The news of the accident involving Rachel Soriano ’06 shocked the entire Wesleyan community. But for many international students, who knew her best, Soriano’s accident has meant the loss not only of a friend, but of a kindred spirit in a foreign country.
Soriano came to the University in 2002 from the Philippines. This year, she served as an international student orientation leader, forming bonds with several of the new freshmen.
“She was friendly and very helpful, and she was from the Philippines like me,” said Wunna Kyaw ’09.
For Portia Chipendo ’09, the accident was especially difficult.
“This was my first time in the States, and she was the first person I talked to,” Chipendo said. “She helped me look for a phone card to call my parents. She was my first friend.”
Chipendo was the last person to see Soriano before the accident.
“I was walking up from the Butterfields with my roommate, and I saw Rachel at the crosswalk,” she said. “Before she crossed, she waved. The next time I looked she was in the air. It happened so fast I didn’t know what had happened.”
Her roommate called for an ambulance, and Chipendo waited almost 15 minutes until the ambulance came and took Soriano to the hospital.
“I didn’t cry or anything,” Chipendo said. “I just couldn’t believe it, especially with the connection I had with Rachel.”
Other students soon arrived on the scene.
“When the ambulance came, I was walking up from the Butterfields,” Kyaw said. “I was shocked.”
In February a similar accident occurred at the same crosswalk, though that accident proved to be less serious.
Manuel E. Sanchez ’07 was crossing Church Street toward the Campus Center. He said he heard a car in the distance coming from the left, and saw a line of cars coming from the right.
“I started crossing the street, and then the car [on the left] started accelerating. I was almost at the double yellow line. When the car got closer, I realized it wasn’t going to stop. I closed my eyes. It hit my leg, and I rolled over my head and backpack to the other side of the street,” Sanchez said.
An ambulance happened to be driving by, so they stopped to check on Sanchez.
“The first question they ask you is what day it is,” Sanchez said. “That’s not a good question to ask a college student.”
When Sanchez heard about Soriano’s accident, he was surprised.
“I was like, oh my God I can’t believe this happened again!” Sanchez said.
Students said that they have been more cautious since the accident, although many of them were cautious already.
“I used to wait ’til the cars stopped, but now I have to make sure that there’s nothing there,” Chipendo said. “When I cross, I always hear the bang [of the car hitting Soriano].”
The international students had various suggestions for improving safety at the intersection and on campus in general.
“It’s on a hill, so you can’t see cars coming. We can’t change the landscape, but we should put an overhead or underground walkway – it’s a very busy road,” Chipendo said.
Others put more emphasis upon student awareness.
“I heard they would put up ‘drive slowly’ signs,” Sanchez said. “Really though, more than 90 percent of the students cross the street wherever they want. Students need to be more careful.”
In the meantime, all of the students are concerned about Soriano’s progress. The Catholic community made her a get-well sign and has been praying for her at every mass. The international students organized e-mail messages to send to Soriano’s parents. They also signed a big card and sent it to her.
“All my hopes are in the Lord that Rachel will get better and will come back to school,” Chipendo said. “Maybe this accident was a warning – God has his own reason for it. God is going to heal her.”
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