After six hours of working on his graduate thesis beside the AC vent on the second floor of the HBLL, Brent Brown experienced a severe drop in body temperature and was later pronounced dead—frozen stiff in his chair.

Hypothermia, a dangerous drop in body temperature, can be fatal, especially for vulnerable populations like summer-term BYU students. Though this season would seem like the last time of year to plague victims with cold-inflicted death, it has been found that in a cruel twist of modernity, industrial-strength air conditioning serves as a silent killer.

At approximately 9:52am, when Brent Brown entered the library to work on his thesis, he did not expect this academic endeavor to be his last. 

Thirty minutes into his work, the AC vent above him kicked to full blast, and Brent began to feel chills running down his body. He dismissed these symptoms, however, and continued working, determined to make progress on his thesis.

By hour 4, circumstances had deteriorated from critical to life-threatening. The color of Brent’s skin had turned from pasty white to an alarming shade of waxy blue. 

By hour six, the girl that had been secretly crushing on him since he sat down finally worked up the courage to look his way—and immediately alerted authorities. He was pronounced dead shortly after. 

“The moment he walked past my desk and ran his hands through his swoopy hair, I saw our whole life together,” she said tearfully. “We would have had two kids named Haizlee and Zeppelin and a dog named Kodiak. He will be deeply missed.” stated the girl.

Bradley Adams, a BYU Engineering Professor offered his sincere condolences. “Poor guy, he had so much more academic suffering ahead of him. It’s a shame he didn’t get to experience dropping out of graduate school during his time on Earth.”

If you are a summer-term student, we highly recommend wearing proper winter attire while inside the library to avoid extreme drops in body temperature.