Philip Gale suicide - report from MIT student newspaper _The Tech_
Ron Newman
The following article appeared in today's issue of the MIT
student newspaper _The Tech_, March 17, 1998, front page.
It is on the Web at
http://the-tech.mit.edu/V118/N13/adeath.13n.html
-----------
Gale Falls to Death from Green Building Classroom
By Zareena Hussain
Contributing Editor
Philip C. Gale '98 fell to his death from a classroom on the
fifteenth floor of the Green Building Friday evening in an
apparent suicide.
Gale, a music major and member of the Phi Sigma Kappa
fraternity, returned to MITin 1996 to complete his studies after
taking a leave of absence from the Institute. Originally from
Charlotte N.C., Gale first came to MIT four years ago at the age
of 15, but left to serve as Director of Research and Development
for Earthlink Network, an internet service provider, from March
1995 until March 1996. Gale lived off-campus in an apartment in
Central Square after his return to the Institute.
Police informed immediately
An anonymous male contacted the Campus Police at 7:27 p.m.
Friday to report the sound of breaking glass followed by a scream
and a person falling outside Building 54, said Chief of Police Anne
P. Glavin.
A wooden chair was reportedly thrown out of the window of a
classroom on the fifteenth floor on the side of the building facing
the Charles River. Shortly thereafter, Gale fell to his death from
the broken window, Glavin said. Gale was pronounced dead
upon arrival at Massachusetts General Hospital after being
transported from the scene by Cambridge Rescue. Multiple
agencies reported to the scene, including the Boston and
Cambridge Police, Glavin said.
Whether the death was a suicide has yet to be determined,
Glavin said. The Middlesex County Medical Examiner said that
the death was caused by "multiple traumatic injuries."
While there was no suicide note left in the classroom, "some
information was left in the room," Glavin said. She would not
comment on the nature of that information.
Gale had been preparing to take an Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Program position in the Hyperinstruments/Opera of
the Future group at the Media Lab, said Professor of Music and
Media Tod E. Machover, Gale's UROPadviser.
Gale had taken Machover's course in Musical Aesthetics and
Media Technology (MAS.825J) during the fall term. He designed
graphical music game designed for children that "was absolutely
unique and remarkable" as his final project in the course,
Machover said.
Machover, recognizing the quality of Gale's final project, had
invited Gale to continue work on the project as a UROPstudent
after the class was over.
"As seemed typical of Phil, he went his own way, and after three
months of not hearing from him, he got back to me just last week
with another - completely different - idea for a UROPproject.
Phil proposed to develop a way of analyzing extremely diverse
sounds - everything from crowd noises to nature sounds to
machine clanging, specifically from the Central Square area - so
that they could be organized and associated according to
rhythmic loudness, and coloristic similarities," Machover said.
"Phil was going to start work on the project right away, and I
have no doubt that it would have yielded spectacular and
unexpected results."
Gale also impressed coworkers at Earthlink. "He was without a
doubt the most intelligent guy I ever met. He was brilliant in
nearly every respect," said Brian Murphy, who worked in the
same division as Gale at Earthlink.
"He could have done anything he wanted in life, there just aren't
that many people like him," Murphy said. "I was utterly shocked
when I heard about the suicide. I would have never considered
him to be suicidal."
"He was just a really nice guy. I couldn't think of a single bad
thing about him if I'd tried," Murphy said.
While at Earthlink, Gale designed Total Access, the company's
internet registration software, said Kirsten Kappos,
vice-president of corporate communications at Earthlink.
Many students witness suicide
Many students called to report the incident to the police, Glavin
said.
"By the end, there were a couple of dozen people around," said
Brian T. Sniffen '00, who witnessed the fall from his room in East
Campus.
Reaction to the fall was varied, ranging from extreme illness to
something approaching levity.
"Personally, I fell into the physical illness category," Sniffen said.
"I will never forget that scream."
