Jordan Kistner, a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and a university writing instructor, discusses a heartbreaking wave of student suicides at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He highlights the emotional toll on both students and faculty, emphasizing the urgency of addressing mental health challenges. Kistner explores the formation of a task force aimed at improving resources and coping strategies. The conversation delves into the vital role of community support, vulnerability, and innovative initiatives to foster a healthier college environment.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Initial Suicides at WPI
After a student's suicide, professor Katherine Foo searched for missed signs.
Two more student suicides followed, creating a sense of dread on campus.
insights INSIGHT
Unexpected Suicides
WPI had risk factors like intense academics and a male-skewed population.
However, the suicides didn't align with typical warning signs, shocking the counseling director.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Rising Anxiety
Counseling director Charlie Morse felt dread and pleaded, "Oh, please, not us."
A third student died, intensifying faculty anxiety and prompting overwhelmed email chains.
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The first death happened before the academic year began. In July 2021, an undergraduate student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute was reported dead. The administration sent a notice out over email, with the familiar, thoroughly vetted phrasing and appended resources. Katherine Foo, an assistant professor in the department of integrative and global studies, felt especially crushed by the news. She taught this student. He was Chinese, and she felt connected to the particular set of pressures he faced. She read through old, anonymous course evaluations, looking for any sign she might have missed. But she was unsure where to put her personal feelings about a loss suffered in this professional context.
The week before the academic year began, a second student died. A rising senior in the computer-science department who loved horticulture took his own life. This brought an intimation of disaster. One student suicide is a tragedy; two might be the beginning of a cluster. Some faculty members began to feel a tinge of dread when they stepped onto campus.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts is a tidy New England college campus with the high-saturation landscaping typical of well-funded institutions. The hedges are beautifully trimmed, the pathways are swept clean. Red-brick buildings from the 19th century fraternize with high glass facades and renovated interiors. But over a six-month period, the school was turned upside down by a spate of suicides.
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