Fellow Rider freshman Lisa Steenstra spoke with Mr. DeVercelly the afternoon before he binge drank at a fraternity party.
By: Lea Kahn
It was a good night gone wrong that’s how Rider University student Lisa Steenstra described the events of March 28 that led to fellow freshman Gary DeVercelly’s death from alcohol poisoning.
Mr. DeVercelly had attended a party at the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity on the Rider campus that evening.
Ms. Steenstra said she ran into Mr. DeVercelly at the Bart Luedeke Student Center before the fraternity party, but he did not mention the party to her. She said it was one of the first times she had seen him since classes resumed after spring break.
"Gary was the same person he always was," Ms. Steenstra said. "I gave him a hug. He was really laid back. He was very smart. I had a math class with him last semester. He said he would help me this (past weekend) study for math class."
Ms. Steenstra said Mr. DeVercelly’s offer to help her study for math was typical of the Long Beach, Calif., native. He was always helpful and supportive. He often went out of his way for his friends, she said.
Ms. Steenstra, who lives in South Brunswick Township, said she met Mr. DeVercelly during the freshman orientation program in July. The two 18-year-olds became fast friends, and she helped him move into the Poyda Dorm when classes started.
"We called each other ‘Team MBA,’ because we were on the five-year plan to masters in business administration degrees," Ms. Steenstra said. "We knew we would be here for five years."
Rider University was a good fit for Mr. DeVercelly, she said. He loved Rider and the new friends he made, she said. Everyone knew him, she added, noting that he called Rider his home away from home.
Ms. Steenstra said her friend was like any other college student who liked to have a good time.
"Gary liked to party, but not to get throwing-up drunk," she said. "On the weekend, he had a good time. He didn’t drink during the week."
Ms. Steenstra said that although Mr. DeVercelly had pledged Phi Kappa Tau, she did not believe hazing was involved in the March 28 incident. Pledges are not allowed to drink alcohol, she said.
"It was just so weird to find out his condition," she said when she learned he had been hospitalized. "Something like that doesn’t happen to people you know. It doesn’t hit you until you know it’s your best friend."
The mood on campus last weekend was somber, and it was "completely dead," Ms. Steenstra said. Many students went home Friday, but returned for a memorial service for Mr. DeVercelly at the school’s Gill Chapel Saturday afternoon.
"(The memorial service) was one of the most depressing hours I have spent this semester," Ms. Steenstra said. "I don’t think there was a dry eye in the chapel. I sat next to some friends. It was very sad, (but) it was a nice memorial service."
During the service, Ms. Steenstra said, Mr. DeVercelly’s mother urged her son’s friends and classmates to carry on with their lives, but to always think about him. Ms. DeVercelly told the students to take some good out of the situation, she said.
"It was a good night gone wrong," Ms. Steenstra said of the night her friend became ill. "It makes people wake up. You need to be more aware and to be with somebody you trust (if you are going to be drinking). It was just an accident. I think it could happen anywhere. It’s just sad that it happened to Gary."
Ms. Steenstra said the Rider University administration has hinted there will be many changes. She said she thinks "things are going to be a lot different" and the administration will be more strict about alcohol use, but she said if such measures can save a life "that’s all that really matters."
"I know I’ll never see him again," Ms. Steenstra said. "Gary was just a good friend. It just stinks that bad things happen to good people. Ours is a small campus, and every single person was affected by it."