What Killed the Duke Coed?

A Duke University student was been found dead in his dorm room yesterday. The student was a resident of New Haven, Connecticut and a junior at Duke University.

The student has been named as 20-year-old Chris Sanders. Chris was discovered at 10 am on Tuesday morning in his dorm room at Kilgo Quad according to the Duke Police Captain, Sara-Jane Raines. Chris was a member of the Duke University dive team and was studying for a degree in art history and visual art.

At this time police are not considering foul play and an autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause of death. No more information was divulged about the possible causes of death but more information may be available after the medical examination.

Besides being a member of the school's dive team Chris Sanders was also part of the Duke First Year Advisory Council and a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.

Duke University students were informed about their classmates death by the school's student affairs vice president, Larry Moneta. The method used was an email sent to students. The email expressed the extreme sadness of Larry Moneta to hear of the death of Chris Sanders.

Prior to attending Duke University, Chris Sanders attended Notre Dame High School in West Haven, Connecticut where he was an outstanding student. In his final year of high school Chris was given a number of honors, including, All-State, Academic All-America, National Merit Commendation, membership of the National Honor Society, Latin Honor Society and the Notre Dame Medal. Besides being an excellent student, Chris was active in school sports including playing soccer and being a member of the swim team. Chris graduated from high school in 2004.

Students at Duke University have been provided with grief counsellors to help them come to terms with the shock death of a fellow student. Counsellors will be available during the week and students may just drop in to discuss their grief. Larry Monet said in his email to the study body, "It is with profound sadness that I write to share news about the death of a member of our Duke University student community." "We have been in touch with Chris' family and extend out deepest sympathies to them and Chris' friends'"

Chris Sanders' family was thought to be on their way to Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina. Chris' immediate surviving family members include his mother Margaret, father Arthur and older brother John. His family were said to be "in shock and having a tough time" according to Eric Van Danen a representative for Duke University.

Sources
http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18166025&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7576&rfi=6
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2007/04/monetastatement.html
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ap-dukestudent-0404,0,1755785.story?coll=hc-headlines-local