President Charles M. Vest on Thursday sent the following
letter to the MIT community regarding the Julia Carpenter case. The letter
was sent by email to student, academic and administrative leaders and
was distributed to other members of the MIT community via the News Office
web site.
To Members of the MIT Community:
As reported in the news, the father of Julie Carpenter, an MIT sophomore
who died in April 2001 after ingesting cyanide, has filed a multimillion
dollar lawsuit against MIT and several individuals at MIT, including
a number of people from our student support services.
Julie's death was a tragedy that has deeply affected her family, her
friends, and many others here at MIT. The allegations in the complaint
do not give an accurate or complete picture of the events that preceded
Julie's death, or of the concern and the care that was extended to her.
In the coming months, you are likely to see things said about MIT
in the media, and may wonder why we don't clarify or comment on these
issues in a public manner. While we certainly want people to understand
our perspective, the place for MIT to respond to such allegations is
in court, and not in the media. MIT will therefore present its defenses,
and those of the members of the MIT community who were working to help
Julie, in court.
In the meantime, I hope that you will support those in our community
who have been touched most closely by this tragedy and its aftermath,
and that you will continue to care for all those with whom you work,
study and live here at MIT.
Charles M. Vest
