About Portland: Murdered Student "Was a Dancer in Her Soul"

Michael Johnson stood in the hallway of the Arts and Communication Magnet Academy in Beaverton where, for so many years, Haruka Weiser showed people gravity is a challenge that can be overcome.

Ever since she first entered the school as a sixth grader, Weiser dazzled her teachers, her friends, anyone who watched, not only with her talent but with her hard work.

And on Thursday, Johnson, the school’s principal, stood there to talk about Weiser.

Just hours before she had been identified as the victim of homicide not far from the University of Texas where she was in her freshman year.

“Twenty-four hours ago, this was a school holding its breath,” he said. “Today our exhale is filled with sadness and grief.

"Haruka was a very talented, high-spirited, lovely young woman and certainly was a treasured member of our school community."

On Thursday, Johnson said, it was a community in mourning.

“A lot of kids are having a tough time today,” he said. “We are a small school and that means that we know each other really for a long time.”

And Weiser stood out.

Johnson was joined at the microphone by Julane Stites, the school’s director of dance.

"She was intelligent, spirited and stunningly beautiful," Stites said of her former student. "She was loved and respected throughout the dance and arts community, and together we shall grieve.”

Stites said that Weiser’s talents were not limited to dance but it was where her heart took her.

"She adored ballet. She loved ballet, but she was also an amazing modern dancer," Stites said. "She could have gone any direction she wanted.

“It was evident from the start she was a dancer in her soul.”

Stites said that Weiser worked very hard. Every day.

That dedication got her a spot with Dance West, the student dance group. With them she performed with the Oregon Symphony.

It got her a spot with the Portland Ballet where she performed through their Curriculum Program.

And it was that hard work that led her to get a scholarship to the University of Texas where she continued to impress.

At a press conference in Austin, University President Gregory Fenves spoke of the moment when the school discovered Haruka at a high school competition in Miami.

“Dance faculty members first met Haruka more than two years ago when she performed at the National High School Dance Festival,” he said.

“They immediately began recruiting her to come to UT from her home in Portland, Oregon. Haruka was a beloved member of our dance community, liked and admired by her classmates and respected by professors for her intelligence and spirit.”

In a statement, Weiser’s family gave the distinct impression that their daughter would have shied away from all the praise.

“Although Haruka loved to perform on stage she never sought the spotlight in her daily life,” they said. “Perhaps the last thing she would want is to be the poster child for any cause.”

Yet, they conceded, that us likely what is going to happen.

“If her death can somehow make it safer for a young woman to talk home, if it will prevent another assault or murder, then at least we could find some meaning behind an otherwise senseless and tragic death,” they wrote.

They said that while they know everyone will feel grief, they hope that people will keep moving, that that is what Haruka would have wanted.

“We know Haurka would not wish for us to be stuck in sadness but to keep living life to the fullest,” the said. “That is what we will try to do in the coming days. And we offer prayers and encouragement for you to do the same.”

It is the same message that Johnson tried to give to the 700 or so students in the school, one of whom is Weiser’s younger sister, Naomi.

Johnson gathered the students - many of whom had figured out what had happened before the news became official.

He spoke briefly and ended by telling them “to do what Haruka would want them to do, which is to dance.”

Last year, on Facebook, Weiser posted wit she loved about what she was doing.

“I love to dance because it constantly challenges me. I love that there never is a finished, perfect product. My dancing is constantly changing as I strive to improve. Because of this, I find that even the smallest successes can be the most rewarding.”

In his remarks, UT President Fenves spoke of the effect Weiser had.

“Our community was made better by her decision to join the College of Fine Arts,” he said.