Nursing junior Arya Singh’s friends and family have planned a candlelight procession to commemorate Singh, who passed away Friday night at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “A Celebration of the Life of Arya Singh” will begin at College Green at 6:30 p.m. and end at Houston Hall.
“I think it’s going to be bittersweet, but I think that Arya would have really liked it,” said Wharton junior and Singh’s close friend Nikita Anand. “I know as I’m sitting here in my room right now, making preparations for tomorrow, she’s basically sitting with me right now … I know 100 percent she’s going to be smiling down on the event.”
Circumstances of Singh’s death still remain unclear and await clarification, pending conclusion of a Medical Examiner’s report.
Philadelphia Health Department spokesperson Jeff Moran confirmed the case is “still pending,” and did not know when the report would be completed. He added it is not unusual for a case to take this amount of time to conclude.
Medics and police arrived at Rodin College House around 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 8. The Philadelphia Police Department said it is not investigating the case, since it was a hospital incident. Penn’s Division of Public Safety deferred comment to University Communications, who also declined to comment out of respect for the family.
Singh’s sister, Shweta Singh, a School of Nursing doctoral student, reaffirmed that the family still did not have the official Medical Examiner’s report. Shweta Singh is speaking on behalf of the family.
Friends of Singh are invited to join her family on College Green and Houston Hall tonight in honoring the Nursing junior.
“It will be a beautiful way to get closure,” said Wharton junior Tiffany D’Cunha, another one of Singh’s close friends.
Any person wishing to contribute comments or additional information should email author Sarah Smith at smith@thedp.com.
This article has been updated to highlight that a vigil is being held tonight in remembrance of Singh.
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