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(A 20-year-old Indian-origin student, Varun Chheda, was found dead in his dormitory at Purdue University in the US state of Indiana on Wednesday, 5 October. Chheda was a data science senior from Indianapolis and lived in McCutcheon Hall on the western edge of the university campus. The police arrested Chheda’s roommate Ji Min “Jimmy” Sha, a junior cybersecurity major and international student from Korea, for the murder.)
Varun Chheda could have been any of us. He was a student residing at McCutcheon Hall, where I spent the first two years of college life, and he was known as a kind, respectful young man who excelled in his classes and enjoyed playing chess and video games in his spare time.
As I am sure other students and alumni are trying to fathom how this could have happened on our campus, this tragedy gave me pause to reflect on my own experience at Purdue. Starting my freshman year at Purdue, it was my first time in the US, first time living away from home in Kolkata, India.
Luckily, what I had gotten myself into was a welcoming, warm, and vibrant community at Purdue. Living in the McCutcheon dorm and West Lafayette let me experience a new, global world packed into a small college town.
I met and befriended many students like me, who were coming from different places and backgrounds but all searching for community, acceptance, and a bit of adventure. I believe we found this in the dorms, dining halls, and academic buildings on campus.
Campus food and clubs were just some of the ways that showed me Purdue was open and accepting to new cultures, and that we as students were encouraged to be as just welcoming to each other.
The multinational student body and faculty felt representative of an increasingly globalised and connected world, and this open and free setting for higher academic studies made me believe in the promise of the university to create leaders and agents of positive change.
I felt at home with the friends I made. We experienced college life and learning together, struggling through study prep and exam weeks, exploring, and enjoying life on campus in between them. One of my friend groups was part of Cru, an on-campus Christian organisation.
We also exchanged culture through sports, where I was introduced to American football through Purdue Boilermakers – the university's football team – and in turn introduced my friends to cricket. They still keep up with India’s T20 matches, and we have running commentary on Messenger and WhatsApp.
On some holiday breaks, my friends invited me to spend time with their families and communities, and I was able to partake and learn about the significance of American traditions like Thanksgiving dinner, which was incredible even for a vegetarian, with dishes like cornbread, stuffing with cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole.
My family and I were able to return their hospitality when one of them visited Kolkata during his exchange summer abroad, by showing him around several touristy spots in the city, taking him to Eden Gardens for an IPL match, and getting street chaat.
Students I met during my time at Purdue became my friends, and I’ve been grateful to be able to grow up with them and watch them pursue their dreams and start their families.
It’s strange thinking back to my time that seemed almost idyllic while trying to understand how such a horrible tragedy could befall on someone who was going through his own formative years.
There is no getting over a senseless murder like this, but there is getting through, by coming together as a community, honoring our fallen Boilermaker, and extending kindness and understanding to each other.
For me, Purdue is where people from all over the world come to grow as thinkers and doers, and it’s always been a place of welcoming, support, and acceptance.
As we grieve for Varun, my hope for Purdue students, staff, and alumni is that we support each other and find meaningful ways to honour his life and legacy.
To my fellow Boilermakers – I hope you find and extend peace and kindness during this time and onward. To Varun and his loved ones – I know words can never make sense of or take away the pain and injustice you’ve experienced.
He was a brother, a son, a grandson, a friend, a student – but above all he was a human being who deserved to live out his dreams and passions. My heart is with him and with you, as are the hearts of many.
(Ratik Dugar graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Statistics in 2015. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the authors' own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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