WOLFVILLE, N.S. (CUP) — A 19-year-old student from Alberta has died after being found unconscious in a residence at Acadia University, just outside of Halifax.
On Sept. 6, Acadia students were sent an email that released few details about the incident, stating that campus security had responded to a 911 call that same morning and that a student had been hospitalized and remained in critical condition.
It was then announced to the university on Sept. 8 that the 19-year-old student from Alberta had passed away at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax. The student’s family has asked that no details of the event, including the student’s name, be released.
CBC has connected the student’s death to a drinking game which witnesses claimed was taking place that same evening, but the cause of death officially remains unknown.
Wolfville RCMP officers are investigating the events which led up to the incident, though it was announced that the proper response procedures were followed by both residence and security staff.
Acadia University president Ray Ivany has released a statement, expressing that “it is important to say that this student was a member of the Acadia family and, during his brief time on campus, [he] established many friendships.
“His passing will be felt intensely by those individuals, and staff and faculty will be reaching out to provide support,” the statement continued. “This is, indeed, a loss shared by everyone who is part of our Acadia family.”
Acadia Student Union President Ben Jessome issued a similar statement, noting that “it is because of our strength of community and the impact we have on one another that we all grieve today for the loss of someone who held so much promise. It is, however, in this sense of community in which we will find the strength to move through this hardship.
“In this time, as in all times, we will face our challenges together,” the statement read.
Jessome has also assured students that they “are in the process of establishing a designated area for the campus community to gather and grieve in this time of shock and sadness.” No further details on the location of this area have been released at this time.
Both Ivany and Jessome have also emphasized that counseling and other resources are available to all students during this time of mourning, including an on-site resource person for Chipman House residence, the building in which the deceased student previously resided.
