Student Suicides

In the early years of the 21st century, administrators in institutions of higher learning have become increasingly concerned about the phenomenon of student suicides on their campuses. This concern was prompted in part by a highly publicized suit between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the family of a student who committed suicide (Shin v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005) and a 2002 judgment involving Ferrum College in Virginia, in which a federal trial court ruled that the estate of a student who killed himself by hanging had made out a cause of action for negligence against the college and one of its administrators (Schieszler v. Ferrum College, 2002). The rising suicide rate for young people also contributed to this concern (Centers for Disease Control ...