Weinberg sophomore found dead in dorm room
Tuesday morning, Northwestern University released an official statement confirming the death of Weinberg sophomore Rebecca Quint. According to William Banis, Vice President for Student Affairs, Rebecca was found dead in her dorm room at Foster-Walker Complex late Monday night.
Residents of Foster-Walker reported Quint’s disappearance to a Community Assistant on Monday night, said Alan Cubbage, Vice President of University Relations. They expressed concern that Quint, who lived on the third floor of Foster-Walker West, House One, had not been seen since Saturday.
At around 11:30 p.m., a student employed by Residential Life conducted a room check and found Quint dead. University police responded immediately, and then contacted the Evanston Police Department. Her family has now been notified and is on their way, Cubbage said.
Commander Tom Guenther of the Evanston Police department was hesitant to give a definite statement as to the cause of death, but he was quick to emphasize that, “preliminarily” no foul play was indicated, and that there did not “appear to be any danger to the Northwestern community at large.” He went on to say that Evanston and University Police were working together on the investigation.
Later in the day, the Cook County Medical Examiner released the results of an autopsy, which confirmed the death as a suicide by asphyxiation. Quint was found in her room with a plastic bag over her head.
At around three o’clock on Tuesday morning, police were seen to remove a stretcher from Foster-Walker Complex. University officials, including Dean of Students Burgwell Howard and Area Coordinator Jason Hanson, were on hand but declined to make a statement.
Rebecca Quint, 19, was from Concord, Mass., and a former student at Concord Carlisle High School.
In an email, Dean Howard said that there was nothing to indicate that Quint was having difficulty at Northwestern.
“She appeared to have a close circle of friends, but did not appear to be engaged in major organizations,” Howard wrote. “She was a strong student and actively involved with her academics.”
When asked to comment on what effect this will have on the Northwestern community, Howard said: “We each have a duty to the other [members of our] community to look out for one another, to offer assistance, or to call upon the resources at the University (CAPS, Chaplains, Academic Advisors, Res. Life Staff, Student Affairs, Women’s Center etc) when things feel overwhelming.”
Staff members from Counseling and Psychological Services, University Residential Life and the University Chaplain’s office will be available at Foster-Walker at 8:30 p.m. tonight. CAPS also may be contacted at 1-2151 or 1-8100 after hours.
Thanks to commenter “urdumb” and “an honest mistake…” for pointing out our errors – the Dean of Students is Burgwell Howard and the police spokesperson is Commander Tom Guenther. The corrections have been made; NBN regrets the mistake.
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Sooo sadd.
L.L.
March 2, 2010 at 9:58 pm
This is a time to feel for the Rebecca but it allows us to reflect on the values of life. Let us hope Northwestern will unite after this unfortunate event.
Aaron
March 2, 2010 at 11:00 pm
I am extremely sad for Rebecca’s friends and loved ones, something I feel the entire campus can agree on, but I do think it is unfair and disrespectful to her family for NBN or any other publication to post exactly the circumstances that resulted in her death. The student body has a right to know how another student was injured or killed if it directly affects all of us, (i.e. accidental alcohol poisoning, robbery, sexual assault etc.) but to report private details of someone’s life is inappropriate, especially in occurrences as delicate as suicide. Of course we were all curious as to what happened, but unless we knew and cared for her in more than a vaguely sympathetic way after the fact, it is not in our right as relative strangers to know the intimate details. I hope in the future, if anything this terrible should happen again, Northwestern publications can respect a student’s right to privacy.
jane
March 3, 2010 at 12:06 am
I agree with jane, at least to an extent. I do think it was worth reporting that it was a suicide, if only to prompt students to think about what those around them might be going through and consider reaching out. Specifying the method of suicide, however, was completely unnecessary and in really poor taste. I will say though that the Daily’s use of a particularly callous quote from the ME’s office was even more egregious.
jane doe
March 3, 2010 at 12:16 am
This is very sad. I also agree with Jane Doe, very poor taste for you guys to publish the details of her suicide. It is important that students realize that at a competitive university such as northwestern we must be aware of the extreme stressors that are a result of such a challenging environment. We must be alert and watch out for one another. It is possible for one kind word or gesture to stop from one from taking their lives!
bb
March 3, 2010 at 12:55 am
Poor taste to this tragedy to give such intimate details of how the suicide took place. Prayers to her family and friends for this difficult time.
