by Cheyenne Schoen |
Family and friends filled the chapel in Christie Hall Monday night in remembrance of sophomore Conner Hall’s life. The Portland native, one of seven children, died by suicide on Nov. 16, according to University President Fr. Mark Poorman. Hall was honored at the annual “Mass of Remembrance” in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher Tuesday evening.
Poorman sent an email to the campus community with the news Monday morning.
“With great sadness, I write to inform you of the death of Conner Hall, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. We learned this morning that Conner tragically lost his life to suicide,” Poorman said in the email.
Hall graduated from Central Catholic High School in 2014 and was a member of the Christie Hall community. He was pursuing a degree in chemistry and enjoyed comics, Star Wars and reading.
Hall’s father, Eric Hall, attended the Christie Hall Mass Monday night. He was moved by the amount of people that showed their support that night.
“There’s always hope,” Hall said to the congregation.
Christie Hall Director Joe Burke said that the incident is a reminder to reach out to one another.
“This is a reminder that our words and our actions to each other are important,” Burke said. “What we say and what we don’t say and when we say it matter, even in the smallest of ways. I think it’s so important to be able to show each other that we care about each other, even the strangers among us. And we can do that in so many different ways, even just by how we greet each other on a daily basis.”
Counseling services are available in the University Health Center located in Orrico Hall. The phone number for the Health Center is 503-943-7134.
Cheyenne is a reporter at The Beacon. She can be reached at schoen17@up.edu.
Anyone who is struggling with mental health may receive immediate help by visiting Suicide.org or by calling 1-800-SUICIDE.
