Over the past 43 years, 13 students have committed suicide while attending the College of William and Mary. Three of those have occurred in the past eight months.
Throughout its recent history, the College has battled a reputation for being a “suicide school.” It is unclear how the reputation developed, and until this year it had been five years since the community was marred by such a tragedy.
“Numbers don’t tell the human story, but it does help combat the claim that William and Mary is a suicide school,” Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler said.
Whitney Mayer ’13 was found early Friday morning near Lake Matoaka. Authorities said that Mayer passed from an apparent suicide. In April, Ian Smith-Christmas ’11 took his own life in Virginia Beach. The body of Dominique Chandler ’10 was found by police in a dorm earlier that semester.
In each case, Ambler notified the College community in an e-mail.
“There’s no way to predict, they are random,” Ambler said. “When you’re dealing with human tragedy, it’s not a time to discuss numbers.”
According to statistics cited by the College, there are 11 suicides for every 100,000 adults aged 18-24 annually.
Read the full story at the William & Mary Flat Hat.
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