Family and friends will gather today to bid farewell to a UF student who died over Spring Break.
The funeral for Molly Ammon will be at 10 a.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church, 821 S. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa.
Ammon, 19, was found dead Sunday morning in a condominium in Madeira Beach, where she was staying during Spring Break.
While an official cause of death has not yet been released, alcohol is being labeled the cause by those who knew Ammon.
According to an article in the St. Petersburg Times, both of Ammon’s parents knew their freshman daughter drank underage and that she had been drinking the night before she was found.
When the Ammon family was contacted for comment, Bob Ammon said he was unable to talk because he and his family were getting ready for the viewing and wake of his daughter.
Delta Delta Delta President Kelsey Bryant also declined to comment on her deceased sorority sister.
Bryant said she was not comfortable without consent from Ammon’s parents and wanted to respect their privacy. Instead, she released a statement on behalf of the sorority expressing the feelings of the sisters.
“There are no words to convey the sorrow we feel following the loss of our beloved sister, Molly Ammon,” the statement said.
Maureen Miller, the coordinator for alcohol and other drug prevention at GatorWell Health Promotion Services, said Spring Break has been known for such cases.
“Realistically, we know Spring Break is a high risk period,” Miller said.
She said there is a culture that surrounds Spring Break with drinking, partying and large crowds of college students together.
“Bad things can happen,” she said. “And unfortunately they do.”
While UF is infamous for its party image, statistics say otherwise when it comes to heavy drinking. Compared to the national average “high-risk drinking rate” of 44 percent, UF’s was at 40 percent in fall 2010.
“High-risk” is categorized as more than five drinks during one period of time.
Miller said that percentage has been decreasing steadily every year for UF.
Miller encouraged all students to look for signs of alcohol poisoning because they could potentially save someone’s life.
“It’s OK to say you’ve had too much,” she said.
