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Seriously, why are there so many suicides at NYU? Do students feel lost at the school? Is the workload too much? I just want to know why there have been four suicides at the school. I'm still deciding whether or not to attend NYU (GSP), but these suicide attemps are a little disturbing.

By Noodleman (Noodleman) on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 04:07 pm: Edit

I went there (Tisch) for a year and I found the gargantuan scale of the institution overwhelming at times. Perhaps that unsettles folks? New York in general is pretty intimidating--and I grew up there.

Just guessing. It is sad, though.

By Strmadden2 (Strmadden2) on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 04:52 pm: Edit

bump

By Usunkmyb_Ship (Usunkmyb_Ship) on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 04:57 pm: Edit

I don't think you can judge or blame the school for that. The people who killed themselves had their own individual reasons and issues.

By Ariesathena (Ariesathena) on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 05:10 pm: Edit

Not to be morbid, but suicides often "clump" together - in that one attempt may trigger attempts in a few other peers.

Also, some statistics. NYU is a huge school, so there will obviously be more things happening there than other schools. Whether or not there are more problems per student is more important. This year is not necessarily an accurate sample of what is happening at the school; in other years, there could be no problems whatsoever. Statistically, you can expect some fluctuation.

On a more humane note, there are certainly schools which have higher than average suicide rates (MIT and Cornell come to mind). The issues are sometimes indicitive of the school (MIT eventually instituted only pass/fail grading for freshman year because of intense first-year stress), whereas some are beyond the control of the school (people in colder weather tend to be more depressed - take Scandanavian countries as an example).

By Daonesteven (Daonesteven) on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 06:59 pm: Edit

that girl, diana chien, that commit suicide and was on the news like a week back, graduated from my high school last year i beileve, or 2 years ago. I knew her not too well, but since she was my "welcoming" person when i came to high school as a freshman, she'd always say hi to me in halls and stuff. she was the sister of one of the guys in my senior class

god it feels so weird when someone you actually knew dies. my prayers go out to their family.

By Emyh (Emyh) on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 07:08 pm: Edit

I think that last suicide, Diana's, seemed to be more related toward problems with her boyfriend. From various snippets I've caught through newspapers and people who knew her personally, it seems it was a very troubled relationship.

By Emilyp114 (Emilyp114) on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 07:16 pm: Edit

Although it's been really sad that these kids have chosen to end their lives this year, I don't think it is the fault of NYU. The three early in the year were two sophomores and one freshman. It was later determined that one of the boys who jumped at Bobst was high on drugs and apparently was not suicidal. This latest one last week happened to a student who transferred to NYU from California to be near her boyfriend. The morning of the day she died, they had been fighting so who knows what actually was happening in her private life. Suicides happen at every college across the country, as well as in society at large. There's no simple answer as to why people make that decision.

By Sleepdeprived (Sleepdeprived) on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 05:28 am: Edit

Homosexual youth have very high suicide rates in the U.S and NYU has a larger gay population than most schools. its so sad..

By Emilyp114 (Emilyp114) on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 07:45 am: Edit

You're right about that but none of those kids was gay.

By Kiwee (Kiwee) on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 04:02 pm: Edit

Suidcide depends on the person. Those kids must have had some mental and/or emotional problems anyway. I really don't think we should blame the school. I really want to go to NYU. It's a good school and if it has a good program for you and you like the school, you shouldn't let the actions of a few people change your decisions.

By Striderb (Striderb) on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 04:07 pm: Edit

Kiwee- great point. I'll (depending on Brown decision) be attending Stern this fall.

By H0neymoon (H0neymoon) on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 04:22 pm: Edit

From what I've read, a few of the suicides were not intentional and were a result of drug use. I personally don't see this as a bad reflection on NYU, just wrong choices made on the student's behalf.

By Sweetbriar (Sweetbriar) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 04:02 am: Edit

I think it's really unfair to accuse MIT of having a higher than average suicide rate without considering what average actually is. When you consider, statistically, the types of people who are most likely to commit suicide, you will find that they are most likely to be male, between the ages of 18 and 23, and in a field involving scientific research. What kinds of students go to MIT? Asian males between the ages of 18-23...most in a field of science or science-related research.

Therefore, Nationally, MIT and Cornell do not, in fact, have higher than average suicide rates. They just get bad reputations because of Media hype. Also, NYU has always had a high suicide rate. I'd say it is because of the urban campus setting and the fact that New York can swallow a person whole - especially an impressionable young person who is away from home for the first time. One of the things New York is famous for is breeding fine writers and artists – many of who committed suicide in the very city that made them famous.

Strmadden2, usually students who commit suicide show signs of depression long before the act of suicide happens. If you find yourself lost, scared, tired all the time, or without any motivation (or any other signs of depression which you can find in a pamphlet at your colleges Medical Center) - see a counselor immediately, no matter which school you decide to attend. I have known of two friends here at MIT who have suffered from depression. I never would have known it, since they always put on happy faces for me. I found out after they went to counseling, after they sought help, that they were struggling. Which also says to keep in mind that when people report that suicide victims "were always so happy" - they might have had no idea what was really going on. So don't let the recent suicides sway your decision unless you know you will be personally affected by these stories. It is tough to move on after a suicide at your alma mater. Sometimes even if you don't know the person - or just had them for a class, you can find yourself questioning things yourself, and going through a mourning process. But that doesn’t mean that you should think that it could happen to you just because you attend the same school.