An Ohio State student’s future was cut short April 11 when he allegedly took his own life.

However, a spokesman for the Franklin County Coroner’s office said yesterday the cause of death will not be released for two weeks.

Willie Way Hsu of Newark, a junior in chemistry, died at the age of 21 in his home on East Lane Avenue early last Wednesday morning.

“Willie was a good student. He was in a lot of honor societies and always encouraging me to study,” said Hsu’s roommate, Vineet Aggarwal, a junior in electrical engineering.

Aggarwal said Hsu was going through some tough times and, although he wouldn’t have admitted it he was depressed, he was down a lot and really burnt out.

Hsu was a pre-med student finishing up his undergraduate research in chemistry.

Justin Potnick, a junior in chemistry, has known Hsu for three years, since they lived in the same dorm their freshman year. He said Hsu was always there for him and was a great friend. He always put others before himself and was concerned about everyone else.

Marek Radomski, a junior in chemistry, said he met Hsu through school and that he was a great person and a good student.

“Willie’s death has drastically changed my view of life. It has made me realize that life does not have a destination, rather it is a journey,” Radomski said.

Hsu’s death was not the only one his friends have had to endure this year. Another friend of theirs, Joe Emch, a junior in chemistry, died January 6 of a stroke at the same residence of Hsu.

“This year’s been tough,” Aggarwal said. “It’s hard enough losing one friend, but Hsu’s death was a huge loss. He was so focused and such a good student, it’s hard to understand why he did this.”

Aggarwal said Hsu spoke to him about his problems, but Aggarwal never thought it would end like this. He said that it is really bad this happened and he knows it shouldn’t have.

The Student Advocacy Center said since autumn quarter, 12 OSU students have died. They did not have numbers on how many deaths were a result of suicide.

Their records reflect a school year, from autumn to summer quarters, and the current number of deaths is average for the amount of time that has passed.

In 1997, 30,535 Americans died as a result of suicide. Males are four times more likely to die from it, but females are more likely to attempt suicide, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds, behind unintentional injury and homicide, and the rates among this age group have steadily increased since 1952.

A case study is underway to determine if possible risk factors for suicide include alcohol use, exposure to previous suicides and decreased social networks.