Andrew Williamson-Noble Suicide: NYU Student Jumps To Death In Bobst Library

UPDATE 5:15pm EST, 11/3: The full text of NYU President John Sexton's email to the school community is below:

The Death of an NYU Student

It is with great sorrow that I must tell you of the death of a student -- a
junior in the College of Arts and Science -- early this morning in Bobst
Library. While the cause of death is still being determined, indications are
that he took his own life.

Suicide among people of college age is a national problem, a leading cause of
death among the young; each year, campuses across the country must cope with these tragedies and their aftermath -- the pain, the heartbreak, the upset it
causes to those who are vulnerable, and all the terrible, persistent questions.

I have taught young people for some five decades, drawn by their energy and
their promise and by the unique bond that forms between student and
professor. The impulse for self-harm -- particularly among young men and women
with so much talent and so much to live for -- is incomprehensible to me.

And so I would like to speak to the NYU student community as I would speak
with a student of mine sitting and talking with me in my own office.
No matter how difficult things might seem at any particular moment, your life
is filled with promise, you belong in and are part of a community that
cherishes your presence, you are loved, and there are many people at hand
ready and willing to help you -- your professors, the staff in the residence
halls, the Wellness Exchange, your family, and your friends. I am certain of
this: there are many resources to help you, and harming oneself is absolutely
the wrong choice.

We are a close knit community, a large community of small communities; we
should remind ourselves that there will always be people among us who will
need our help, and we should never hesitate to reach out and offer a hand or
an attentive ear, or to direct friends and peers to the many excellent
professionals we have at the Wellness Exchange (212-443-9999, or 999 from any
campus phone) to help students work through problems.

If you feel upset by this news or anything else in your life, do not hesitate
to call the Wellness Exchange. If you have a friend or a student or a
colleague who seems vulnerable, call on his or her behalf.

I know I speak for the entire NYU community when I say that this student's
family and loved ones are in our thoughts and our hearts and our prayers. The
family has asked that they be accorded the greatest possible degree of privacy
and sensitivity in this difficult hour, and I would hope that we all shall
strive to comply.

To each one of us -- student, faculty, administrators, or staff: take care of
yourself, take care of one another.

********

UPDATE 2:15pm EST, 11/3: The victim has been identified as Andrew Williamson-Noble. Williamson-Noble, a junior, leaped to his death from the 10th floor of the library.

According to the Daily News, students were in the building at the time of the death and "witnesses reported hearing a 'loud thud' when the junior's body hit the marble floor in the atrium of the library."

********

A New York University student was found dead in the school's main library this morning.

An unidentified male student is thought to have jumped to his death in Bobst Library, although the school has yet to confirm this. NYPD officials told NYUNews.com simply that it was a "non-criminal" action.

The library was the scene of two suicides in 2003 which lead to the installation of protective panels along the railings to prevent further deaths.

The student's body was found around 4:30am.

More details to come...

Comments

[Whinger]

08:05 AM on 11/04/2009

So sad, sincere condolence­s to his family and friends.

[v eyepete]

05:02 AM on 11/04/2009

If prayers can help those who have passed on, I would like to say that I hope his tortured soul finds peace and rest in the great beyond.

[Witchitalineman]

08:03 AM on 11/04/2009

Absolutely­.

[skunky93]

03:13 PM on 11/04/2009

yes....so true...:( In '00, one of my first college friends killed himself. Ive never forgotten him. It still hurts me to think that he reached out to me when he quite perceptive­ly thought i was going thru something (which i was) and told me he was worried about me. Three months later, he was dead. I can't help but think that he knew something was wrong with me bc he was able to identify depression in my face through his own experience­. I wish I had been as perceptive as he was...I wish I could have told him how much his words still make me cry bc it was the most gentlest, sweetest, most loving thing anyone could have done for me at the time.... I've never forgotten feeling that moment of love come from him when I felt so sad and unloved. He made me cry then and I cry now as I write it from rememberin­g. I'll always honor his memory by rememberin­g his kindness towards me when he was obviously suffering so deeply himself. RIP Kenny....I luv you my friend.

[Patricia Schreiber]

03:59 AM on 11/04/2009

Very sad and tragic. My condolence­s to the family. The Bobst library is a fantastic library, but there is something about the floor pattern that seems to affect people in strange ways when viewed from above. I had a classmate who refused to go above the first floor because he said that when he was too far up and he looked down he had this overwhelmi­ng desire to jump. So the class we had in the library had to be held on the first floor for his sake. Perhaps the library should rethink its floor pattern. The pattern in black and white squares.

[fratricide08]

05:30 AM on 11/04/2009

Wow. I think I owe you an apology because I thought your comment was a little weird. THEN, I did a google image search of the Library and WHOA, you're not kidding. That place is not right. I think it's more than the floor pattern though. The architectu­re is wild! It's extremely impressive but there's just something off about it. It's part Escher, part Alice in Wonderland­.

[skunky93]

03:20 PM on 11/04/2009

Yeah it really is! It's weird but I think your descriptio­n is right on. I looked it up too after I read your post, lol.

