This was certainly a tragic event. However, its rarity is what makes it
so newsworthy. I wonder how many students have killed themselves instead.
Even those who succeed in earning the Ph.D. often seem to bear scars. One
of my friends developed severe colitis while finishing her Ph.D. My (first)
ex-husband earned his Ph.D. in physiological psychology after failing his
Ph.D. orals the first time. He was suicidal for years. I kept telling him
that going into a Ph.D. track program in the field of physiological psychology
with a BA in physical education and finally succeeding showed that he
really had a lot on the ball. Others in the field had their BAs and MAs in
chemistry, biology, etc. It's not so surprising that they did well, He
still berated himself for years over failing the first time. Geez!