(Story taken from the Oglethorpe University
website)
SUWANEE, Ga. - After learning of the death of
student body leader Erik Downes, Oglethorpe University has
postponed tonight’s previously scheduled basketball games
against DePauw University. The games originally scheduled to be
played at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. tonight will now be played at noon
(women’s) and 2:00 p.m. (men’s) tomorrow (Saturday,
January 8).
Downes (pictured) was on an ecological study abroad
trip in Costa Rica and was caught in a sudden rip tide at Playa
Dominical while swimming with other students on Tuesday afternoon.
A search by the Red Cross, Coast Guard and volunteers concluded
tragically on Friday afternoon when Downes was found deceased.
Downes, a pre-med junior from Cape Coral, Fla., was a model
student for Oglethorpe: bright, energetic, eager and fully engaged.
He was a Resident Assistant in Oglethorpe’s Phase II
dormitory, and as Vice President of the Student Government
Association, led the Student Senate. He was president of the
sophomore class last year and was a student observer to the Board
of Trustees.