Eric S. Price ’05, who was Fonseca’s roommate during the fall semester this year, said he and Fonseca had decided to live together next year before Price left to study abroad for the spring semester.
When Price spoke with Fonseca via Instant Messenger Saturday night, he seemed fine, Price said.
But Xu, who worked with Fonseca at Harvard-Radcliffe Television (HRTV), said Fonseca may have been displaying some more obvious hints of distress before his death.
“There was not a complete absence of warning signs,” Xu said. “There were signs that he might be going through a lot of pain, but it’s hard to know because it’s a very individual experience.”
According to documents obtained by The Crimson, Fonseca was investigated by the Administrative Board in December 2001 after a student at a Boston-area college accused him of sexual assault. Citing conflicting testimony and inconclusive explanations of events, a subcommittee of the Ad Board recommended that the board as a whole vote not to take action. The Ad Board accepted the subcommittee’s recommendation in May 2002.
Fonseca took a leave of absence during the 2002-2003 academic year, and several friends said he never explained the reasons for the leave. He returned to Harvard in fall 2003.
Debra T. Mao ’05, who sat on the HRTV board with Fonseca, said she was surprised Fonseca missed HRTV’s weekly board meeting the Thursday before his death.
Solis said that Fonseca held himself to very high standards. He recalled that when Fonseca was in middle school, he became so upset after receiving a grade of B that he had to see a therapist.
“He was self-disciplined,” Solis said. “He put so much pressure on himself to succeed. His parents didn’t pressure him—he applied that pressure to himself.”
Price said Fonseca was very caring with his friends, but reserved when it came to his personal life.
“He was a very quiet person, private with a lot of his personal life,” Price said. “He was there for a lot of other people when they wanted to talk about stuff, but he kept his own stuff private. He was not very forthcoming with his own stuff—that was the main characteristic that I feel sort of defines him.”
Von der Heydt said he attempted to inform students who had close relationships with Fonseca in Winthrop of his death personally.
“That was an important part of making sure that people were able to feel this event in the context of a relationship and a House setting,” he said. “The way that the news comes matters—I really tried to talk to people in person.”
HRTV staff members met yesterday to work out plans for a video tribute to Fonseca, said Xu, who will produce the piece.
“We were motivated by the thought that our parents, and even our friends, often don’t know everything we’re working on,” Xu said. “We thought it would be very fitting to show off the work he did in the form he loved.”
Xu said he expects the video to be finished in less than a month, and said HRTV will likely have at least part of it completed in time for memorial events.
Von der Heydt said students gathered with the Winthrop House masters and professionals from University Health Services on Sunday to talk about the death, and that counselors will be on hand during dinner for the next several days.
“This hits people who weren’t connected at all [with Anthony],” von der Heydt said. “It hits in a lot of ways, and shakes people up.”
—May Habib contributed to the reporting of this story.
—Staff writer Katharine A. Kaplan can be reached at kkaplan@fas.harvard.edu.