"Some people seemed to be taking it very lightly. They seemed to
be almost cheerful," Sniffen said. They "seemed not to really
understand all the implications."
Counseling services available
Students in need of counseling are encouraged to contact the
Office of Counseling and Support Services and the Mental Health
Department of MITMedical, said Kimberly G. McGlothin,
assistant dean for CSS.
"I would definitely encourage students who need to talk to
someone" to make use of these services, McGlothin said.
Counseling deans talk to students confidentially and help to take
care of academic concerns that might result from emotional
trauma, McGlothin said.
Other resources include Nightline, which is open from 7 p.m. to 7
a.m. at 253-3880, and the Medlink dormitory residents,
McGlothin said.
Dan McGuire contributed to the reporting of this story.
This story was published on March 17, 1998.
Volume 118, Number 13.
The story began on page 1 and jumped to page 15.
--------
The newspaper asks that all posted copies of the article include
this copyright notice:
This article originally appeared in The Tech, volume 118
number 13. It may be freely distributed electronically but cannot be
reprinted without the express written permission of The Tech.
Write to arc...@the-tech.mit.edu for additional details.
LilAlex742
Ron,
Just in case it needs to be said, please keep this stuff coming!
>The following article appeared in today's issue of the MIT
>student newspaper _The Tech_
LilAlex
Incredulity of our data and validity. This is our finest asset and gives us
more protection than any other single asset. If certain parties thought we
were real we would have infinitely more trouble
-- L. Ron Hubbard
LilAlex742
From an article that Ron posted:
>A wooden chair was reportedly thrown out of the window of a
>classroom on the fifteenth floor on the side of the building facing
>the Charles River. Shortly thereafter, Gale fell to his death from
>the broken window, Glavin said.
Ron, since MIT is your alma-mater, do you happen to know if this building had
roof access? And, how many stories is the roof above the fifteenth floor?
This is a morbid question--forgive me for asking it--but do you consider this
a logical spot for a planned suicide?
.>Whether the death was a suicide has yet to be determined,
Glad to hear it. My limited experience with suicides (a dozen, or so) is that
they are either very spontaneous or elaborately planned. I have a little
trouble with someone breaking a window with a chair, then deciding to follow it
out. Doesn't mean it didn't happen. It's just curious, especially when the
victim is so near the center of a company that claims to be worth hundreds of
millions of dollars.
Thanks for covering this.
Nico Garcia
In article <199803180130...@ladder03.news.aol.com>,
>>classroom on the fifteenth floor on the side of the building facing
>>the Charles River. Shortly thereafter, Gale fell to his death from
>>the broken window, Glavin said.
>
>roof access? And, how many stories is the roof above the fifteenth floor?
>This is a morbid question--forgive me for asking it--but do you consider this
>a logical spot for a planned suicide?
It's very logical, and not unheard of. Roof access is locked but there
are several illicit and licit ways to get up there. The Green building
is the tallest building on campus, and 15 stories is enough to be certain
of death, as opposed to the top of one of the other buildings such as
a dormitory.
>.>Whether the death was a suicide has yet to be determined,
>
>Glad to hear it. My limited experience with suicides (a dozen, or so) is that
>they are either very spontaneous or elaborately planned. I have a little
>trouble with someone breaking a window with a chair, then deciding to follow it
>out. Doesn't mean it didn't happen. It's just curious, especially when the
>victim is so near the center of a company that claims to be worth hundreds of
>millions of dollars.
He was no longer working for Earthlink: he was going to class at MIT. The UROP
program, mentioned in the article, is only available for active
undergraduates.
A lot of MIT's youngest students have a lot of difficulty: they're brilliant,
they're being academically stressed, they're dealing with puberty, they're
younger than their peers in class, etc. These students do need some extra
support, and the MIT community does *try* to provide it.
I mourn the boy's death, and wonder how his family will deal with this.
Had this young man left scientology? Was he in contact with his family?
Anyone know?
