Ryan ChartrandAn electrical engineering sophomore passed away Thursday morning after being found unresponsive in the Poly Canyon Village on-campus apartments.
Favian Mora, 19, planned to graduate Cal Poly in 2011 and was a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. He graduated from Andrew P. Hill High School in San Jose, Calif. in 2007.
Mora was found by his roommate, civil engineering sophomore Zack Holtz.
“I had gotten out of bed at 7 a.m. and heard Favian’s multiple tiers of alarm clocks buzzing from inside his room, so I figured I’d go wake him up,” Holtz wrote in an e-mail. “He wouldn’t wake, so I rushed to the (resident adviser) who then called the police.”
“It’s weird. You don’t expect to wake up finding one of your best friends lying there in that state. No one should have to experience that.”
An autopsy was conducted Thursday, but the official results will have to wait for more test results and a toxicology screen, said Rob Bryn, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department public information officer. The results will probably take at least two weeks, he said.
There is an investigation into Mora’s death, but so far, the death seems to be unrelated to substance abuse or foul play.
“I hesitate to use the term ‘natural causes,’ because there is nothing natural about a 19-year old dying,” University Police Chief Bill Watton said.
Holtz described Mora as “enjoyable to be around” and someone who “made light of any situation” yet was “very studious.”
“He was athletic, loved soccer, the movie ‘The Dark Knight,’ and Tupac’s song ‘Changes,'” he wrote.
“I deeply regret his passing and I’m duly honored he called me his friend.”
Mora’s death comes 48 hours after the passing of architectural engineering freshman Carson Starkey, who was found dead after a fraternity party Tuesday morning.
Cal Poly Counseling Services is offering outreach counseling to those affected by these tragedies. It has already had special sessions with students, resident advisers and housing staff in both Starkey’s residence hall and Poly Canyon Village.
“It’s such a young, healthy population by general rule . it’s so shocking,” said Martin Bragg, health and counseling services director.
There haven’t been any people calling in for help regarding these deaths yet, but it’s still “very fresh,” he said. People are probably still “doing things in their own way.”
Bragg also emphasized the need to be sensitive to University Housing staff, since the two students lived in on-campus residence halls. “It’s been a terrible week for them,” he said.
Vice president of Student Affairs Cornel Morton also expressed the importance of having outreach to students, friends, faculty and staff for counseling and support.
“Data shows Cal Poly to be one of the safest campuses, but you never know what’s going to happen,” he said.
Mora is the third Cal Poly student to pass away in the last month, in addition to Starkey and business senior Frances Chang, who died Nov. 10 in San Luis Obispo.
In the six institutions Morton’s worked at, he has never experienced three student deaths in such a short period of time. “This is unusual,” he said.
“(The deaths) remind everyone of the importance of being responsible. Not only as far as alcohol is concerned, but (as Mora’s death showed us) how fragile life is. Take advantage of every day.”