On-campus suicide a surprise to friends, family

Sophomore Jason Schwab died Tuesday in what IU police and Monroe County Coroner George Huntington deemed a suicide.\nSchwab's body was found at 9:53 p.m. Tuesday on the south side of Ballantine Hall, IU Police Department spokesman Lt. Jerry Minger said. He said Schwab used a chair to break through the secured window in the south stairwell of Ballantine Hall's eighth floor. Schwab then climbed through the window, falling 80-90 feet, and died of blunt force trauma to the left side of the body and multiple head injuries shortly before his body was found, Huntington said.\nMinger said investigators later entered Schwab's dorm room Tuesday at Teter and found a suicide note on his computer screen. Jason's parents, James and Diane Schwab, residents of Canandaigua, N.Y., were then notified by police.\n"We called him the gentle giant," his father said. "He was a big guy and he sought out friends no one would look for. He had a way of finding people and making them feel better about themselves."\nA wake was held for Schwab Friday evening in Canandaigua, with a mass and funeral Saturday morning at St. Mary's church. Violins played at Schwab's funeral to honor what his father described as Jason's love of classical music.\nSchwab, a double major in computer science and cognitive science, was a member of the IU Kendo Club and frequented the IU opera. He was president of the IU Anime Club -- a student group interested in Japanese animation. Schwab studied the Japanese language and culture and liked to cook Japanese food, his father said. Schwab's father said he remembers Jason as adoring his older brother, Scott, who graduated last year from the Milwaukee School of Engineering.\n"(Jason and Scott) would talk for hours and argue in their academic way about many things," James said. "Jason was so smart. He didn't want people to know. He didn't want to let on, but he was so smart."\nDiane Schwab said when she asked her son what he wanted for his 20th birthday, he took his time in replying. She said she was surprised when he asked for two season passes to the IU opera. His father, happy at the news Jason had a new girlfriend, joked with Jason that he wanted to know "who she was" before buying the passes.\nHis parents said the last time they saw him was in August. His father said he was waiting for him at the airport Tuesday night, when Schwab was supposed to come home for Thanksgiving break.\n"Jason was so good," his father said. "Whatever it was came over him very suddenly. We didn't know what it was, but it just swept him away."\nResidential Programs and Services representatives met with members of Jason's floor Sunday night to talk about Schwab's death. Schwab's next door neighbor at Teter-Thompson, senior Mark Conner, said he was shocked by the news. He said he remembered Schwab as happy and friendly. He said Schwab usually hung out with friends from the Anime and Kendo clubs, but would sometimes come over when Conner's door was open and he had good news to share.\n"Once you made an effort to get to know him, he was funny, he was a real good guy," Conner said.\n"I wouldn't have seen it coming. He always had a smile on his face."\nJames and Diane Schwab would like to contact Jason's friends and are inviting anyone who knew him to contact them at 716-394-3418 or by e-mail at dschwab1@rochester.rr.com. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to a suicide prevention and mental health mentoring program: \nCompeer Inc.\nMonroe Square Suite B\n259 Monroe Ave. Rochester NY 14607-3632