Lowell Sophomore Dies ‘Suddenly and Unexpectedly’

UPDATED: September 12, 2015, at 5:00 p.m.

Luke Z. Tang ’18, a Lowell House sophomore, has died “suddenly and unexpectedly,” Lowell House Master Diana L. Eck told House residents in an email Saturday.

By Crimson News Staff

Local authorities are investigating the cause of the death, Eck wrote, and there is “no reason to believe that foul play was involved.”

“This is a terrible tragedy for Luke's family and friends and for the extended College community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his entire family, and all of those who have been touched by his passing,” she wrote.

Lowell tutors will be on staff throughout the House on Saturday. Eck told residents that she and Lowell co-master Dorothy A. Austin, House Dean Caitlin M. Casey, Harvard Chaplain Lucy A. Forster-Smith, and some House tutors will gather after dinner in the masters’ residence, which will be open to anyone who “would like to talk and be together.”

Tang was a member of the Asian American Christian Fellowship at Harvard, and was a 2014 U.S. Presidential Scholar. He attended the Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans and was named the school’s 2014 Student of the Year.

In an email to College students, Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana wrote that administrators “will continue to share any further information we can with the community as it becomes available to us.”

Middlesex County District Attorney spokesperson Elizabeth Vlock wrote in an email that “the death is not believed to be suspicious” and that her office “will not release any additional information on this incident.”

Harvard University Police Department spokesperson Steven G. Catalano referred questions about the investigation to the Middlesex County D.A. and the Medical Examiner. A spokesperson for the Medical Examiner did not respond to requests for comment.

—Check thecrimson.com and follow @thecrimson on Twitter for updates and a forthcoming obituary.

This story has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: September 12, 2015

An earlier version of this article misstated the name of the Asian American Christian Fellowship group at Harvard.