In what has become an all-too often occurrence, the campus community at California University of Pennsylvania is once again grieving the tragic loss of a student. According to police, Mason Reiff, 21, a junior majoring in communication, died in a car crash that occurred on Monday night on Route 88 in Washington Count. According to police, Reiff was a backseat passenger in a Ford Mustang when the car ran into a hillside on the two-way highway. The car flipped over on its side, and Reiff and a second passenger were ejected through the back window. All four passengers were taken to Allegheny General Hospital, and Reiff was pronounced dead upon arrival.

    On his personal Desire 2 Learn (D2L) page, Reiff indicated he hoped to become a journalist and report on the hard-hitting stories that change the world. According to faculty and members of Greek life, Reiff was already changing the way Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) interacted with university alumni. In recent weeks, he was reaching out to alumni and trying to get them involved in the campus community. After news of his passing, many of the alumni Reiff had contacted communicated with Greek life and expressed interest in reconnecting with the campus community.

    TKE’s national chapter also reached out to the university on its Twitter page, extending thoughts and prayers to Reiff’s family, friends, and fraternity brothers. Upon reports of Reiff’s death, the university also released a statement calling Tuesday a “sad day” for the Cal U community.

      Moving forward, the university will continue to not only honor Reiff, but also help the many members of Greek life he influenced cope with his passing. On Tuesday, grief counselors and the campus ministry team were available to students in the Carter Hall multipurpose room.

      According to Joy Helsel, director of Fraternity and Sorority Life at the university, a candlelight vigil will be held at some point soon to honor Reiff. Helsel echoed many of the same sentiments fraternity brothers and friends posted on social media the last few days, saying Reiff had a definite impact on Cal U. “I had the pleasure of getting to know Mason, and he definitely had a positive impact on our campus community,” she said.  The university asks everyone to keep Reiff’s family, friends, and the brothers of TKE in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.