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Benjamin Asma Memorial Bench Fund

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Thank you to everyone who donated! Any funds raised past $3,000 will be donated in Ben's memory to the National Alliance on Mental Illness to help provide education, support, and advocacy for individuals with mental illnesses.

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As we raise money for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which helps provide education, support, and advocacy for individuals with this disease, we celebrate the life and legacy of Brother Ben Asma - marking five years since he took his own life. By raising $3,000, the Zeta Nu Chapter of Beta Theta Pi will be able to dedicate a bench on The George Washington University Campus in Ben Asma’s memory. This #BenchForBen will ensure his lasting legacy with the GW community as we remember his impact on so many before he passed. Here’s his story.

Ben Asma was a biomedical engineering student, member of the University Honors Program, trombone-player in GW Band, club swimmer, and Beta Theta Pi fraternity brother. Ben told his family he wanted to become a doctor like his uncle and grandfather.

Still, he made plenty of time for his friends, playing Mario Kart and watching comedies with his roommates and hallmates nearly every day. On Sundays, the second floor cooked dinner together, and after everyone else went back to their rooms, Asma would stay to wash the dishes. Other nights he would stay up late having deep conversations with classmates who needed to open up to someone.

A friend recalled asking for help studying for a mathematics exam, and he appeared by her side in the library within minutes. But just before spring break, Asma told her he wasn’t happy on campus. He had said his classes did not challenge him and that he wanted to transfer. Another friend had last spoken to Asma two days before his suicide attempt. Asma told him that he hoped he would find happiness in his life, words that resonated with him only after learning of his friend’s death.

The 19-year-old freshman’s death stunned his self-proclaimed “West Hall family” and sent shockwaves across the campus still grappling with the loss of two students who took her own lives in West Hall earlier that semester.

We hope his legacy will be the breadth of friendships that he developed throughout the GW Community.
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Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $100 
    • 5 yrs
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Organizer

Hunter Wilson
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC

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