Last year, residents of the third floor of Dykstra Hall were
shocked by the suicide of Amanda (Mandy) Hafleigh, a second-year
American literature and culture student. In the aftermath of the
tragedy, friends of Hafleigh suffered a communal feeling of shock
and sorrow at the loss.
A year later, the immediate trauma has faded for many of those
who knew Hafleigh, but the sadness and loss have not.
“Most of us have moved on, but we never have
forgotten,” said Chalence Safranek, a third-year astrophysics
student who lived on Hafleigh’s floor during Hafleigh’s
first year at UCLA.
Friends, coaches, teammates and neighbors convened in the De
Neve Plaza auditorium Friday night in honor of Hafleigh’s
memory. The memoriam was put on by Mandy’s Team, a student
group formed after Hafleigh’s death to raise awareness about
depression and suicide.
Attendants of the event shared their memories and feelings on
the anniversary of their friend’s death.
Many residents of Dykstra 3 said Hafleigh was a cheerful and
magnetic person, and, as a result, she was well-known and
well-liked by those who knew her.
“Half the floor was really good friends with her,”
said Jenna Pletcher, a second-year theater student who lived a few
rooms down the hall from Hafleigh. “Me and everyone else who
knew her had no idea (she was depressed), so when it happened, we
were just shocked. We didn’t know what was going
on.”
“I felt kind of numb right when I heard about it,”
Safranek said. “For several days afterwards, it was all I
could think about.”
Paymon Ebrahimzadeh, a fourth-year music history student who
lived on Hafleigh’s floor, opened the memorial service with a
speech to acknowledge Hafleigh’s memory and generate dialogue
on how to stop suicide before it happens.
“Mandy fought for her life everyday,” Ebrahimzadeh
said. “We stand here now for the millions of people everyday
who suffer from depression. If we can be educated about (suicide),
we can stop this sort of thing from happening.”
Ebrahimzadeh left the microphone open for others to speak about
how to deal with depression after experiencing firsthand its tragic
results.
“Lending a shoulder and letting them know you’re
there is key,” said Holly Schwarz, a fourth-year English
student who played club ultimate frisbee with Hafleigh. “But
none of us can really handle it if the case is extreme, so my best
advice is to tell them to get help.”
An important way to detect depression is to look for behavioral
changes, said Craig Rychel, an international development studies
student who graduated in 2005 and was the resident assistant on
Dykstra 4 when Hafleigh lived there during her first year at
UCLA.
“If anyone does a 180, talk to them,” Rychel said.
“We have so many resources here at UCLA that 90 percent of us
don’t know about. Make use of the Student Psychological
Services, the Center for Women & Men, and the UCLA Peer
Helpline.”
Before the memorial service ended, two of Hafleigh’s
former floormates performed “Lonely Stranger” by Eric
Clapton. Dani Nicole Aladjadjian, a fourth-year ethnomusicology
student, sang to the accompanying guitar of Stephen Barr, a
third-year English student.