we all bleed purple

Student dies in apparent suicide

WSN Staff

Issue date: 9/21/07 Section: News

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Check nyunews.com for updates on this story.

9/23/07, 1:07 a.m. -- A CAS freshman died yesterday morning after he jumped off the roof of University residence hall, police said.

Residents identified the student as Allan Oakley Hunter III, known by friends as Trey. NYU officials said it appears he committed suicide.

Residents said they saw police searching Hunter's eighth-floor room around 10 a.m. His body was removed from U-hall's courtyard just before 1 p.m.

At U-hall, the two exits that lead to the roof are alarmed.

A counselor from NYU's Student Health Center was in the residence hall to help students until 10 p.m. yesterday and will be there again from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. today.

In an e-mail to the NYU community, President John Sexton wrote, "Part of suicide's pain is the elusiveness of any easy answers. However, notwithstanding the absence of easy answers, some things are very clear: we have a responsibility to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and others around us safe and well."

CAS freshman Matthew Margini, who sat next to Hunter in an introductory Italian class, said he was introverted but friendly. When Margini last saw Hunter on Thursday, he looked disheveled and said he'd been sick, Margini said.

"He was definitely more absent mentally than usual," Margini said. "He must have been going through something."

Professor Tiziana Rinaldi, who taught that Italian class, called Hunter a "sweet kid," saying he was an English major who was always reading books "on the side."

But he seemed forgetful, she said. He missed two classes recently, writing Rinaldi notes saying that he didn't feel well.

GSP freshman Lena Nguywen - who lives on the 8th floor of U-hall, where Hunter lived - said he was "kind of isolated." She would often see him in the hall, usually talking on the phone and pacing.

After the suicide, RAs went from room to room at U-hall, delivering a letter from the dorm's community development educator saying that a student had died.

But GSP freshman Scott Amenta said he still wanted more information about what happened.

"The RAs came around, which was helpful, but when I went downstairs and saw police everywhere, no one was willing to say anything," he said.

In the 2003-2004 school year, there were a rash of suicides at NYU, with five students jumping to their deaths - three in the course of five weeks. Another killed herself in Sept. 2004. In response, NYU sealed off dorm room balconies and created the Wellness Exchange, which addresses mental health issues.

Students worried about themselves or their friends can talk to a live counselor by calling the Wellness Exchange's phone help line at 212-443-9999, which is always open. They can also contact the exchange via e-mail at wellness.exchange@nyu.edu, or visit its website, www.nyu.edu/999/counseling.

Reporting by Assistant Managing Editor Thomas Garry, City/State News Editor Cat Contigulia and contributing writers Lily Quateman and Joe Weston. E-mail them at news@nyunews.com.

in the morning, i hate...

people who don't know the rule that if you have already been occupying a seat on the metro north (whether it be the 2 or 3 person seats) it's polite to first ask and then when permission is granted you do not just plop your ass down and rub up all on me. you conscientiously place yourself down into the seat making sure not to touch me. i do not know you. i do not want to rub asses with you. it makes me pretty uncomfortable.

more so -- at 8 o'clock in the morning, no one wants to hear about how much you love your beau or how your homegirl is "trippin'" it's unnecessary. and if you absolutely must speak with someone make it a short and courteous call. "Hi, Hello. How are you. I have to call you back it's 8 o'clock in the fucking morning and no one on the train needs to hear about my evening."

also, when reading your newspaper let's think of a few things...

1) i'm letting you sit in the seat that i have already claimed. both seats are therefore considered mine. so when you think it's okay to spread yourself out and extend your arms to their full capacity while reading your shit rag newspaper and the text is so close to my face that i can smell the ink printed on the actual paper, we have a problem.

2) reading the newspaper can be tricky sometimes, especially to those who only read page 6. it's in the middle of the paper! a lot of things can get loose! here's a suggestion... if you're not going to go through the whole thing in an orderly fashion don't read it. chances are if you're incapable of doing that in the first place you probably can't read anyway.

3) laughing out loud to yourself is funny. doing it for more than a 10 second time period is not. especially not at 8 in the morning. laughing at your horoscope, the silly little comics they put in the newspaper for the kids who can't get through a whole article.

4) want to play the lotto? that's great! don't get your scratch off residual on me.

