Family and friends of Slippery Rock student Adam Zook have raised several thousand dollars for his family in the wake of his passing on Sunday.
SRU officials confirmed Monday that Zook took his own life inside his off-campus residence. School President William Behre urged students who may be struggling to talk with someone and said that sadly, the national epidemic of suicide has reached the SRU campus too many times.
“There are truly no words to fully capture the anguish that losses like this cause our community,” Behre wrote in a letter to students and faculty. “Adam was an extraordinary young man with much ahead of him.”
Zook was heading into his senior year as a journalism major and set to assume the role of editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper this fall. He was completing an internship this summer at the Titusville Herald.
An online GoFundMe campaign had raised $8,000 in the first day to help Zook’s family with funeral expenses.
SRU says students can reach out to Student Health Services at 724-738-2052 or Student Support at 724-738-2121 if they need someone to talk with. During the summer, these offices are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone can contact the Butler County Center for Community Resource’s 24-hour crisis hot line by calling 1.800.292.3866. You can also text 62388.
Telephone and texting services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
