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The Daily OrangeCampus faces loss of 'endearing' student
By Daniel Bortz
Posted: 10/30/08, 3:14 AM EST Section: News
Alec Waggoner's death Sunday morning marked the loss of a charismatic individual to the Syracuse University community.
Waggoner, 23, was a first-year graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences. He died after he was hit by an SUV while riding a bike in Thornden Park at 11:15 p.m.
Though SU students are feeling the effects of losing a third community member, the Earth Sciences Department has been hit the hardest by Waggoner's death.
"Everyone here is just extremely saddened and shocked by this loss," said Jeff Karson, department chair of earth sciences.
The SU community is still recovering from the deaths of two students earlier in the semester - Jordan Schaffer, a freshman who committed suicide Sept. 10 and Matt Wanetik, a junior political science and international relations major who died studying abroad in Strasbourg, France, on Oct. 3.
Paul Fitzgerald, an Earth sciences professor, recalled the qualities he loved about Waggoner.
"He was one of those students who had a magnetic personality and he also had a delightful, irreverent sense of humor that was developed beyond his years," he said.
Fitzgerald added that Waggoner's keen intellect, passion for his field and genuine desire to help other people made him someone you'd want to be around.
"He had a lot of energy," Fitzgerald said. "He was incredibly alive. He was the sort of person who every time you saw him, he would brighten up your day."
Fitzgerald first met Waggoner when he came to apply for the Earth sciences graduate program last spring. Though that was more than six months ago, Fitzgerald said he remembered why the review board chose Waggoner among other applicants.
"He was very bright and he pretty much had his choice of institutions across the United States," he said. "He could have gone anywhere."
Waggoner graduated a top student from the University of Kansas. He chose to attend SU because he formed a bond with the graduate students on his first visit to campus.
Waggoner, 23, was a first-year graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences. He died after he was hit by an SUV while riding a bike in Thornden Park at 11:15 p.m.
Though SU students are feeling the effects of losing a third community member, the Earth Sciences Department has been hit the hardest by Waggoner's death.
"Everyone here is just extremely saddened and shocked by this loss," said Jeff Karson, department chair of earth sciences.
The SU community is still recovering from the deaths of two students earlier in the semester - Jordan Schaffer, a freshman who committed suicide Sept. 10 and Matt Wanetik, a junior political science and international relations major who died studying abroad in Strasbourg, France, on Oct. 3.
Paul Fitzgerald, an Earth sciences professor, recalled the qualities he loved about Waggoner.
"He was one of those students who had a magnetic personality and he also had a delightful, irreverent sense of humor that was developed beyond his years," he said.
Fitzgerald added that Waggoner's keen intellect, passion for his field and genuine desire to help other people made him someone you'd want to be around.
"He had a lot of energy," Fitzgerald said. "He was incredibly alive. He was the sort of person who every time you saw him, he would brighten up your day."
Fitzgerald first met Waggoner when he came to apply for the Earth sciences graduate program last spring. Though that was more than six months ago, Fitzgerald said he remembered why the review board chose Waggoner among other applicants.
"He was very bright and he pretty much had his choice of institutions across the United States," he said. "He could have gone anywhere."
Waggoner graduated a top student from the University of Kansas. He chose to attend SU because he formed a bond with the graduate students on his first visit to campus.
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