Correction appended
Karen Kwok, a first-year student who lived in Rieber Hall, died
early Tuesday morning at Garfield Medical Center. She was 18.
Kwok, who also went by the name Ka Yan, was not feeling well
over the weekend and went home on Monday to see her doctor, said
Suzanne Seplow, director of the Office Residential Life.
On Tuesday, Kwok went to Garfield in her hometown of Monterey
Park where she died at 6:55 a.m.
According to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office an
autopsy was performed and no cause of death was determined. As of
late Thursday the body was ready to be released to another doctor
for further studies to determine the cause of death.
Dana Pysz, resident director of Rieber Hall, wrote a letter that
was distributed to all Rieber residents on Wednesday to notify
students of Kwok’s death and informing them about resources
to assist those affected by Kwok’s death.
When contacted Thursday afternoon, Seplow said ORL was waiting
for the coroner’s report before making any more announcements
to students or taking any action.
A grief counseling session was held in the third-floor study
lounge Wednesday night after fliers advertising the event were
posted around Rieber that afternoon.
Both Seplow and Pysz said they attended but said the turnout was
small, as some students had met the night before to get information
and to grieve.
“Everyone deals with the loss in very different
ways,” Seplow said.
“We are more than happy to have Student Psychological
Services and the Residential Life staff available if anybody has
questions or wants to talk,” she added.
Pysz said students on Kwok’s floor, Three North, were
planning a memorial in conjunction with student staff and that
specifics about the service likely would be released early next
week.
Alex Cherry, a third-year economics student who lives on the
south side of Rieber’s third floor, said the floor was
“shocked and sad” to learn of Kwok’s death.
Three North’s resident assistant, Michael Gardner, could
not be reached for comment late Thursday evening.
Nancy Greenstein, spokeswoman for university police, said the
police department had helped initially to gather information about
Kwok’s death but was no longer investigating the matter as no
crime was committed.
Max Benavidez, a spokesman for the university, said the
university is awaiting autopsy results.
Students seeking additional support can visit Student
Psychological Services in 4223 Math Sciences from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Mon-Fri, or call 310-825-HELP from 8 p.m. to midnight, 7 days a
week.
Correction: April 28, 2004,
Wednesday
In “Rieber resident dies at age 18″ (News, April
23), Alex Cherry should have been identified as a first-year
economics student, and Michael Garner’s name was
misspelled.