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NYU Student's Suicide Note Found
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 4, 2009
Modified Nov 4, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 4, 2009
Modified Nov 4, 2009
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Allegedly the NYPD was investigating Andrew Williamson-Noble's death at NYU's Bobst Library early yesterday morning as a possible homicide, until they discovered a suicide note in his dorm room. While his final words should remain private, the Daily News has apparently done some digging into his personal life.
The student (a major in East Asian studies, and fluent in Chinese) had texted a friend at 2 a.m. yesterday to meet him on 2nd Avenue for french fries, but the friend was sleeping. His tendency to be up late was something Williamson-Noble had written about previously on his Facebook page, saying, "I wish I had more friends who were on the same sleep cycle as me. There's a considerable loneliness that comes from being awake when few others are. One feels both that one owns the world, and that despite this triumph, has no one to share it with."
Despite also writing about "depressing thoughts which had been haunting me," friends and family are shocked—the friend he had texted, saying, "It's very surprising. He was a happy guy." His mother told the paper, "I have no idea how this happened and why. I wish he was here with us and we could hug him."
While the library stacks are supposed to close around 1 a.m., the NYU Local got word that "the elevators were neither locked nor shut off, and that — to their knowledge — the crime scene is also not monitored by security cameras. For what it’s worth, our source says that these security oversights are something they expect the University will be promptly investigating." Now the elevators will be shut off at 1 a.m.
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Andrew Williamson-Noble
bobst library
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NYU
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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