Raja “Safi” Aziz lived in a single in Lawrinson Hall. But that didn’t stop him from radiating positive energy among everyone he met, friends on his floor recalled.

“Whenever he would enter a room, everyone would be really happy,” said Rachel Hayashi, a freshman who lived two rooms away from Aziz on Lawrinson 19.

Aziz, a freshman in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences, died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning during winter break, while he was visiting family in Pakistan. He was 19.

Aziz studied biology, and his friends recalled him saying he wanted to be a doctor. He thought that medicine was a field he would be good in, Hayashi said.

“We always jokingly called him ‘Dr. Aziz,’” said Sarah Butts, a freshman who lived in Lawrinson and was friends with Aziz. “It makes me really sad that he’ll never officially get that.”

Aziz was Pakistani, Butts said, but he was raised in England and moved to Massachusetts a few years ago.

His strong English accent surprised his floormates the first time he introduced himself, she added.

“Everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s so cool,’” Butts said.

Aziz was known as a jokester among his friends. Whenever people talked to him, Aziz would be the one who cracked jokes, making everyone laugh, Hayashi said.

“In my group of friends he was one of the biggest sources of fun and energy,” said Nicholas Conforti, a freshman who lived on Aziz’s floor, in an email.

When someone used a word longer than “maybe five or six letters,” Butts said Aziz would stop the conversation and call out, “that’s a huge bloody word!” Soon, his friends started mimicking the phrase in his English accent, she said.

Though Aziz didn’t initially show much school spirit, Conforti said he eventually grew to love SU’s atmosphere and represented the university in “any way he could.”

He was also a huge soccer fan, Butts said. She recalled Aziz waking up as early as 5 a.m. to listen to games.

Hayashi said she’ll remember Aziz not only for his humor, but his generosity. Aziz would always put initiative into talking to people, even if it was only for five seconds, Hayashi said.

“He could tell if my day was bad,” Hayashi said, adding that he was one of the friendliest people on her floor.

Butts said Aziz cared deeply about his friends, who were like “another family to him.” He helped her adjust to college life during what she said was a difficult first semester for her.

She also recalled him coming to her aid after she returned to Lawrinson from a late-night party.

Butts said she was tired and “wandering aimlessly” around the floor. Aziz found her and helped her unlock the door to her room, she said.

“He was like, ‘OK, I’m not going to leave you alone,’” she said. “He gave me a really big hug and told me to go to bed.”

That was one of the last memories Butts said she had of Aziz.

Though Hayashi said she wasn’t Aziz’s closest friend, she’ll always remember him for the joy he brought to others.

His positive aura and love for life, Butts said, was apparent to those who knew him.

“He was really a bright spot for a lot of people,” she said. “He was truly the highest of highs.”

Published on January 14, 2018 at 9:15 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18