In Memoriam Paula Gmelch

On March 1st, 2007, Paula Gmelch’s life was tragically cut short in an accident on Turk and Chabot at the University of San Francisco. We at USFblogtastic, have reported on and shared our stories and thoughts about this accident that has shocked and saddened our entire community.

USFblogtastic would like to provide the entire USF community, family and friends of Paula Gmelch, and anyone else who knew her with a place to reflect. Although, none of the students in our class personally knew Paula, this tragedy has opened our eyes to just how delicate life can be.

A memorial service for Paula Gmelch is being held on Friday, March 9, at 2:00 p.m. in Saint Ignatius Church, at the University of San Francisco. There will also be a reception following the service in Fromm Hall.

In light of this tragedy, donations can be made to the Paula Gmelch Scholarship Fund. So far there has been tremendous support for the fund. Checks can be made payable to the University of San Francisco, noting the Gmelch scholarship and can be mailed to the School of education. For more information please contact Jim Brennan, the School of Education director of budget and planning.

Please use this space to add your thoughts, tell your stories, and share your memories of Paula.

USF Community Left Reeling by Fatal Accident

The USF community was left reeling after last Thursday's accident which took the life of Paula Gmelch, whose husband, Walter, is the Dean of the School of Education at USF.

As is often the case at the site of a fatal accident, mourners have erected a makeshift memorial as an outlet for their grief. At the corner of Turk and Chabot where Gmelch was unfortunately standing when according to multiple sources, a Cadillac Escalade made a u-turn forcing a Nissan Pathfinder off the road into two pedestrians, the other identified here by one resourceful reporter as Yansen Setiawan.

The memorial contains a wall of messages which range from ee cummings to offerings of thoughts and prayers to a note from Gmelch's nieces. Also included are a benediction, a photo of Paula and Walter Gmelch and no less than two dozen floral arrangements. All of which reflect the profound loss endured by this community in the past week.

Students Should Learn Lesson from Tragedy

The tragic death of Paula Gmelch on March 1st has brought home the reality of the world in which we live. Pedestrians face dangers every day, and though students, faculty and the wider USF community may be focused on our classes and our social lives as we pass from one part of campus to another, the truth is our school is located directly adjacent to some of the busiest streets in San Francisco.

While it is unclear at this time the exact cause of the accident, it is clear that conditions at that intersection can make for a treacherous crossing, especially when coupled with the scarcity of parking and the distractions of modern driving. This terrible event should give us all pause when we are driving, so that we are careful to pay attention not just to our immediate goal of reaching our destination, but also to others on the road who have a right to get to their destination unharmed.


I did not know Paula Gmelch, but it is impossible not to empathize with those who did. The deep sadness and lost they feel must be hard to bear, especially for Paula's husband Walter Gmelch, who lives just a few doors down from where his wife was killed. My most heartfelt condolences go out to him and all of Paula's friends and family, some of whom have had the opportunity to express their sorrow at the memorial on Turk and Chabot.


A death so sudden and unexpected leaves us all shaken and wondering what to do next. I hope and pray that at the very least, USF students will take this as a sign to drive safely. Paula Gmelch's passing should be a cautionary tale that being late to class is not the end of the world.

Bloggers Reporting

By now the USF community knows most of the details about the tragic accident on Turk and Chabot last Thursday. Word spread among students before anything was found in print or heard on the news. I heard about it in my 5:30 communications law a policy class where one of my classmates said that a woman died and she was the wife of the school of education. I thought most of what I was hearing was gossip and I’d get the real story the next day in the paper.

Interestingly enough, what I heard in class was accurate. I have grown so accustomed to dismissing word of mouth information as gossip until I can check the facts that I did not even think that maybe someone in the USF student body had been out there at the site of the accident recording these facts. In fact, Huner Patterson of the Foghorn broke the story in his blog, "The Bicycle Diaries," two hours before the SF Chronicle. The picture below was taken by Patterson and gives me a very vivid idea of what the scene must have looked like.

It's important to realize that the technologies we have at our disposal are important and necessary tools, not only in journalism, but in recording important events. A USF student was able to hop over to the scene of the accident with a camera and tape recorder to chronicle the facts before any professionals. The importance of this act is so critical in today’s journalism. I learned of the details of the accident through our blog, USFBlogtastic, on Thursday night from the postings of Sam and Professor Silver. I then went to the news online to verify what had happened. The fact that we can not only gather information the instant it happens but post it to blogs so it can be shared is a whole new way of expanding the use of our technologies.

Crowd sourcing, once again, is receiving information from the crowd, and is actually a much smarter way to handle spreading the news. Patterson's story had two hours on the Chronicle's story, just think how much more information we can receive over time if each person involved in an event or tradgedy catalogued thier experiences through a blog or pictures and posted them in real time. We can begin to live through these experiences as they're happening.

Word of mouth can lose the reputation of being mindless gossip because everyone is now an essential part in spreading the news.

The Dangers of Driving: Statistically Speaking

The devastating car accident at the intersection of Turk and Chabot Terrace on March 1st has effected the entire University of San Francisco community. From the site of the accident (middle of USF campus) to 75% of the people involved (faculty member’s wife and two students), every aspect of the accident seems to only hit the USF community harder. As a student driver at USF, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the two drivers involved were both students.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that 1.2 million (3242 every day) people are killed worldwide each year as a result of car accidents, and another 50 million are injured. Years and days may be easy to look past, but imagine this: every 13 minutes one person dies as the result of a car accident in the United States. To bring those statistics closer to home California also has the highest rate of traffic fatalities in the country as of 2004. Pedestrians, as in the case of the USF accident are also in danger and should be very aware of what is going on around them. Some 4,207 pedestrians were killed and 65,000 were injured by motor vehicles.

If you look further into auto accidents, WHO’s statistical reports explain the ‘estimated mortality rate’ people from the ages of 15-29 (Us!) ranks above most other age groups (Males in that age group ranked first; however, females have a much lower rank: fourth out of six). Car accidents are the leading cause of death for people ages 16-24.

Those are astonishing numbers, and it seems that people who drive everyday, get in their cars in some kind of ‘auto-mode’—forgetting all of the risks that come along with driving. Multi-tasking only makes the situation worse. From personal experience, I can admit that at any given time during my ‘ride’ I am: changing the music, talking on my cell phone, drinking my Starbucks, and or putting on make-up. With statistics of auto accidents in the millions, I imagine I am not alone.

The car accident at USF was a huge reality check for me. Driving is Dangerous! The point of this blog was not to bore or frighten you with big numbers and statistics; moreover, to try and shed some light on the enormous number of people injured/killed and the even larger number of people who are affected by car accidents.