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Yale Professor Samuel See's Cause of Death Still Undetermined, Faculty Member Says 'We Need to Demand Answers'

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A group of Yale University professors are planning a march to draw attention to the death of Samuel See, who died in a New Haven prison of mysterious causes.

According to the Yale Daily News, the march is a protest against the New Haven Police Department (NHPD) for their handling of the case. Tuesday's march is scheduled to begin at New Haven's City Hall, continue through Yale's campus and end at 1 Union Ave., the prison where See was found dead on Nov. 24.

See, an assistant professor in the English department, was on leave for the current semester. He was spending the night in the prison after a reported domestic dispute with his husband the previous afternoon. Although he was found dead on the 24th, the authorities did not release any information until the 27th.

"A death in jail is a political death," Nathan Brown, an assistant professor of English at the University of California, Davis and an organizer of the march, told the YDN. "This is especially the case when it is the death of a gay man, given the structural and historical homophobia of policing, incarceration, and the legal system in the United States."

See's cause of death is not known, but it was not suicide and trauma was not a factor. According to U.S. News and World Report, a definitive cause of death in this particular case may not be available for a matter of months.

See and his estranged husband Sunder Ganglani each had protective orders against one another, reported the New Haven Register. Ganglani arrived at See's New Haven apartment to pick up his belongings when the dispute occurred, resulting in See's arrest. The next morning, during a six-a.m. routine check, See was found unresponsive in his cell. He was declared dead at 6:15 a.m.

Brown also suggested See had an issue with mental health that could have played a role in the death. Either way, the demonstrators want answers.

"It is also especially the case when we know that Sam was dealing with mental health issues bearing upon the volatility of his relationship and the emotional instability he reportedly exhibited at the time of his arrest," Brown said in his statement.

A spokesman for Yale did not comment on the upcoming march. NHPD said the delay in announcing the professor's death was "an oversight." The demonstration will hope to bring attention to See's case and also to the response of the school and of the NHPD in this instance.

"We need to demand answers," Christopher Miller, professor of French and African-American studies, told the YDN. "And the silence of Yale University in this is deafening."

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