David L. Okrent '99 died March 15, 1998 in Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital.

Okrent, who was 20 when he died, was found stabbed to death on Revere Beach. Investigators later said they believed the death was a suicide.

Lawrence Okrent, David Okrent's father, said his son had not adjusted to life at Harvard as well as he had hoped.

"At Harvard he wasn't involved very much in extracurriculars," Okrent said at the time of his son's death. "He was very shy--the experience of leaving home and adjusting to a new environment was a bit much for him."

Okrent's father also said that his son felt pressure because he did not feel he was taking advantage of his years at Harvard.

"Because of the great expense of this place, he didn't think he was performing at the level he should be," Lawrence Okrent said.

Those at Harvad who knew Okrent--who went by the nickname "Oak"--described him as a great friend.

"He's been a really amazing person ever since high school," said Rebecca C. Weiss '99, who attended Evanston Town-ship High School in Evanston, Ill. with Okrent, at the time of her friend's death. "[In high school] his most outstanding feature was that he was so well-liked by so many people, and the same is true here."

Okrent, a physics concentrator and Cabot House resident who also played rugby, committed himself to public service during high school. During his senior year, he received the school's Cunningham Award, an honor voted by the senior class for a senior who best exemplifies the qualities of leadership, public service and academic achievement.

At the time of his death, Okrent's first-year entrymates said they remembered him as a serious student who always had time for conversations with friends.

"He was very laid-back, so easy to get along with," said Linda Moon '99, who lived upstairs from Okrent as a first-year in Lionel Hall's B entryway. "He was always there for you when you needed to talk to someone, always there to help you with your homework."