--
Nico Garcia
ra...@tiac.net
<PGP is obviously a good idea: look at who objects to it.>
Ron Newman
When I last looked a few months ago, Philip Gale had two web sites --
one at MIT, the other at Earthlink. There wasn't much on either of
them, other than a personal resume.
The MIT web site is no longer there. I don't know if Philip removed it
before his death, or if MIT took it down afterwards.
The Earthlink site is still up, at home.earthlink.net/~pcg/ .
Here is his resume. Note that he did all of this before the
age of 17. What a terrible loss to all of us.
-------------------
pg Philip C. Gale
_________________________________________________________________
Resume: Computer Engineer
History
-93.05: Attended grade school.
93.06-94.05: Was R&D Programmer, then R&D Lead Programmer, for Bill
Good Marketing, Inc. in Salt Lake City, UT. Was primary coder and
internal designer of a large OO Windows database marketing system for
real estate brokers called "Real Advantage". Program, called "Real
Advantage", was developed with Borland C++ 4.0, OWL, with Borland
Paradox Engine for database I/O. Also contructed a generic system for
other markets called "Baseline" using Microsoft Visual C++, MFC, and
Paradox.
94.08-95.03: Attended MIT as freshman.
94.12-95.02: Contracted to remotely design and develope "TotalAccess
for Windows 3.1", an automated Internet registration and configuration
program, for Sky Dayton at EarthLink Network, Inc. in Los Angeles, CA.
95.03-96.03: Moved to Hollywood and became Director of R&D for
EarthLink Network, Inc. Performed a wide range of activities,
including: primary design, development, maintenance, and management of
TotalAccess for Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Macintosh platforms;
protocol design, partial development, and management for registration
server; development of Postgres95-radius for replacement of radius
(dialup login authorization); system administration and script
writing, particularly for web and login services; various html, cgi,
and java projects.
Current: Attending MIT, major unknown.
Skills & Knowledge
Languages: C, C++, x86 assembly, pascal, basic, scheme, perl, shell,
java, sql, html, applescript.
Platforms: dos/windows, windows nt, macOS, linux, sunos, solaris,
irix.
General: object-orientation (design and programming), database
concepts (relational, sql), TCP/IP networking (protocols, programming,
configuration, security, moderate routing), solid programming skills,
rapid learning ability.
_________________________________________________________________
Philip C. Gale
Ron Newman
In article <6enl7j$m...@news-central.tiac.net>, ra...@shell1.tiac.net (Nico
Garcia) wrote:
> I mourn the boy's death, and wonder how his family will deal with this.
> Had this young man left scientology? Was he in contact with his family?
> Anyone know?
Monday's Harvard Crimson article, which I posted yesterday, said:
Gale entered MIT at age 15 and subsequently took three semesters off
to work in computer science. He worked for the Earthlink Network, an
Internet access provider, during his time off, according to Eric Hu,
Gales Phi Sigma Kappa brother and former roommate.
[snip]
Gale was originally from Charlotte, N.C. His family practiced
Scientology, according to Hu, but Gale gave up the religion shortly
after his return to MIT last year, Hu said.
Full text of the Crimson article is at:
http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/ams-cgi/makearticle.pl?id=365A02C3EA
I have yet to see an obituary or paid death notice in either the
Boston Globe or Boston Herald. In fact, the Boston Globe hasn't
written about this death at all, other than a one-paragraph item
last Saturday, before MIT had released the student's name:
New England News Briefs - Boston Globe 3/14/98 page B3
MIT student falls to his death
A 19-year-old Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore
apparently leaped to his death last night from a classroom building
on the Cambridge campus. The student, whose name was not released,
jumped at about 7:30 p.m. from a 15th floor window of Building 54,
which houses the department of earth, atmospheric, and planetary
sciences, said Robert Sales, assistant director of the MIT news
office. Sales said the student, who was not from Massachusetts,
was dead on arrival at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The recent stabbing death of a Harvard student at Revere Beach,
also an apparent suicide, has gotten *much* more news coverage than this
MIT student's death.
