The car accident that claimed the life of junior John Henry Cox marked the fifth student death in less than a year at Penn State. Within the same time period, a terrorist attack on the nation and the disappearance of another student have weighed heavily on the minds of members of the Penn State community.

"It is rare, and I'm sure it's overwhelming to a lot of our students," said Penn State spokeswoman Amy Neil.

In May, rising sophomore Amy Fledderman died after elective surgery; in June, junior Michelle Bahn died of meningococcal meningitis; in August, freshman Timothy Kulp committed suicide in jail; in November, Cindy Song disappeared; in December, senior Shellie Smarowsky died after a pedestrian-bus accident; and on Sunday, Cox died in a single-vehicle crash.

Although some people thought treacherous driving conditions were to blame for Cox's accident, the road conditions were normal when his Jeep crossed into the oncoming traffic lane and he overcorrected, police said.

A dispatcher for the Pennsylvania State Police at Honesdale, the department that responded to the accident, said the roads were clear and dry and there was no snow affecting the crash.

Multiple tragic events like the loss of fellow students can bring out feelings of vulnerability and fear, said Dennis Heitzmann, director of the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

"Any time there is a loss of someone in your community, it just brings home your own sense of vulnerability," he said. "It can shake some people."

Heitzmann said CAPS is ready to provide support to any students who may need it, especially grief counseling. He said that since Sept. 11 there has been a nationwide increase in students requesting services at campus offices like CAPS, and Penn State has been no exception.

He said a tragic event or combination of events "brings back unresolved trauma" for some students.

"The incident might be the reason a student comes in," Heitzmann said, "but once they're in, they may recognize that there may be other unresolved issues that arise to the surface as a result."

CAPS also offers "post-vention" at the request of grieving students, Heitzmann said. "If somebody brings it to our attention we will offer a group experience," he said, "which would allow individuals affected to talk about the loss."

Lion Support, a student-run nighttime hotline that helps with various student needs from illness to grief, takes calls between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. and can offer a listening ear when CAPS and other outlets are closed.

Jessica Smith, a member of Lion Support, said that since her organization has not seen an increase in calls, students are probably finding other methods of handling problems.

"I think the campus is dealing pretty well with things," she said.

Although Lion Support members do not give advice to callers, Smith gave a personal suggestion that she thought might help students who are having trouble coping with campus tragedies.

"I notice we haven't been having memorials or anything," she said. "I think that that would be good for the campus to do . . . Even if we didn't know (the lost students), it's still sad because they're our age and we still go to school with them."