A graduate of RPI’s class of 2000 apparently drove up from Amherst Mass., went to the top floor of the tallest building on campus (only nine stories, but still plenty high enough,) and jumped into the center of the stairwell, falling all nine stories until he hit bottom. Investigators say he most likely hit a few railings on the way down as well.
It’s really an odd thing to happen. I was the class of 2004, so I never knew the guy, but I almost went to graduate school there, and might have been on campus when it happened had I done so. It still seems so weird that someone would not only decide to end their life, but be so devoted to it that they drove several hours to do so. The newspaper article mentions that it’s not uncommon for those in severe depression to go back to a place where they last felt happy, but that almost makes it seem more odd. Why go back to a place you would associate with good feelings to end your life? I guess I just can’t understand it, and nor would I, not having gone through severe depression before.
I know there are a few other RPI alumni on the boards (Exgineer, waterj2…ummm…others (I’m fairly certain there’s actually a doper attending RPI right now, actually) and I’d be interested to see if they heard about this and what they are feeling, and what anyone else might have to say.
I’m sorry to hear of this guy’s death, but it brings back memories of the black humor we used as a coping mechanism. (I’m a member of the Class of 1988.)
We used to make jokes about the JEC Diving Club (as in diving to one’s death off of the Jonsson Engineering Center, formerly the tallest building on campus). And the majority of the freshmen took the same course, so that hundreds of us walked onto campus for 8am exams in core physics and chemistry classes. As we walked to the exams, we would find chalk outlines drawn on the sidewalks, usually with appropriate formulae next to them, like F=MA. (What can I say? It’s a geeky school.) In particular, I remember a chalk outline on the side of the Jonsson Engineering Center with a caption, “Damn that wind.”
If all of that isn’t too black, I’ll add that I was amused by the police spokesman’s speculation on why he drove back to campus to commit suicide; that “it’s not unusual for those who are depressed to return to the place where they had spent some of the happiest times in their lives, and where they felt safe and secure,” considering that a lot of us were miserable there. (Gee, I wonder whether I’m scaring off any prospective students.)
And it’s also sad that the guy was a comp sci major but was working as a stock clerk in Trader Joe’s. Perhaps he was depressed about being underemployed?
Something like that happened when I was in school (early-mid '90s). A female student went up to the top of the Admin building at Cal State LA and jumped off, landing in a tiny courtyard. I was on campus at the time but didn’t dare to approach the Admin building.
I graduated RPI last year, so I heard about the death this afternoon from friends there. I could have been there now, if I hadn’t graduated a year early. Disturbing in many ways. I hope the guy’s family will be able to grieve and move on.
Starting somewhere around the class of 1994 or 1995, they really started lowering the standards in an attempt to attract more students, so it’s not the same place it used to be. There’s a good chance he did have a far better time than you did.
Hell, these days I doubt there’s anybody who knows the route of the Ho Chi Minh Trail or where you should go if you agree to meet at the candy counter.
Ho Chi Minh trail? No. Candy counter? Well, I know where is used to be. After they renovated the union (The Rath included,) where the candy counter was I think is the mini-post office thing/father’s (a convenience store.)
That sucks. I hope that his family and the RPI community is finding a way to deal with this tragedy.
When I worked at MIT, a student was in a multistory building, either working in a study room or leading a group - I forget which exactly - and threw a chair, broke a window, and leaped to his death. (Story here.) Of course, a few years later another student topped this by setting herself on fire. Something about selective technical schools, I tell ya…