[snaumann]

10:41 PM on 11/18/2009

Hey, I'm writing an article for my school newspaper on the increase in suicides on college campuses and i was wondering if i could quote you? thanks.

[MosheDayanHero]

02:07 AM on 11/04/2009

Hmm, I've mostly heard several Asian students jumping off various buildings on my campus.
Usually for getting a D n calculus, or some such thing.

[quietreader]

03:49 AM on 11/04/2009

Your picture says it all.

[skunky93]

03:20 PM on 11/04/2009

omg... seriously? Is that necessary? Cut it out....it'­s so rude.

[joeythetrollslayer]

01:24 AM on 11/04/2009

First off, these little chat lines for help are like putting out a forest fire with a watering can. How about depression screening, say maybe in grade school. By the time someone is on the ledge it's too late. Life has become like boot came and they want out. Type in the words Columbia structural change depression in any search, and see what you find. Stay depressed for months or years, and yes, that's your brain on depression (throws an egg on the floor). Guess what? today's drugs are about as effective as sugar pills. That's the dirty little drug company secret. Stress is the root cause of this, or at least the trigger. College presidents­, educate yourselves­.

[dems08]

10:05 AM on 11/04/2009

Cymbalta has been effective for my brain chemistry abnormalit­y.

Williamson­-Noble first needed to realize he HAD to reach out and grab another person and tell them about his suicidal thoughts - and that it was not something to be embarrasse­d about, and not a hopeless situation.

Unfortunat­ely, when one's in the depth of depression­, often it feels like there's no one to turn to.

[spytheweb]

01:09 AM on 11/04/2009

45caliber,

my son attended the Tisch school of the arts. He now lives in Brooklyn and works in Manhattan.

[apoyo]

12:21 AM on 11/04/2009

Young people, stay strong. We need you.

[cuzkate]

08:29 AM on 11/04/2009

Indeed we do. God bless the soul of this troubled young man.

[Aquilina]

12:07 AM on 11/04/2009

This is a terrible tragedy, and I feel for his family and friends. No doubt, each of them will wonder "What could I could have done to prevent this?" The truth probably is, that there was nothing they could have done. Many people who commit suicide do not tell others about their plans.

Some posters here have remarked about him being handsome, or questioned why the posters would mention it. Well, the first thing I noticed when I saw his picture, was that he was handsome. Of course, there is much more to a person than their physical appearance­. Whatever was going on in his life, it's a shame he decided this was the only way out.

[dems08]

10:07 AM on 11/04/2009

One's looks are superficia­l. It has nothing to do with one's psyche.

[tksmith]

05:34 PM on 11/04/2009

http://www­.poemhunte­r.com/poem­/richard-c­ory/

Such "advantage­s" can work against one in these situations­.

[Esmeralda Williamson-Noble]

05:55 PM on 02/12/2010

My son was indeed HANDSOME, and the picture you've seen is not even one where he looks his best. When his sister was taking that picture, 10 days before he died, he was determined not to blink, as a dare. Sometime, he and our cat would have an I-am-going­-to-blink-­first competitio­n.
Andrew was wonderful.
Andrew's mummy
www.foreve­rinvictus.­com

[cheeriogirl]

10:06 PM on 11/03/2009

I offer my thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathies to this young man's family and friends.

[moonflowerjewelry]

09:09 PM on 11/03/2009

Many blessings and prayers to this young man's family...

[WoodyCPM]

08:44 PM on 11/03/2009

How terribly sad for his family and friends. It seems almost impossible that others would not have noticed something wrong. What a terribly sad end for one with so much promise.

[dlo2]

08:42 PM on 11/03/2009

This is tragic and my prayers are with his family and friends. I have been through this personally (child of the same age in college) and it resounded like an earthquake in our lives when it happened. I can't think of anything as painful as losing one's beloved child.

[Esmeralda Williamson-Noble]

05:57 PM on 02/12/2010

We are both survivors then. Thank you for your prayers. Would you like to tell me more about your child?
www.foreve­rinvictus.­com

[austin4]

08:17 PM on 11/03/2009

Like the saying goes: "Pressure will bu st a pipe".

[RJII]

08:08 PM on 11/03/2009

i hold some of my fondest memories sitting in Bobst Library with a cup of coffee and textbook. The library is superior in resources. Anyway, after eight years of Bush decline, I wish I could just rewind to those better days. I really feel for this young man's suffering. The pain of living was just too unbearable­. My condolence­s to his family and friends.

[wilinot]

07:27 PM on 11/03/2009

My heart breaks for him, and especially his family. What can be so terrible, so hard to overcome? I think the most important thing young people could learn would be that bad times happen, but then you solve it and have even happier times. No heart break is forever.

[HamletsMill]

09:24 PM on 11/03/2009

"No heart break is forever."

Indeed. My prayers are with him and his family and friends.

[ohnoyoudidnot!]

04:45 AM on 11/04/2009

Depression is more than heartbreak and it never goes away. Many times, not even with profession­al help and medication­.