In April and May of this year, two events significantly shook Stuyvesant: the deaths of two members of the Stuyvesant community, Gabriel Blitz (’07) and Yevgeniy Marshalik (’05). Blitz committed suicide. Marshalik was shot trying to catch a killer while on duty as an auxiliary policeman. Both of these deaths were surprising and painful for friends, family and acquaintances.
In the aftermath of these events, there were several places students could go if they wished to discuss their feelings. During the days after the news of the deaths, offices of guidance counselors and the SPARK office were always open to students wishing to talk.
The counselors had to deal with the feelings of not only those close to Blitz and Marshalik, but also many other students. “Deaths always bring up other losses, often reminding people of the death of those close to them,” said guidance counselor Jay Biegelson.
“We also went out into individual classes where Gabe had been a student to talk to them,” said guidance counselor Jay Biegelson. Guidance counselors personally broke the news to students in Blitz’s classes, while most of the school learned of it through Principal Stanley Teitel’s announcement over the loudspeaker.
A big factor in the administration’s response to Blitz’s death, according to some, was the way in which he died. “I don’t think the death was treated in the same way as it would have been had he not committed suicide,” said Zach Frankel, a senior and a member of Blitz’s close-knit Japanese class.
After Blitz’s death, the administration held an assembly dealing with the topic of suicide. According to Biegelson, “There is an emergency response system that we set up before this happened.”
Some students, however, felt that the school’s response was not completely appropriate. “While the school should clearly take actions to protect the mental health of its students, the assembly might not have been the best option,” said Frankel. “The general atmosphere which is conducive to suicide cannot be ameliorated with an auditorium meeting,” he said.
Said guidance counselor John Mui, “For the people really affected by the death, it was kind of after the fact, but at least the administration was trying to prevent a recurrence.”
Although Colon said he understood this viewpoint, held by many students, he said, “You have to look at the other side too. It was not easy to put together. It was an effort, and if we had done nothing, we would have been attacked.”
One of the most effective responses to Blitz’s death, according to Colon, was held by the Herpetology Club, of which Blitz was president. “There were under 40 students and only a few adults present, and there were heartfelt testimonials given in Gabriel’s honor,” Colon said.
Marshalik’s death did not personally affect as many students in the school as that of Blitz, since he was a member of the graduating class of 2005, and the administration’s response was more subdued.
Friends of Marshalik were not upset by the amount of attention given to his passing. “There’s nothing more the administration should have done,” said sophomore Daniel Goldstern, a member of the debate team who was acquainted with Marshalik. “[The administration] let people know what happened. Anything else would have been over-the-top.”
One thing that several students disapproved of was the removal of Blitz’s picture from the front entranceway so that Marshalik’s could be put up. “I feel that action supported a mindset that the school was cycling the person of mourning. It conflated the tragedies in a way, rather than respecting each,” Frankel said.
“They should have had both together,” said Goldstern. “The deaths were both equally important.”
In such a large community as Stuyvesant, it was impossible that all knew both of these students. However, any community feels the shock of loss profoundly. Colon said, “Death is never easy to deal with.”