Drake graduate dies from fall, second death of the week

Cliffton Murove died after falling from a balcony early Saturday morning.

Staying at an Ingersoll Towers apartment for the night, Murove was last seen in the apartment around 2:30 a.m. before the apartment occupants fell asleep. After a night of drinking, Murove had planned to sleep on the couch of that apartment and be driven back to his place around 8 a.m., according to police reports.

The apartment manager found Murove in the courtyard and called police. Murove had fatal head injuries and was taken to the hospital.

The fall was accidental, according to police in Drake University President David Maxwell’s e-mail to the Drake community Saturday night.

Murove was an international student from Zimbabwe and completed his undergraduate studies in economics and business law in 2009 and was working toward his Master’s degree in public administration. He had been involved in Students in Free Enterprise and worked for Think Green Iowa.

This is the second Drake-related death this week, and fourth in the past year.

“How do we all come together to understand?” Drake University President David Maxwell said. “Is there an answer to this question, what’s going on?”

Among the deaths, there have also been many sexual assaults and other tragic events within the past year. The faculty is working to change the culture of the campus, and at least address the concern the community has about the recent events, Maxwell said.

“These are unconnected, random events that have all happened in the past year,” Maxwell said. “I don’t see these things as symptomatic of anything at Drake, but what is it? With the exceptions of the assaults, there’s nobody guilty in these things. They’re just things that happen to people.”

The Drake faculty is looking for ways to engage people in discussions of the events to mitigate anxiety, he said.

“Recognize that you’re not alone,” Maxwell said. “You’ve got support and we all care about each other.”

A memorial website has been setup for Murove at http://inlovingmemoryofcliff.bbnow.org/

Memorial services will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Morehouse Ballroom.