Study finds MIT, Harvard have highest rates of student suicide

In a recent Boston Globe study, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was cited as having the highest suicide rate out of 12 universities surveyed during the past decade.

The survey compared the number of undergraduate suicides per 100,000 students on the 12 different campuses since 1990. Harvard University was ranked second after MIT. Princeton did not participate in the study.

Eleven student suicides have occurred at MIT in the past 11 years, a rate that is three times greater than those of the other schools, according to the Globe report.

However, Kenneth Campbell, spokesman for MIT, pointed out that the numbers published in the Globe do not necessarily portray an accurate measure of college suicide patterns on a nationwide scale.

"It is very difficult to interpret statistical patterns from 11 suicide deaths in 10.6 years," he wrote in an e-mail. "The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, which compiles the vital statistics, states that rates based on '20 or fewer deaths may be unstable' for statistical analysis."

"It is also hard to draw conclusions comparing other colleges when so many colleges failed to provide reliable facts on suicide to the newspaper," Campbell added. "MIT was very open about providing the facts."

Like Campbell, Harvard spokeswoman Marsha Semuels also advised against "jumping to conclusions" based on the Globe study.

"As the article notes, 13 schools including Princeton did not respond to the survey," she said in an e-mail. "The sample is so small that it is impossible to come to any accurate conclusions about how one school compares to another."

Regardless of the accuracy of the Globe numbers, however, representatives from both MIT and Harvard said they recognize the importance of adopting preventive measures against campus suicide.

Statistics show that large urban universities are particularly susceptible to high student suicide rates, especially those with a high enrollment of white males.

"Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college-age people. Harvard, like other universities, is dedicated to doing all we can to provide support for students in distress," Semuels said.

MIT has responded to the high suicide numbers by enlisting a task force to explore possible improvements in the school's mental health services, while Harvard has undertaken several initiatives such as a Student Health Coordinating Board to re-evaluate its own counseling services, suggest improvements in the system and spread awareness around campus.

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Princeton, despite its lack of participation in the Globe's study, apparently has little to hide in terms of suicide numbers.

According to Marvin Geller, director of the University's counseling center at McCosh Health Center, the most recent suicide on campus occurred about five years ago, and there have been only two suicides in the past eight years at the University.

"I can't tell you that we have a serious problem here," Geller said, adding that he had never received a request for information from the Globe.

Geller attributed the University's relatively low numbers to the strong sense of community cultivated by the undergraduate college.

"There's something about the campus — the [residential] college system, the RAs and MAAs, deans and faculty members — there are lots of eyes and ears around," he said.

However, Geller acknowledged that suicide is a problem that all universities should confront. Though Princeton is fortunate in its ability to maintain a low rate of undergraduate suicide, Geller reaffirmed the University's dedication to "reduc[ing] the number of students that slip through the cracks."