DICKINSON - Dickinson State University students are finding ways to cope with the loss of three classmates.

The university canceled classes Wednesday and counselors were brought in for students who needed assistance dealing with the deaths of Kyrstin Gemar, Ashley Neufeld and Afton Williamson. The three women died earlier this week in a stock pond accident near Dickinson.

"This is a very close-knit campus," said Hal Haynes, vice president of student development at DSU. "We're all known as Blue Hawks. Everybody knows everybody."

The women had many friends on campus, and Haynes expects that their deaths will impact the entire university community. The university does not have its own counseling services, so it has partnered with Badlands Human Resource Center, the Dickinson Public School District and other counselors in the community. Other colleges in the North Dakota University System have offered their services to DSU, including the University of North Dakota, which sent two counselors to DSU on Wednesday afternoon.

The campus was quiet Wednesday - even the small groups of people walking to and from the student center were silent. Normally, there is more activity on campus, and people are laughing and talking, according to some students.

"Usually it's upbeat, joking around, laughing," said senior Robert Elias.

The past few days have been filled with sadness and worry. The women disappeared Sunday night and were found Tuesday afternoon.

"We're kind of shocked," said freshman Matt Lee. "We didn't really think something like this could happen."

The student government is starting a fundraiser, with plans to sell

T-shirts and sweatshirts. A benefit account was set up for the families at Bank of the West.

A candlelight memorial was set up outside the student center, near one of two trees tied with dark blue and white ribbons. Some candles in glass jars continued to burn, while other candles burned down to puddles. There were 55 candles, and one bunch of red roses with a note. The note to the families was left by a mother who remembers driving out to the country to look at the stars.

"They were popular," sophomore Alise Miller said. "Everyone loved them. They got along with pretty much anyone."

The women were members of the women's softball team. A group of wrestlers, including Elias, who were walking to the student center could empathize with what the other members of the softball team might be feeling right now.

"It's going to be tough to get through it," Elias said. "It's like a family, one of your brothers or sisters."

The university will have a memorial service in honor of the women. It starts at 2 p.m. MST today in the Dorothy Stickney Auditorium of May Hall. A reception in the student center ballroom will follow the service. The public is invited to attend both the service and the reception. Classes will be canceled between 1 and 5 p.m. for students and faculty to attend the service.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)