College of William and Mary student Gregory Thomas Bak jumped out of a fourth-story window of his dormitory Friday morning, in the school's second suicide of the week.
Bak's body was found by a fellow student in front of Monroe Residence Hall close to 6 a.m. There were no witnesses to the death.
A week ago, first-year Law student Betsy John took her life with a gun off campus.
The consecutive suicides have left the college community shocked, William and Mary student Mike Kline said.
"We didn't see anything coming. [These two suicides] came out of the blue," Kline said.
William Sadler, vice president for student affairs at William and Mary, said a note was found around 11 a.m., revealing that Bak's death was a suicide.
Sadler declined to comment on the content of the note out of respect for the family's privacy.
There have "only been nine suicides in the past 35 years," Sadler said. "It doesn't happen very often."
Bak, a freshman, was a Monroe Scholar, involved in ROTC, Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, intramural sports teams and and was on Monroe Hall Council.
Mike Kline, also a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, is the rush chair and was Bak's "big brother" in the fraternity.
"He was a quiet kid and always friendly, a generally happy guy," Kline said. "I knew him pretty well, and we didn't see anything coming."
Kline explained that, on the night of Bak's death, they had been together and discussed plans for the summer.
Kline said the fraternity is coping well in light of the circumstances.
"We had counseling the day it happened and have been talking together," he said.
The school provided counseling in the dorms as well, Sadler said.
"Since we are small, we have a really tight community and people take a lot of strength from each other," he said. "There has been a lot of reaching out to each other and a lot of concern being shown. [The administration] is reinforcing that."
Sadler said he has no insight as to why two suicides happened in one week.
Kline said the rigorous academic environment most likely contributes to the stress experienced by students.
"There are high expectations here to make straight As, but no one does," Kline said.
According to sources, the note did not indicate that the suicide decision was related to classes or activities at the college.
Though the mood in Williamsburg has been somber, Sadler said classes will not be cancelled.
"It's important for people to have the opportunity to stay in their normal routine, [although] we have many resources here" to help students, he said. "We'll continue on and yet people will be understanding."
Kline also said that this is a difficult time for students at William and Mary.
"We're all going to the funeral on Tuesday. Right now, we're just trying to move on," he said. "To us, [Bak] was always a great kid."
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