East River Body Confirmed to be Student's

Family members identified a body found in the East River as Richard Ng, a Columbia senior who had been missing in the weeks leading up to graduation. The autopsy was inconclusive, but police believe Ng commited suicide over his grades. Newsday reports that friends told police that "Ng had done poorly in at least one class and would not have been able to graduate Wednesday on time with the rest of his class." It's also believed that Ng commited suicide by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, given where his body was found and that his computer showed he researched the bridge. It's such a shame that Ng was so despondent, perhaps about his school work, perhaps about other things, that he felt he needed to take his life. We hope that Columbia and other schools continue take the time to work with students who may be grappling with all sorts of stress and make sure they know what resources are open to them.

During commencement ceremonies yesterday, Columbia University chaplain Jewelnel Davis said, "As we begin this ceremony, Richard Ng and the Ng family are in our thoughts and prayers." Columbia president Lee Bollinger's statement read, "Our hearts and our prayers go out to the Ng family at this difficult moment. For students and their parents, this commencement week should be a time of joy and promise. That it should be a time of sadness and loss for Richard's family and friends is especially heartbreaking. It is certainly a loss for the entire university community and we honor his memory."

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By Jen Chung in News on May 18, 2006 8:49 AM

Comments [rss]

someone

I don't understand. I don't understand why I keep looking up news stories on him; everyone else, I think, has stopped.

I knew Richard, only for a year, but during his first year at Columbia. He was quiet, he was kind, but he just did not appear the type to send himself over a bridge.

But maybe I missed something, something someone in my position should have seen or at least needed to see.

Rest well, Richard, and I'm sorry.

smitty

very sad.

Albert

I'm a personal friend of Richard's brother. Their family doesn't seem very focused on grades, so stop trying to make some point about asian families.

ABC Girl

What is wrong with Asiann people in the NYC area? Every person of Asian descent I have encountered is slightly bonkers!!! They are rude and inconsiderate. Plus since so many of them are shorter than me, they like to "challenge" me with their actions to make up for their inadequacies. Like this morning, this crazy Asian midget lady spends 20 minutes slapping my leg because I had to stand near her seat on the bus- she didn't like it and wanted me to stand near someone else. THERE WAS NO WHERE ELSE TO STAND!!!! As she was getting out at her stop, she became psychotic. She screamed and called me "a bitch" and "the devil" several times. Then she told me she had been smacking me because I supposedly "hit her face" with my purse at some point during the ride. Yes, my soft straw & nearly empty purse MUST have left her with a concussion. This is NYC people, there are crowds. You will get bumped into and stepped on, it comes with living in a densely populated city...

Brian

WTF is WRONG with some of you people?

I went to High School with Rich and he was a good friend of mine.

How would you like it if one of YOUR friends just killed themselves and I made loads of senseless jokes?

God, you make me sick.

Anyway, back to Richard. he was such a great kid. It's such a shame he had to go like this.

Maki Sajit

Ajit - You insensitive bastard. How can you be making asian jokes when some kid is dead? F'd up all of you.

Ajit

Wow, a kid is dead, and some of you chose to respond by saying things like "Damn, A nice defenseless asian boy kills himself. who am I going to rob now?" or "He disgrace to whole ancestor for ten thousand year."

You're white, ignorant, probably bored at your menial internship, and waiting around for the next Belle and Sebastian show. While you're waiting, grow up a little, OK?

wtf

some. of. you. people. are. disgusting.

Rich was a friend of mine. There is really no way in hell that any of us who lived with him the last 3 years can accept the simple explanation of suicide over grades. He was not that kind of guy.

me

nobody knows why he did it. he didn't care about school. nor did he care about the working world.

you ever get tired of dealing with things? wonder why anything matters anymore? sink yourself into anything so far?

it wasn't the grades, that's for sure.

Dave H.

Imagine a young man who committed his entire life into getting into what seemed like the holiest of holies--an Ivy League University. After four years and a humongous financial commitment by his parents, for whatever reason, there was a fear that he wouldn't get to walk at graduation. I bet the fear of disapproval and disappointment could be absolutely oppressive. I understand why he would make a trip to the Brooklyn Bridge. But I wish someone could've told him to wait five years and realize how much it wouldn't have mattered and that summer school would have been more acceptable to his parents than a funeral. This kind of thing breaks my heart.

Kanye West

LC - I have to disagree with you. Donuts are worth dying for. especially Dunkin Donuts. Try Dunkin Donuts. they have a special on smoothies. Real Fruit and Yogurt. Real Good. Eat at Dunkin.

jenna terrorcon

if he did commit suicide. Lucifer is now boiling his intestines in the seventh circle of hell. Suicide is an unforgiveable sin.

suri

That is really sad. I had a similar experience 3 years ago (obviously I didn't kill myself) but it can be crushing and disappointing to fail a class or fail to graduate once you've put so much work in, especially at an Ivy League school when you feel like the people around you are doing great and going to be so successful.

I'm still not joking about it though.

Black Mugger

Damn, A nice defenseless asian boy kills himself. who am I going to rob now? the white guy who works out all day and takes steroids? the other black guy who's packing heat? the latino guy who's got a gang to back him up? what a waste.

Kojak

Depends on how high from the water you are jgo. Depending on how high, hitting the water is almost like hitting a brick wall.

There was a story over a year ago about a man jumping off the 59th Street Bridge and it was caught on TV. He broke his feet but he lived.

lc

I am saddened by this news. It is tragic that Richard thought that dying was the answer to his problems. Nothing, not grades, money, love...is worth dying for. What seems like an insurmountable problem at the moment may be something you will joke about 5 years later. I tell this to my children whenever I have the opportunity. Life is valuable - enjoy the good things and use the bad things as a learning.

jgo

This is meant to be a serious question. If you know how to swim and jump off of a bridge, are you guarunteed to die?

Sam The Sham

Any word on when his cello will be on Ebay?

jackblack

Shame he died. Gotta Give props though. Brooklyn Bridge is the way to go.

Charlie Chan

Oh man, He brought Dishonor to his whole family. Number one son should graduate on time, become doctor and make million dollar by 22. He disgrace to whole ancestor for ten thousand year.