UR students and faculty discuss death of RC '11 student

The six faculty members and two students that gathered in the Jepson Faculty Lounge Monday evening talked about how the recently deceased Michael Ice, RC '11, would have wanted people to have fun in his honor, not mourn.

"He would probably want us to have a party," said John Earl, associate professor of finance who had Ice in two of his classes. Earl said they had also played basketball together sometimes.

Ice, who graduated last year, was killed around 6 a.m. Saturday after being struck by a subway train at the Spring Street Station in Greenwich Village, N.Y., according to a New York-based news report. No reason has been given as to why Ice was walking on the tracks when he was hit.

While at Richmond, Ice was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Ryan Gardner, a sophomore in SAE, said his fraternity had gathered Saturday night at their lodge to recount stories about Ice.

Craig Kocher, university chaplain, and Peter LeViness, director of counseling and psychological services (CAPS), directed the meeting in the lounge. Other faculty members in attendance included Joseph Boehman, Richmond College dean, and Steve Bisese, vice president for student development.

The gathering began with all eight gathering their chairs into a circle and holding a moment of silence, followed by everyone introducing himself and his relationship to Ice.

Ice, who went on to work as a financial analyst at Merrill Lynch in New York after graduating, was a finance major at Richmond. Besides Earl, finance professor Jerry Stevens was also in attendance. Stevens said that Ice had never been in any of his classes, but that finance was like a family.

The two students at the gathering, Jamie Wilson and Chris Rigoli, are both Richmond College seniors who said they had known Ice from rushing SAE when they were freshmen and he was a sophomore.

"We just decided at the end not to pledge," Wilson said. "Mike was one of those guys who didn't hold a grudge. He just acted like nothing was different with us."

Rigoli echoed Earl's sentiments about Ice's party mentality.

"He would definitely want us to enjoy the next week," Rigoli said about spring break. "He was just one of those kids who was always happy and having a good time with a big smile on his face."

Much of the talking was dedicated to talking about how to deal with traumatic events. LeViness handed out a sheet talking about certain reactions that are likely to occur after losing a close friend or relative with tips on how to respond to certain emotions.

"It's hard to believe sometimes that there are things more important than midterms or getting a job," Earl said.

Wilson said he had thought Ice's death was particularly devastating because it had been so close to the deaths of Jamie and Paige Malone, WC '10 and '12, who had been friends with a similar group of people.

"It's like they're going through it again," he said.

A wake will be held at Graham Funeral Home in Rye, N.Y., on Tuesday, and a funeral service will be held at The Church of Resurrection in Rye on Wednesday. Gardner said several members of SAE were planning on making the trip to Rye for the service.

Ice's family, which includes his parents, three sisters and brother, has asked that donations be made to The Michael Ice Memorial Fund, University of Richmond, Advancement Services, Richmond Hall G-18, 28 Westhampton Way, Richmond, Va., 23173. Donations will likely go towards some sort of scholarship, Kocher said.

Contact staff writer David Weissman at david.weissman@richmond.edu