To the Editor:

If you did not know that Sept. 23 marked the one year anniversary of the death of an Iona student, I do not blame you. How could you know if it isn’t spoken about?

I was at a Philadelphia train station when I received the email from Iona College about the passing of William Cooper Falk, a fellow crew team member. In the dark of 1:27 a.m., I was a bus, cab ride, and train trip away from Iona but even in another state I felt a sense of community with the crew team and the school through texts and calls. Knowing people were mourning together at Iona was the one reassurance I had trapped hours away.

The crew team has been a major source of comfort when coping with the loss of our teammate. In the semester of his suicide, Iona students attended a memorial in Will’s home town with his family and a mass at the local church for Will led by Father Frank. We raised over $7,000 for and participated in an Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention in his honor.

Perhaps it was naïve of me to expect the same treatment around the one year memorial of Will’s death.

I’m mad at myself for not trying harder to plan something in his honor, for trusting and assuming the same memorials would be done on the one year anniversary, and for entertaining the thought that if he had died any other way it would have been treated differently. I’m mad that society stigmatizes suicide to the point where people do not even want to talk about people who have died that way. I’m mad that I debated whether to mention suicide when writing this for fear that people would assume the worst about Will. I am mad for so many reasons but mostly I am overwhelmingly sad.

This hits so close to home because Will used to ask, “What do you want to be when you’re dead?” and his answer was, “remembered.” I don’t think we as a community honored his wish and I am crushed by that realization. It hurts a lot feeling like I have failed my friend.

Some of you may know me. Some of you may know the subject of this article, William Cooper Falk. While you have the chance to know me if you don’t, the only way you will be able to know Will is through the words and actions of other people such as myself.

I can understand how difficult it is to talk about deceased loved ones but it is important to let their memories live on, no matter how they died. Not talking about suicide as a community only promotes the stigma that it is shameful. I am not ashamed of Will. To me, after his suicide, Will is a reminder to be kinder, nicer, and more appreciative. His memory is a constant encouraging force in my life because he was genuinely a good person. Holding walks, memorials, and other events in his honor is a positive way to cope, heal, and share information with other people about suicide.

Will, you will always be remembered through me. And in the future, I will try harder to honor you.

Savannah Lang

Class of 2015