Dear International Students and Scholars,

 

A message went out to the UConn community on Tuesday, January 21 regarding the tragic passing of UConn student Tianyin (Skyine) Shang. At ISSS we are deeply saddened by this news, and we are so sorry for the loss to our community. We are working with students to identify ways to best provide support, and hope to announce plans in the coming days. In the meantime, President Katsouleas’ message to the UConn community has been translated into Skyine’s native Chinese – that announcement can be found below (translated by ISSS Advisor Lulu Dong), followed by the announcement again in English.  

 

Please visit ISSS if you need any help in the coming days, or refer to the resources below.

 

Student Health and Wellness – Mental Health:  Mental Health Services is available to provide support to the Storrs student community at this time of loss.  Mental Health Services is located on the 4^th floor of Arjona and their website lists information regarding their hours of service. Additionally on their website, you will find information on managing grief and loss.

·         On Call: A Counselor-on-Call and crisis information is available to you, all day, every day.  The Counselor on Call is available after hours by calling 860-486-4705.

·         Residential Life: The Residential Life staff team are available 24/7 to support members of the University residential population in need of support.  They can be contacted at 860-486-2926, or through the Resident Assistants on duty.

·         Dean of Students: The Dean of Students Office located on the 2nd floor of Wilbur Cross is available to assist students struggling with the loss of their classmate. You may make an appointment by calling 860-486-3426 or stop in to meet with a staff member during business hours, Monday – Friday from 8:00am-5:00pm. Staff in the Dean of Students Office are available to help you connect with support services as needed.

·         Student Care Team: If you are concerned about the well-being of a community member, call 911.  If it is not an emergency please complete a referral for the Student Care team.

·         Further Mental Health Resources at Regional Campuses: UConn Hartford and UConn Stamford, UConn School of Law.

致康涅狄格大学全体教职工和学生，

 

非常欢迎你们回到校园开始新的春季学期生活，特别是那些离开学校度过了整个寒假的学生和教师。

 

我们一直期待着你们的归来，也对新学期报着极大的期待。本来这封邮件是告知全体教职工和学生在本周以及新学期即将展开的一些激动人心的活动。但现在被突如其来的悲伤情绪所掩盖。昨天我们得知我校的一名来自中国的国际学生，Tianyin Shang，在斯托斯校区不幸去世。她的离开给我们所有人带来了沉重的打击，特别是此事紧跟在贾斯汀·尼兹雷基（Justin Niezrecki）的失踪事件之后。学校院长今天早上向斯托斯校区所有的本科生发送了这个令人悲痛的消息。

 

我的心情与Tianyin的家人和朋友一样。在此我要感谢我们的公共安全中心、国际学生服务中心和学生事务中心正在努力为她的家人以及所有受这个悲剧影响的人提供直接支持的所有工作人员。

 

我想提醒所有教职工和学生，如果你需要帮助，不要忘了学校提供的资源，包括随时待命的咨询顾问。

 

我们要团结一心，此时我们能做的就是相互支持和鼓励。你们积极主动的帮助和关心都会对此影响重大。

 

在这个学期，我将召集校领导和专业人员，来讨论我们作为一个大家庭应该如何积极主动地支持所有学生的身心健康和福利。我们会尽快对此进行更多的讨论。

 

正如我上面说到的，Tianyin是康涅狄格大学庞大中国留学生群体中的一员。上述通告是此消息的中文翻译。

 

有关即将展开的活动和其他新闻的详细信息如下。

 

此致敬礼

 

汤姆

 

To the UConn Community,

 

I write to welcome you back to campus for the start of the spring semester, particularly those students and faculty who have been away for the extended winter break.

 

We have been looking forward to your return and to this semester with great anticipation. The message I had originally planned to send to the university community about a few of the exciting events taking place this week and during the coming semester is below.

 

But this is overshadowed by a sense of great sadness.  Yesterday, we learned of the death of one of our students, Tianyin Shang, an international student from China at the Storrs campus.  Her death, particularly following so closely on the loss of Justin Niezrecki, is hitting us all very hard.  The Dean of Students sent a message to all of our Storrs undergraduate students about this tragic news this morning.

 

My heart goes out to Tianyin’s family and friends.  I want to thank our Public Safety, ISSS and Student Affairs staff who are working hard to provide direct support to her family and all those who have been affected by this terrible loss.

 

I’d like to remind any student who is struggling, or knows of someone who is, that there are resources available to you, including a Counselor on Call available at all times.

 

We are all in this together, and the best we can do is to support each other at times like this.  Your help in being proactive and caring will make a difference.

 

Over the course of this semester, I will gather leaders and professionals to discuss what more we as a community can do to support the health and well-being of our students across all campuses, both proactively and responsively.  More on this soon.

 

As I mentioned above, Tianyin was a member of UConn’s large community of Chinese international students.  A Chinese language version of this message will be posted online later this afternoon.  

 

Details regarding upcoming events and other news is below.

 

Sincerely,

 

Tom

 

Rae Alexander
Director

International Student and Scholar Services

 

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT

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