A UC Berkeley senior died in an apparent suicide last week.

Staff members at the Tang Center asked police to check up on senior Vi Nguyen, 23, at around 4:55 p.m. last Tuesday after she missed a scheduled appointment, said Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss.

Officers went to Nguyen's apartment at 2000 Durant Ave., but were unable to reach Nguyen by phone or by knocking on the door, Kusmiss said.

Kusmiss said officers then obtained a key from the apartment manager and upon entering, found Nguyen, who appeared to have hanged herself on her closet door.

"She showed no apparent signs of life and she was cold to the touch," Kusmiss said.

Berkeley Fire Department paramedics were then called to the scene and pronounced Nguyen deceased at 5:50 p.m.

According to Kusmiss, officers found no note at the scene and saw no signs of foul play.

Nguyen's professors and graduate student instructors declined to comment, saying they wished to respect the privacy of Nguyen's family.

Kusmiss said suicides such as Nguyen's are a sad but ever-present part of the Berkeley community.

"There are suicides in the city of Berkeley, and there are suicides involving college age and teenage young people that we're involved in every year," Kusmiss said. "It's always just such a horrible tragedy."

Other recent suicides of UC Berkeley students include those of graduate student Daniel Lucas in April 2008, and war veteran and senior Elijah Warren in October 2008. In total, there were 11 suicides in the UC system last year.

Despite these statistics, Kusmiss said she has not noticed any difference in the number of suicides in Berkeley recently.

Although suicide numbers have not changed, there has been a 70 percent increase in students seeking counseling services on UC campuses since 2000, according to a report by the UC Student Mental Health Oversight Committee published last month.

"There are cultural challenges, financial challenges, academic challenges, mental health challenges, I mean there's so many things in life," Kusmiss said. "But a young person, it's always very, very sad."

Tags: SUICIDE