By Ashley Ragone
Managing Editor
Though he did not attend the College for long, Frank Kasper made a significant impact on his friends and professors in his department. Kasper died at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey on Aug. 27 following a valiant fight against leukemia.
A freshman political science major, those closest to him describe him as a dedicated and extremely passionate student.
“He was in my American Government class with Professor Foster and in my stats class…he was one of the first ever friends I made in college last year,” said sophomore political science major Zachary Dorner. Dorner fondly remembers bonding with Kasper over their shared major and interests. “Even though me and him had many different views and were on different parts of the political spectrum, we always managed to have civil discourse and discussions about current and/or historical political events.”
Jacob Newman, a senior psychology major, said Kasper was an extremely kind and caring member of his class. “Frank really engaged with the class and had a lot of interesting insights when it came to political science. He was always open and respectful to hearing other points of view too.”
Sarah Chartock, an associate professor and chair of the political science department, noted how Kasper’s impact was deeply felt in the classroom. “Anyone who worked with him or came into contact with him knew he was a force,” she said in an email to the campus community. “He was the model of everything we hope to see in our students: true engagement with the material and with his classmates, curiosity, and intellectual prowess.”
President Emerita and Professor Kathryn Foster remembers Kasper as “informed, prepared, interested, wry, perceptive, engaged. I and his fellow students greatly valued his comments and participation.”
Dorner echoes this, recalling Kasper to be a very skilled conversationalist.
“He was so intelligent that he changed my perspectives on one or two topics which is very hard to do. He was a very reasonable person and used facts or logic to back up his claims, which is something I really respected,” he said. Dorner cherishes memories of going to lunch and organizing a study group with Kasper, which further established their friendship.
Sophomore political science major Daniel Canizares, who also studied with Dorner and Kasper, looks back warmly at his political science class experience with Kasper.
Frank hanging out with some friends on campus. (Photo courtesy of Zachary Dorner)
“He did excellently in the class, the most important thing I remember is him extending the invite to me and [Zachary] Dorner to study in the library with him for the final exam on December 3rd. The three of us spent three to four hours simply going over the review sheet and talking about the class before we went to lunch in Eickhoff and kept talking,” Canizares said. “To me Frank was that special type of person that you think of to better yourself, he was a model student and was the type of person that made class discussion fun.”
Canizares shared with The Signal that he will miss having Kasper’s presence on campus. “I was hoping to see him more often after he returned to the College so that me, him, and Zach could spend more time discussing our futures in political science, and the campus is going to feel a bit emptier with the knowledge that I won't see him in future classes.”
Kasper was also an avid gamer, making friends far and wide through collaborative gameplay. “Though you may not live to see the final moments of Demon Slayer in animation, and never again explore the edges of space with me in Starscape, know that my memory of you will always come back to bring a smile to my face when I now do these things without you,” shared one memory on his tribute wall.
Kasper was the only child of Darrel Kasper ‘93 and Karin Kasper ‘94. He was a graduate of the International Baccalaureate program at Morris Knolls High School.
On Feb. 22, 2023, while a junior at Morris Knolls, Fighting for Frank was hosted at the Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Rockaway, New Jersey. The joint blood drive, fundraiser and bake sale honored Kasper in his fight against leukemia.
“He fought leukemia bravely and met every obstacle with stoicism,” his obituary read. “His proudest achievement was to complete a semester at The College of New Jersey…he earned a 4.0 GPA, taking his final exams from a hospital bed.”
The College’s political science department is proud to keep Kasper’s memory alive through the Frank Kasper Fund in Political Science. Established in collaboration with his parents, both alums of the College, the endowed scholarship will be presented to a political science major with aspirations to work in public service, like Kasper himself. Monetary gifts can be made toward Frank’s Fund.
A celebration of life was held for Kasper on Sept. 2 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Norman Dean Home for Services in Denville, New Jersey.
