In the aftermath of last week’s tragic accident in which graduate student Robert Svensson lost his life, members of the RPI community have come together to begin the healing process.
At its meeting on Wednesday, the Rensselaer Outing Club discussed what had happened.
Dr. Joe Albert and Theresa Kersch spoke to the club about dealing with grief on behalf of the Counseling Center. They stressed that the center was available if anyone needed help dealing with the situation.
Members of the club and others Friday night close to Svensson held a candlelight vigil outside the cave in Clarksville in which he died. They huddled together in the cold, sharing fond memories and impressions of Svensson.
A memorial service will be held in Svensson’s hometown in Massachusetts. The service is scheduled for March 8, and busing from RPI will be offered.
Plans for a local memorial after spring break are also in the works, though the details have not yet been worked out.
Svensson was a graduate student in the computer science department at RPI. He was active in both the Scuba and Outing clubs.
He and two other students were working on clearing out an underwater passage in the Clarksville cave when Svensson became stuck. The Albany County Sheriff’s Department responded, but Svensson had drowned before they arrived. They worked Tuesday, February 27, to retrieve Svensson’s body, with no success.
The cave was drained Wednesday, February 28, and the body was successfully retrieved.