--
Ron Newman rne...@thecia.net
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/
LilAlex742
What a bright guy. Very sad.
Ron Newman
In article <199803180130...@ladder03.news.aol.com>, lilal...@aol.com
says...
>>A wooden chair was reportedly thrown out of the window of a
>>classroom on the fifteenth floor on the side of the building facing
>>the Charles River. Shortly thereafter, Gale fell to his death from
>>the broken window, Glavin said.
>
>Ron, since MIT is your alma-mater, do you happen to know if this building had
>roof access?
I visited the Green Building (MIT Building 54) this afternoon. The doors to the
roof are locked, with signs announcing a $500 fine for anyone trespassing on the
roof. MIT students are known for lockpicking skills, but I doubt that
a potential suicide would go to that trouble.
>And, how many stories is the roof above the fifteenth floor?
The building is eighteen stories tall. There are no classrooms on the
18th floor, only offices and labs for the Department of Earth and
Planetary Sciences.. I believe the same is true for the 16th and 17th floors.
So the 15th floor is the highest floor where he would have been able
to enter an unoccupied, open room with a window.
The classroom that Philip Gale fell from, Room 54-1510, is now locked
(with a push-button combination lock), and a sign announces that the
classroom is temporarily closed, listing other rooms for the classes
that would normally meet there.
All the windows in this building are sealed -- they do not open.
There is a small, makeshift memorial outside the building, near
the spot where he hit the ground. Students have left flowers and
short poems there. Someone taped a Star Market matchbook and a
box of Camel cigarettes to the post there.
>This is a morbid question--forgive me for asking it--but do you consider this
>a logical spot for a planned suicide?
I'm afraid so. Building 54 is the only tall building on the main campus--
everything else is 4 to 7 stories high. I can't say for certain that other
students have committed suicide here, but I believe they have. Sadly,
it is a very "logical spot for a planned suicide".
--
Ron Newman (MIT '79) rne...@thecia.net
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/
Jeffrey L. Bell
>>A wooden chair was reportedly thrown out of the window of a
>>classroom on the fifteenth floor on the side of the building facing
>>the Charles River. Shortly thereafter, Gale fell to his death from
>>the broken window, Glavin said.
>
>roof access? And, how many stories is the roof above the fifteenth floor?
Building 54 (a.k.a the Green Building) is the tallest in that section
of campus at 18 floors. It gets a bit of a boost in altitude because
the first floor is about 30 feet above ground level.
From around town it's visible as the rectangular building with a golf
ball on top. Here's a picture of the building:
http://fishwrap.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/1993/green_bldg_vu_meter/green_bldg_vu_meter.html
I've been to the roof. Roof access is not impossible if you ask
around for methods, particularly if you don't care about setting off
the alarms.
The Tech (student newspaper) has a write up with his freshman picture at:
http://the-tech.mit.edu/Issue/V118/N13/
and they will probably have another update on Friday.
The Green Building is the site of various pranks. When I was there,
they used to drop large pumpkins off the top at midnight on halloween.
The one thing that I can't imagine is breaking the window with a chair.
You'd have to get in a pretty good swing to do it.
-Jeff Bell ('85)
Tilman Hausherr
>While at Earthlink, Gale designed Total Access, the company's
>internet registration software, said Kirsten Kappos,
>vice-president of corporate communications at Earthlink.
Weird - this is yet another variation about the TotalAccess story. I
thought that TotalAccess was a software that included browser, e-mail,
newsreader etc. The registration software is claimed to have been
developped by Expansion Software. (www.expansion.com)
(Another variation of the story are that it was developped by Sky Dayton
himself, another one is that TotalAccess was actually Spry's
"Internet-in-a-box")
While this is rather unimportant, I nevertheless wonder why four
different people / companies claim credit for that software, but none of
them says they did it in a team. Something is weird there. Either some
are lying, or they are arrogant because they won't admit they worked
with others.
So what's the true story on TotalAccess?