The Online Reflector

University of Indianapolis junior James Luo Fryman passed away on March 14, in his off-campus apartment. His sudden death was reported as accidental according to the email that Kory Vitangeli, dean of students, sent out to the campus community.
Fryman was from Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., and graduated from Palos Verdes Peninsula High School in 2008. He came to UIndy as an honor roll student on scholarship and was a declared business major.

Jacqueline Hess, assistant professor in the School of Psychological Sciences, taught Fryman in the course Intro to Psychology.
Hess described Fryman as an inquisitive and bright individual in class with strong opinions.

“He was very interested in what he needed to learn and how he should study for it, so he’d ask about those things,” Hess said. “I appreciate those things in a student.”

Hess said that she always learns from her students, and Fryman was no exception.

“From James, I learned again that if we listen well, we can come to a place where we really begin to understand what the student is trying to say. So in that respect, I very much appreciate that he taught me that again,” Hess said. “When we do that, we’re much more apt to get to a place where we can understand one another.”

Hess also remembered that during the times that Fryman stayed late after class lecture to ask questions and discuss the class, she really got to listen and understand him as an individual. According to Hess, in the time she was able to spend with Fryman, she was able to see that he had a uniquely individual way of thinking, and she realized that he saw the world differently than those around him.

“He was always a student who would stay just a few minutes after class, and that’s time that I really found that by listening I could begin to hear and understand what he was thinking about the world,” Hess said. “He really thought about a lot of different things.”

Hess encourages everyone to appreciate the unique things about those around them. She suggests that others should try to accept the differences in each individual because we are all faced with our own challenges, but have the ability to offer something special to the world, just as Fryman did to those around him.

Chitrak Banerjee, program manager in the School of Business, was Fryman’s neighbor and a family friend. Banerjee described Fryman as an extremely polite and loving person.

Banerjee said that Fryman was a quiet person and had a select group of friends with whom he loved to play video and card games. He also loved to eat Chinese food at a local restaurant and was considered a regular by the owner.

Banerjee said Fryman had a big impact on him just because of the person Fryman was and how he thought about the things around him.

“He has impacted me very strongly,” Banerjee said. “ He was wise beyond his years.”

According to Banerjee, Fryman also loved his truck more than anything and would often fall asleep in it while it sat in the driveway.

“He lived in it. We would have to go and wake him up and tell him to go to bed,” Banerjee said. “He was more concerned about getting into a fender-bender with that truck than he was about anything else.”

Banerjee said that he will always remember Fryman as being an extremely pure person.

Services celebrating Fryman’s life were held at First Christian Church in Torrance, Calif. on Sunday, March 20. The Counseling Center and campus chaplains are available to all students, faculty and staff who wish to speak to someone while dealing with the grieving process.