HU community copes with grief after student deaths

Walking down the halls of Harwood Union High School, the tragedies of the past two months are not readily apparent. There are students laughing with their friends, rushing to get to class and complaining about a test score. At first glance, there would be no way to tell that this community lost two students in two months. And while it cannot see it with an outside eye, the weight of grief after Vinny Viola and Gracie Dunbar's deaths rests is carried by the school community. Viola, 16 and Dunbar, 14, were killed in two separate car crashes in Warren on Sept. 19 and Oct. 24. "Grief is hard, it's so personal, and it varies so much," noted Harwood guidance counselor Erin Denzel in an interview on coping with loss within the school. While there are some students who can barely make it through class without crying, those who never knew Gracie or Vinny can live life relatively normally.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.