A resident of Witte Residence Hall passed away Thursday night, according to a set of emails sent to Witte residents.
The student lived on the eighth floor. The University of Wisconsin hasn’t released any of the student’s personal information or their cause of death out of respect for the student’s family, according to the email that came from Witte Residence Life Coordinator Dylan Kersten.
UWPD spokesperson Marc Lovicott said in an email to the Herald, UWPD and Madison Fire responded to the student death, but aren’t sharing any details, out of respect for the family. Lovicott said, however, the death didn’t herald an active police investigation and didn’t involve any threat to the campus community.
Kersten’s email offered mental health resources for students struggling to cope with the incident, and Housing held a meeting for affected residents at 11 a.m. Friday, with University Health Services in attendance. Kersten said the meeting wasn’t to provide more information about the resident’s death, but instead to function as a safe space for struggling students.
“Events such as this can overwhelm a person’s natural ability to cope, so it is normal to feel a range of emotions and reactions,” Kersten said. “You may now be experiencing, or may experience later some strong physical, cognitive, emotional, or behavioral reactions.”
UHS offers a 24-hour crisis line for students: 608-265-5600 (option 9). Struggling students can visit the UHS website for more resources.
