Volume 105 >> Issue 2 : Friday, February 8, 1985

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Karl Horita was one who enjoyed his life at MIT

In the Jan. 30 edition of The Tech, Diana ben-Aaron wrote an intriguing column, a column sparked by a "cold little memo" from Dean Robert Randolph about the death of a student, Karl Horita '85. Since Miss ben-Aaron believes that obituaries should be about a person's life, and not their death, I feel compelled, as one of Karl's closest friends, to say a bit about Karl.

In contrast to the perception that many students at MIT are so pressured and unhappy that they feel suicidal, Karl was an intrinsically enthusiastic and contented person. He was really fun to be with. It was obvious to all who knew him that he enjoyed life and enjoyed being a student at MIT. He really liked physics and working in the lab. He loved to hack around with computers. I'm sure that MIT gave Karl more happiness than he'd have gotten anywhere else.

Karl certainly had a great deal of academic pressures on him, but somehow he always adapted the best he could, taking success and failure in stride. Karl was a person who never had a bad word to say about anyone, including himself. And he shared his enjoyment and creativity with all those around him, at school, in the lab, and in our home.

Karl really liked to get involved with things. He ran the best dungeon around. He loved to collect rare comic books by the hundreds, and he loved to share reading them with his friends. Karl was always ready to join in the fun, or to help out with a problem set, or whenever a friend was in need. He was quietly caring and connected to everyone he knew. I've never known anyone more dependable than Karl. He was the one person we all expected to be around for a long, long time.

Karl died in a chance car accident riding with his closest friends on the way to a weekend skiing in Maine. It was random fate; one of those things that you could never know about, one of those things that always happen "to the other guy." Only Karl's death was tragic. I think Karl made a beautiful life for himself and for those around him. He did this by sharing himself with other, relating, caring, having fun, and living each day with all his heart. I think we could all take example from this.

Corbin E. Covault '85->