I'm not saying these are everyones rules. But they are my rules. And to be honest with you I think they should be posted all over the trains and should follow the "dooo doo" noise that the new trains make.

I think also that if you're running so late for the train that you have to hold the plastic melting, nose numbing shit until you get onto the train, you should be forced to wear a shirt that says "I dumped on the train and ruined the remainder of the ride for the rest of you" it should be bright yellow and have large black letters. With reflectors and small flashing lights, so that everyone on the train knows why their eyes have started to tear acid and they can no longer arrive at their places of education or employment in the same positive mood they got on the train with.

Also, if you speak a foreign language, that's fantastic. I envy you. I wish I could fluently jabber back and forth in a native tongue. I personally think its impressive. What I don't understand is why it needs to be spoken at decibals that people in oregon can hear. QUE PASA???

I myself have put make up on, on the train. I have put my eyeliner and mascara and have decided that, because I so clearly mismanaged my time, I should not try to put on anything else. I don't understand how or why its necessary to break out the little foam applicators and the liquif concealer and start making you face. On the train. In the morning when there are people readily moving back and forth, coming and going. If you absolutely need all that make up, I have two suggestions:

1) Manage your time better.

2) Buy a pair of large sunglasses (they're very chic this season, you can get away with it, trust me) and put your make up on at work. Where you have a desk.

That's all.

Tracy's

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soon

horror-scope

Goals and your sense of personal security are in a state of change now. The people who have been intimidating you lately have just as many flaws as you do. There is no reason why your confidence should drop so dramatically whenever they enter the room. Don't despair over the loss of something you never really wanted

social anxiety is...

When you can't open a can on a crowded train without worrying about people looking at you.

--

I've been in a really good place lately. Working a lot. Last week I got to see those nyu kids which was such a relief. I feel like I don't spend much time with them anymore even though we're all still in manhatan. I've been disappointed a lot these last two weeks but I guess you can't really help that. Some people are just more interested in insulting comments and inconveniecing your emotions.

Work this week is going to suck. I wish our office manager would come back.

Fuck it. I want my breakfast.

nerves

The silly gut feeling you get when you're on the way to a first date never changes. I think the only thing that has changed is the make up I wear. It went from being all of the black mascara and eye liner I had in my make up bag to the thin line that's above my eyelashes right now.

But that gut feeling is still in my stomach. The feeling you get when you're worried about whether or not the someone you're going to meet is going to accept you. I don't think person will but I'd really like to think he will.

You know those things that happen when you're getting ready that pretty much ruin the potential for you leaving the house with a positive aura. The shirt you can't find, that one hair out of place, the zit that appeared out of no where. I doubt that the person you're meeting with really notices or cares but the truth is at the moment its like your whole world is crashing down. Moreso, when the shirt you're wearing is only half dry because your mentally retarded mother thought taking it out of the dryer was a good idea when really it was the worst idea. That, someone notices. The front of my shirt is damp. Like someone threw water on me and I'm hoping that the thirty five minute train ride into manhattan is going to solve that. The shoes I have to change into are in my bag and I'm trying to figure out when the least awkward time to change out of them will be. Since when are saturday trains so awfully crowded???

add this...

You are every ounce of horror, every reminding second of a completely terrible life. You're the single most constant mistake of why most my body aches, and from the cold, iron shackles you locked around my heart to the chunks of my life you picked out from your teeth. I remember for a moment about the person I used to be.

somethings... you just can't put a price on.

This past week has been rough...........

I am quickly learning what it's really like to be a journalist... vicarious through the rock star I get to kiss... on occasion.. when he's not out... well... being a rock star. I am a very lucky to... at the very least... be around him on a reuglar basis... not only because he is a genuinely good guy... but also because he is one of the... if not the smartest person I have ever met. I am learning so much from him... its absolutely ridiculous. And maybe you can learn something too. Posted here are the past two emails I recieved from him... from Islamabad, Pakistan. Enjoy.


