Sixth College freshman Daniel Sobel fell to his death from the top of Gilman Parking Structure last week in what the UCSD Police Department has called an apparent suicide.

A pedestrian who witnessed the incident at 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 at the west side of the parking structure called the paramedics, who arrived in minutes but were unable to resuscitate Sobel, according to Sgt. Robert Jones.

Officers have since notified Sobel’s parents and concluded their investigation.

The death struck at the hearts of Sobel’s family and friends, who remember him as a studious and dedicated person. He counted fencing as one of his hobbies.

“He was very inquisitive about everything,” said Sixth College freshman Ian King, Sobel’s suitemate and neighbor. “He wanted to know how things worked and why. He was very dedicated [to] knowing things.”

The day after Sobel’s death, Sixth College Dean of Student Affairs James Stascavage held a forum near the college’s residence halls during which students and faculty could discuss their memories of Sobel and the importance of psychological health.

“If we see somebody in distress, we have free psychological support available 24/7,” Sixth College Provost Gabriele Weinhausen said. “It may be that many of us don’t know that. We need to be listening and sensitive and really watch out for each other.”

Sobel, who studied biology, was largely introverted around those who didn’t know him well, according to Sixth College freshman Nara Yoon, who lived in Sobel’s building.

“He was pretty quiet, but was such a nice guy,” she said. “It would usually be me who said hi to him first. He was really dedicated to studying, and was in his room a lot studying.”

The apparent suicide came as a surprise to King, who said Sobel seemed fine when the two last spoke. Sobel’s death highlights the importance of suicide prevention through student use of the campus’ psychological services, administrators said.

Sobel’s apparent suicide would be the first on campus this academic year. In 2004-05, there was one on-campus suicide, according to police records.