NYU Professor Jumps To Death

To all the folks who callously judge him, find some better way to waste your time. This stuff is pretty terrible news for his family and friends, and he was a real guy who lost some kind of difficult battle inside or whatever, it's a damn shame. If the kids, by some good fortune grow up healthy and happy, let's pray, I just hope they have nothing but love for the parent they lost.

c'mon people! the answers to life are not in your textbook!

He wanted to see NYU through the eyes of its students.

I have a different theory...he had seen the American Apparel "velvet" ad one too many times, realized he wasn't going to be getting any of that kind of strange anytime soon and decided to jump.

That's funny. I was thinking that the Velvet girl might have changed his mind.

"Attention PhD holders, there's a job opening at Springfield University (NYU)"

Bart Simpson playing jokes at Barnes and Noble employees

Why doesn't NYU put up barricades or plexiglass on the balconies. In Baruch's Newman Library is court-yard style as well but every floor except the first and second floor have glass barricades.

Washington Square Village is an apartment complex for NYU faculty -- not an academic building.

Coward. And an unimaginative one at that. What is it with NYU & jumping to death?

There's bound to be more to this story than meets the eye.

Like other commenters, I've often viewed suicide as an intensely selfish act, as it almost always leaves behind victims who were dependent upon the suicide victim: friends, family, students.

The example of David Foster Wallace comes to mind: a wife, students and graduate students, hundreds of friends and fans.

Yet, when I share this viewpoint with people who have had family members attempt or complete suicide, they passionately disagree. Most express the belief that suicide is an act of desperation: the victim has often sought help, felt a sense of hopelessness and made prior gestures. Spalding Gray was one such victim: he had been treated for depression for most of his adult life, made several attempts and, ultimately, succeeded.

If we are to believe this story, the professor, during the heat of an argument, made an impulsive decision to jump from an 18th floor balcony. Happy, happy man? I doubt it. We're likely to find out that he had been treated for depression (or bipolar illness) and had made prior attempts.

I looked at his on-line bio and there was a bit of an edge to it: he really discouraged students from emailing him and was pessimistic about the chance of all but a select few to study with him. A bit off-putting, if he were my faculty advisor.

Really feel for his wife...

Suicide is like a tattoo, except more permanent.

There must be some thing in NY that causes neurological side effects because somebody associated with the school is always jumping.

Wait until next week when the truth comes out and we discover that she pushed him.

Coward.

+1. What a shitty thing to do to his wife and kids.

What a cowardly and selfish thing to do to his family.

Indeed. As a new mom, caring for one kid is pretty darn hard even with a husband's help. Leaving a wife and two preemies? What a selfish jerk.

Extremely selfish and thoughtless. Someone did this to me and it took decades and lots of therapy to deal with their committing suicide.

"did this to me"

really? you're referring to a human being who felt driven to kill him/herself for some reason or other, and this is how you choose to frame it? good job.

Horrible. Just horrible.

suicide over an argument? really?

this is modern man for you, the pansies slink away in the middle of the night and off themselves in revenge. the old school guys would just beat their wives when they got outta line, everybody lived and everybody was happy.

Selfish dude.

Good luck to your poor wife and children.

Agreed. As a father of preemies myself, I have very little sympathy for the man. He may have had problems, but to leave his wife with the burden of caring for her kids all alone is an absolute betrayal against her and his kids. Any parent of preemies can tell you it's not like raising full term kids. The obstacles are far greater, and the stress and burden to care for them as a single parent is daunting.

Maybe he had really good life insurance and thought he could help his family that way.

I thought that life insurance doesn't pay out on a suicide death.

Some do. I think there's a waiting period though..

or at least make a better legacy by taking a whole bunch of people with you.

NYU announces new suicide booths, quick, easy painless, no mess solution to the jumper problem.

suicide booths will be placed in the lobbies of each campus building and dormitory. users have a choice of electrocution or poison gas. More popular suicide locations may contain more than one booth, however university staff does not expect long lines, but understand that during periods of high usage you have experience an average of 7 minutes waiting your turn.

Sorry for the inconvenience, NYU is here to help and thank you for choosing NYU as the location of your departure.

Your account will be billed for the service, users must swipe their identification cards before suicide process can begin, if your account is in arrears you can contact the finance department for a hardship exception, however you nay need to wait 24 hours for our system to update.

Please note, guests and visitors are not allowed use the suicide booths. Only students and faculty are allowed admission one at a time. The system is designed for one dosage. More than one client at a time will cause failure of the suicide dosage or uneven application of t he electrical charge. In those cases were two users are sucessfully suicided, please note our cleanup technicians were not amused at the gay sex act, and whats up with wearing a condom, was that really necessary at that point?

NYU would like to announce that there are much better alternatives and solutions, if you really feel you need to commit suicide by jumping, please take it outside. this is nyc, you know the one with lots of tall buildings.

^ this is your brain on pot. A feeble and inappropriate attempt at "humor."

You have no culture.

This is a horrible story. Imagine what the wife is now going through. Horrible.

This wouldn't have happened he if knew how to throw exceptions properly.

GOTO Considered Harmful

Was he drinking or otherwise impaired -- perhaps with fatigue? It's entirely possible that in the darkness and in his agitated state he might have simply stumbled and fell.

I wouldn't leap to conclusions.

OMG! That's why I'm terrified of balconies. I'm always afraid I could momentarily lose my mind and jump. There is no coming back for that! Cripes. How awful.

Be sure to avoid driving across bridges... Cause you could momentarily lose your mind and drive off the side up and over the barriers. Sux to live in such fear.

Yah,

I think there have been at least 2 other similiar Jumps in the last few months.

I think there was the (i) dad on the UWS who jumped during a family dinner/holiday event in the midst of a fight; and (ii) the kid in Harlem or the Bronx who jumped after he was sent home early from school and his mom scolded him.

Aaarrrggghhh, why do people do this.

What is in the water at NYU? Why is everyone so jump happy? Take some pills, slit your wrists, sheesh.

That must be why everyone at my college was on antidepressants. Though we didn't have many high buildings to jump from, we had a great clocktower.

Not being facetious - is there some sort of male equivalent to postpartum depression?

Thoughts go out to his wife. Preemie twins and then this happens? Can't even think of the words for how difficult that must be.

There is a male version.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/10/13/hm.dads.postpartum.depression/index.html