Wednesday September 6, 2007 --
I might return from Pakistan weighing a ton more. Everyone we meet wants to serve tea and something to eat. During one visit we had a sandwich of indeterminate variety. During another, fried something. Cookies were served at a third house. Caffeine and crap…a heck of a combination…but one indicative of the hospitality here. The Pakistanis I've met seem eager to share their story and, in most instances, to share how they believe the American government and their own government have erred. This trip has been a peek into the looking glass (and I'm not talking about the band…there's no brandy here…see my last dispatch). The Pakistanis I've talked to find fault with much of what Americans have been told over the last 6 years. Many see the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as assaults on Islam. Others say US pressure on Pakistan to crack down on jihadists as only emboldened them. They remind me that what we think of now as the Taliban was, in large part, a creation of the Pakistani intelligence service and the CIA to recruit holy warriors for the fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. They say it is insane to think desperate people in the tribal areas could ever find their way to America to cause us harm. Of course, a recent NYPD report points out the biggest threat comes not from the tribal areas but from people radicalized in the west. More on that in an upcoming ABC News Radio one-hour special. Check local listings. They say the Pakistani army has lost its will to fight extremist groups comprised of their own people and point to the recent capture of 300 soldiers by militants…without a single shot being fired…as evidence. And they talk of the need for democracy and their disappointment the US props up the current unelected military man leading the country now. Maybe it's a good thing they serve food. My brain needs the sustenance. One of the most enlightening conversations took place in the home of a relative of the ABC fixer here, Habibullah (cookies, an unfortunate fruit cake, instant coffee black, no sugar). He introduced me to his aunt who laughed and smiled her way through a wrenching narrative about why she has no hope Pakistan will ever get anything right. Then she told me about her recent visit to the United States to watch her son graduate from Harvard. She liked Boston very much (duh), also loved Chicago and Las Vegas, but says she'll never return to the US because she was treated like a terrorist at each airport. She said it made her angry but she forced herself to smile and laugh it off, determined to enjoy her trip to America. Oh, the most popular movie in the country right now is called "In the Name of God." It's about two Pakistani brothers. One falls prey to extremists. The other makes it to America…where he's unlawfully detained because of his name. The director said (on the jacket of the soundtrack) the movie is typical of what a young Muslim faces…demonized by the radicals for western beliefs and appearance, demonized by the west because of their names. That's what I've got today. Hope you're good.

Thursday September 7, 2007--
I've just purchased shalwar kameez, the traditional dress here in Pakistan, my trip to Peshawar. The shalwar is the pair of loose-fitting pajama-like trousers and the kameez is the long tunic. I'm not sure how to operate the pants. I believe there should be a drawstring included in the purchase. There is no drawstring. I'm confused. My first time to Peshawar and I will be improperly dressed. My mother would be appalled. Peshawar is considered the gateway to the Khyber Pass that connects Pakistan's northern frontier to Afghanistan. It's the start of the tribal areas. It is home to the proud Pashtun people and the city where Osama Bin Laden once roamed. It's doubtful he's there now. In fact, we met a general today from the Pakistani army would indicated there really is no active operation to look for him. If there is some actionable intelligence, that's one thing. But six years after 9/11, at least on the Pakistani side of the border, Bin Laden remains elusive. September 6 is also National Defense Day here. It's a commemoration of a decisive battle in 1965 when the Pakistani army prevailed in Lahore over forces from India. The government has promised a robust celebration but the country's military today is in a precarious spot. At the urging of the US it's being ordered to rout militants in the tribal areas (the main city of which I'm heading in inappropriate attire) effectively being asked to kill its own people. And the Pakistani civilian population has had enough. The effort is one reason Musharraf finds himself on the brink of losing power. And there's evidence here the army itself has lost the will to fight. A few days ago 300 Pakistani soldiers were taken hostage by militants without a single shot being fired. The US understandably is concerned about this region. Just today German prosecutors said the 3 men arrested in the alleged plot against Ramstein Air Base were trained in Pakistan. But the civilians here, rightly or wrongly, believe politics, not violence, can contain the militants. Remember, the militants were trained to be the way they are by the CIA so they'd fight the Soviets back when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. The perception, again rightly or wrongly, is that a new foreign force, the Americans, has invaded Afghanistan, so why shouldn't they be fighting now as then. The US effort in Afghanistan is widely unpopular here and so is the US insistence the Pakistanis control their side of the border. The Musharraf government has also failed to deliver proper services to the tribal region. There is, effectively, no government operating there. Mullahs have filled the vacuum. My head spins daily from all of this. It's a good thing there's a ready supply of alcohol…oh, right. Nope. Hope all is well today.