Amherst College has identified the body of a deceased 20-year-old man found dead on campus as sophomore Christopher Collins.
On Thursday morning, a deceased young male body was discovered by a member of the Amherst College grounds crew between Morris Pratt and Arms Music Center on the Amherst College campus. A campus wide-email alert was sent to students at the college informing them of the death and available resources provided by the college.
A joint investigation was then initiated by the Amherst College Police, Amherst Police and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
According to Sandy Genelius, Amherst College spokeswoman, the medical examiner has yet to determine the cause of death and any further information to be released.
“I was really surprised to hear [about the death,] and the first thing I worried about was the safety of the students,” said Jessica Booth, a Smith College student who attends a class at Amherst College.
In response to the recent information on the student death, classes between noon and 1 p.m. were cancelled at Amherst College, and a community-wide gathering was held in Johnson Chapel in Collins’ honor, according to The Amherst Student, the student-run newspaper at Amherst College.
“The cumulative effect of two student deaths in so short a time will make Chris’ death, indeed, both losses, even harder on the community,” said Amherst College president Biddy Martin in a statement. “It is important that we turn to one another for comfort and strength, that we avoid isolation, and that each of us look out for the people we know or encounter.”
Additionally, the college announced that proper resources from the college’s Student Affairs and the Counseling Center in the Keefe Campus Center would be made available to students.
Alvin Buyinza can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @abuyinza_news. Rebecca Duke Wiesenberg can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @busybusybeckybe.
