Grief counselors were made available Friday at Whittier College, where a 20-year-old student was found dead in her dorm room.
“We are not searching for any suspects at this time and there is no known threat to the community,” Scoggins said.
The body showed signs of decomposition, but it was not known how long Latif had been dead, according to the coroner’s office and Whittier police. The cause of death will be determined by an autopsy and toxicology tests to determine if drugs or alcohol were factors, Scoggins said.
Whittier College posted messages on its website about the student’s death.
“Margo was an upbeat young woman who was excited about her direction and future goals,” Latif’s academic adviser, political science professor Joyce Kaufman, wrote of the Kilauea native.
“She was deeply concerned about much of what she saw taking place in the world, and told me how important it was for her to ‘give back,’ to work to make things better, that this was something that she did in high school and wanted to continue doing in college,” Kaufman wrote.
Latif, whose goal was a career in foreign policy, was active in campus groups and worked as a mentor to high school students, according to the college.
“I have heard so many stories over the last day about her smile, her leadership qualities, and her desire to help others,” said college President Sharon Herzberger. “Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to her family, her friends, staff, and the faculty who came to know her well.”
— City News Service