A UNIVERSITY student left a heart-breaking message on the social networking site Facebook, before tragically taking her own life.
Laura Gerstel, a 20-year-old York University student who had been suffering from depression, hung herself in her student house.
Her Facebook status, updated at 2.46am, just hours before the suspected suicide, read: "Laura is thinking: if only…"
Police officers discovered the third year biochemistry student in her house in Fulford Road, York.
York University was in mourning again last week – just two months after another student was discovered dead.
Robert Davies, a Chemistry student, was dragged from a river by police teams in October after going missing on his way home from a night out.
Laura, originally from East Lothian, Scotland, was described as a promising student who was expected to achieve a first class degree by pals last week.
A university spokesman stated: "We are greatly saddened by the tragic death of Laura Gerstel and our thoughts are with her friends and family at this extremely distressing time."
One of her close friends described Laura as a "bright and bubbly girl" who would be sadly missed.
"Everyone who knew her loved her. She was one of the few people who it was always a genuine pleasure to be around and talk to, always so bright and bubbly and full of fun and laughter," said friend Robin Corey.
"I think I speak for my circle of friends when I say having Laura on a night out made the whole night more enjoyable.
"It's always such a shame when someone dies so young, but for Laura she was always so full of life that it seems all the more sad. She was genuinely one of my favourite people."
Hundreds of tributes to Laura, described by her friends as: "Fun, bubbly and amazingly clever", have been posted on her web pages on Facebook and similar site Bebo.
An inquest into her death was opened and adjourned for a date to be arranged last Wednesday, though North Yorkshire police confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident.
York university don't care about undergraduates welfare.
When I was there a student had commited suicide.
A fellow student (of mine) was experiencing mental health problems
the 'authorities' did nothing, his academic tutors were unhelpful.
His friends had to help and demand action from the college provost.
They continue (it seems) to do nothing and treat each as an unfortunate
incident but nothing to do with them.