As the Cornell community faces another semester marked by loss, students are critical of the University’s communication and support on campus.
This semester, the University has experienced the deaths of Joselyn Guadalupe Garcia ’29, chemistry and chemical biology department Senior Manager Michael Lenetsky, Prof. Debra Castillo, comparative literature, Thaddeus Lucentini ’29 and graduate student Emily Ryu.
“It left a hole in our community,” said Lara Rodriguez ’29, reflecting on Guadalupe Garcia’s death. Rodriguez lives in the Latino Living Center, where Guadalupe Garcia lived. “It definitely took people being together and supporting each other … there was a vigil for her with candle lights … even now, you still see people leaving flowers.”
Rodriguez said she has been able to find support through communities like the Latino Living Center and the Big Red Marching Band, but was frustrated by the University’s communication in the hours following Guadalupe Garcia’s death.
“The College of Arts and Sciences got an email before the 55 people who live in the Latino Living Center,” she said. “I found out what had happened through Sidechat.”
Césaire Carroll-Domínguez ’28, one of Castillo’s students, learned of his professor’s death in a similar manner. Caroll-Domínguez told The Sun that he found out about Castillo’s death through his peers, who shared screenshots of an email sent to students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Last fall, the Cornell community was shaken by a series of tragedies that left students questioning the University’s support systems. In November 2024, the death of sophomore Winter Knutson ’27 near Fall Creek Gorge was followed by another student’s hospitalization after a fall in the same area, a drugging and sexual assault report at the Chi Phi Fraternity house that led to its suspension and the charging of a Cornell custodian in a homicide off-campus.
The University response to these November 2024 tragedies included an email from Ryan Lombardi, Vice President of Student and Campus Life, urging students to “lean on each other and show support, empathy and care to each other.”
This year, administration did not send a campuswide email about tragedies on campus until Ryu’s death, the fifth Cornell death since the beginning of the semester.
“In moments like this, when it may feel like our campus light is diminished, it is critical to take a moment to pause and reflect on the things that matter most — the community we create together and the opportunities for connection that surround us,” Lombardi and Christine Lovely, vice president and chief human resources officer, wrote in the email.
Brayden Handwerger ’27, a transfer student, said that Cornell often focuses on short-term solutions rather than addressing “core problems” like academic and career pressure.
“The school has done a lot to give students resources to talk about why they’re mentally unwell,” Handwerger said, citing academic, career and social stress. “But it has not necessarily done enough to ask why students are unwell.”
He called the University’s “work hard, play hard” attitude a “dangerous culture” that leads to students developing unhealthy coping mechanisms to manage their stress during the week.
“[Students face a] tremendous amount of pressure in terms of academics, in terms of their career, and in terms of just the general social culture of comparison,” Handwerger said. “[It] leads to people to do way too much on the weekends as a sort of means of overcompensating for how stressed out they are during their regular lives.”
Some students hope to address the gaps they see in the University’s support services.
Carroll-Domínguez said the University should do more to help students manage stress before they reach the point of coping in harmful ways, and that he became an orientation leader for the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning to help do that.
“I think that a part of preparing students for college, generally, is teaching them methods for coping with anxiety and depression and learning how to talk about these things,” he said. “It’s tough to transition to college, and there’s not enough support for incoming students to learn how to cope because it’s so different being away from home.”
Nambita Sahai ’27, the co-president of EARS, a student-run peer support organization that provides drop-in mentoring and workshops across campus, said that she has seen an increase in students seeking support this semester.
“It’s very important to be okay with more uncomfortable, sort of deeper emotions,” Sahai said. “Simply validating someone’s experiences can be so transformative.”
EARS focuses on empathy and active listening while working with peers, Sahai said. Peer connection during stressful times is also a very important part of the organization's work, she added.
“Peers are some of the first people that people come to when they are stressed, when they're feeling down,” Sahai said. “Having greater knowledge about how to support your fellow peers is super important, especially in stressful times like right now.”
Cornell’s first priority in times of tragedy “is caring for the people most directly affected and ensuring that support is available to anyone who needs it,” a University spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Sun.
“Our approach is both grounded in personal connection and is data informed,” the spokesperson wrote. “We rely on our direct relationships with campus communities, communication, and collaboration to make sure that no one is left to navigate grief or loss alone.”
As students reflected on the pressures they face and the support they hope to see strengthened, many have said the challenges of this semester have underscored what they believe Cornell must prioritize going forward.
“Cornell is an incredible place with an incredible standard that creates incredible students and workers,” Handwerger said. “However, this can't be done at the cost of human life.”
Individuals can have a diverse range of feelings, needs and reactions when facing loss. This information about Grief and Loss may be helpful to you or a friend. The Ithaca-based crisisline can be reached at 607-272-1616, and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available throughout the U.S. Additional support resources are listed at mentalhealth.cornell.edu
Students in need of professional support can email Student Support and Advocacy Services at studentsupport@cornell.edu or call Counseling and Psychological Services at 607-255-5155. Employees can call the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program at 607-255-2673.
Mary Caitlin Cronin is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is a staff writer for the News department and can be reached at mcronin@cornellsun.com.
