[988] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Educational Counselor email re Student Suicides
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Roger Ford (raf@mit.edu))
Sun Dec 9 18:58:34 2001
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Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001 22:49:27 -0500
From: "Roger Ford (raf@mit.edu)" <raf@MIT.EDU>
To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
The following e-mail was sent to all Educational Counselors, the
alumni who interview applicants.
Roger A. Ford '02
Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001 18:15:00 -0500
Reply-To: Bruce Bernstein <brux@MIT.EDU>
Sender: MIT Educational Counselors <EC-L@MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
From: Bruce Bernstein <brux@MIT.EDU>
Subject: this week's People Magazine
To: EC-L@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Dear Educational Counselor:
This week's edition of People Magazine (December 17, 2001), with the
cover story on George Harrison, also contains a feature on MIT,
entitled "Cruel Lessons," about "a string of student suicides at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology" that "tests the school's
mental-health care."
The article, profiling three students who committed suicide within
the past 5 years, is disturbing and tragic. The stories are
heartbreaking.
Undoubtedly, some of you will receive questions from concerned
students and parents (and some of you already have). For better or
for worse, it will be impossible to answer those questions or
alleviate those concerns with a simple answer.
The main question is inevitably, is suicide a problem at MIT? The
honest answer is yes. It is a problem at MIT -- and it is a national
problem as well.
How do we know it is a problem? There have been 8 suicides at MIT in
the last 10 years. Even 1 suicide in 10 years is a problem.
How do we compare to other universities? The reality is, we just
don't know. Peer institutions with the same quality of student and
the same demographics would be likely to have the same rate of
suicide as MIT, but they do not release statistics.
Do we know the cause of suicide at MIT? No, we don't. The reasons
for suicides at MIT are different for every individual.
Do we think MIT caused the suicides? No, we don't. As Dean of
Student Life Robert Randolph has said, "It is wrong to assume that
things that happen here, begin here." There are any number of
reasons for suicide. Often, those reasons can be traced back to long
before a student arrived at MIT. We do know that it is incorrect to
assume that there is a direct link between academic pressure at the
Institute and suicide.
What are we doing about it? You can check out MIT's current
resources for students at
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2000/counseling.html. You can also
read the MIT Mental Health Task Force Report at
http://web.mit.edu/chancellor/mhtf/ to see recommendations for the
future. More generally, MIT is actively addressing the building of
community through a variety of efforts and augmenting resources
available to students for the development of support networks.
As Educational Counselors, we ask that you treat questions about
suicide with respect and sensitivity. Those questions are often
rooted in concerns that MIT, as a school of science and technology,
is a cold, indifferent place.
Having been through the Institute, you know first hand, as we do in
Admissions, that while MIT is a large institution, we are similar to
communities everywhere, with caring individuals and support networks.
Relating your own personal experiences about the friends you made at
MIT and the support available to you, formally or informally, can go
a long way to alleviate the fears of parents and students.
If you receive questions about suicide at MIT or counseling and
support issues, please let me know. I can relate what you are
hearing "in the field" back to senior administration and faculty at
MIT.
And, of course, if you have any questions of your own, please feel
free to email or call me.
Sincerely,
Bruce
--
Bruce M. Bernstein
Director, Educational Council
Associate Director of Admissions
MIT Admissions Office
77 Massachusetts Avenue, N52-419
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 258-5529
<brux@mit.edu>
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