Darquin
March 3, 2010 at 1:21 am
I disagree. My father and one of my good friends committed suicide. The act is not shameful and neither were the details. Yes, the information is not necessary, but neither is a lot of the context for this story. There is nothing egregious about publishing the answer to a question many people had on their minds. Let’s focus on Rebecca’s life, not her death. This is just a news story.
Lane
March 3, 2010 at 1:22 am
“There is nothing egregious about publishing the answer to a question many people had on their minds.”
The question of what the general cause of death was, sure. But for anyone wondering how exactly she killed herself, I would say let them wonder; they don’t need the details. It’s not a matter of stigmatizing suicide as shameful. I’ll be honest – this partly bothers me for selfish reasons. I knew Rebecca, albeit not very well, and this news was upsetting enough without being provided a vivid mental image. And if it’s that upsetting to me, I can only imagine what it might be like to those who were closer to her and are already in enough pain.
jane doe
March 3, 2010 at 2:05 am
This is a story reporting someone’s death. This is not intended to be a controversial story asking for discussion, asking for your opinion. Publications usually establish a death policy and while I do not know if NBN has one or what theirs is, I know they have a right to publish the cause of her death. I don’t believe they made the decision to publish that it was a suicide lightly, and I think they did it as a way to inform students who would have eventually found the mode of death through other sources, whether it be another publication or a website like College ACB. Instead of debating the justness of this article, let’s take a moment to instead mourn a student whom I personally did not know but who will be missed by many. In all of these comments debating what is right and what is wrong, I think this is the right thing to do. Rest in peace, Rebecca Quint.
ab
March 3, 2010 at 2:54 am
My child is a sophomore at NU — and since he arrived on campus three high profile deaths of students. As a parent I am very worried about what kind of atmosphere exists at NU to result in such a statistic. I wonder how it compares to other similar schools.
Parent
March 3, 2010 at 1:31 pm
We are all heartbroken about this unfortunate event. Most of us, however, do not know the circumstances that led to it. I agree that we should honor Rebecca’s life, and that we have a duty to have an open discussion regarding suicide and depression. However, an NBN comment board likely isn’t the best place for such a discussion, nor are criticisms on a piece of journalism appropriate at this time. Let’s honor this tragedy, and, please, avoid the usual atmosphere that arises from internet comment boards. Our prayers go to Rebecca, her friends, and her family.
C
March 3, 2010 at 2:28 pm
@Parent, NU’s suicide rate is quite low compared to other schools (ex: MIT).
Let’s not jump to conclusions that it was solely the school atmosphere that contributed to her unfortunate death. For all we know, it could be a myriads of reasons.
L.H.
March 3, 2010 at 8:34 pm
@Parent: I agree with LH. I’m a sophomore in a very competitive major worrying about internships, GPAs, and classes in general, and my experiences have been fantastic at Northwestern.
Yes there have been three deaths in the past three years, and that is a tragedy for the community, but Northwestern’s atmosphere (at least for me) is one filled with cherished opportunities I would never get anywhere else.
That said, after last year’s disappearance and death, my parents asked me to send them an email every morning so that they could know I’m alright.
T.B.
March 4, 2010 at 10:30 am
“That said, after last year’s disappearance and death, my parents asked me to send them an email every morning so that they could know I’m alright.”
Really? Overprotective suburban parents and culture and we are wondering why kids can’t cope when they are out on their own for the first time.
J
March 4, 2010 at 11:58 am
“Really? Overprotective suburban parents and culture and we are wondering why kids can’t cope when they are out on their own for the first time.”
My thoughts exactly.
ht
March 4, 2010 at 5:53 pm