gets us plenty. Every sport except for hockey is free during the regular season. That’s over 20 athletic teams anyone with a Cornell ID can watch, free of charge, almost every weekend of the academic year. I suppose some of you want to know where the money actually goes. That’s fine, as contributing members to the athletic department you — the students — have a right if not an obligation to know. Let’s break down the costs like this. Equipment is going to be a small cost of the budget. Next comes a team’s support staff, such as athletic trainers and sports medicine specialists. After that comes team transportation and insurance. Oh, and there are also coaches’ salaries. The grand total? It varies from sport to sport. Some like football have lots of equipment and lots of players, so the costs add up. Others like squash have fewer athletes and therefore less equipment. Most of the figures I know of are in the six-digit range, meaning that the money the SA contributes to the athletic department is chump change (especially when compared to the alumni contributions each program receives). The SA shouldn’t clamor for one group and leave out another (mainly the umpteen other sports at Cornell that aren’t hockey). The hypocrisy needs to end, and the best time to end it is this Saturday, at 1 p.m. in the stands of Schoellkopf Field.Archived article by Matt Janiga