Rohan Vakharia Suicide in a Carnegie Mellon University Stairwell

I knew a student from Bangladesh  who committed suicide by jumping off the bridge in Pittsburgh. He was distraught because he family was counting on him to finish his MBA. But, he wasn't making the grades to continue and he was not going to be able to finish. One of his professors could have helped I do believe, however. The professor was the last person he called before he killed himself.  I will always remember that student. He was such a nice person.

This is one of the most off-point pieces of reporting I've ever come across. A very nice kid met a very unfortunate end. To use this article to speculate about drug use and a broadly about "econocide" is unprofessional. This is only punctuated by your incorrect grammatical usage: did you even bother to read your last sentence before you published this? e.g, "While THERE is no indication" not "their." You have a lot of work to do to get better. This is a very poor (bordering on pathetic) report of this topic.

I agree completely with AC. This is a disgusting article which uses Rohan's tragic death simply to give some emotional "validity" to your beliefs regarding "econocide." Well let me inform you, I went to high school with Rohan, we were good friends, and I knew him as well as anyone. You have absolutely no evidence to support it, yet you accuse him of possibly using drugs, resulting in his "fatal tumble," which is as disgusting and grotesque a depiction of someone's death as any I've ever heard. Furthermore, you even admit to knowing absolutely nothing regarding the circumstances of his death, and still include all this useless information about "econocide" and giving the false impression that financial concerns were what led to his suicide. I reiterate that I'm disgusted with your article, as quite frankly that's the only word I can think of that adequately describes how I feel regarding the poor writing, baseless speculation, and absolute disregard you show towards a very good kid's life and tragic death.

I agree completely with AC. This is a disgusting article which uses Rohan's tragic death simply to give some emotional "validity" to your beliefs regarding "econocide." Well let me inform you, I went to high school with Rohan, we were good friends, and I knew him as well as anyone. You have absolutely no evidence to support it, yet you accuse him of possibly using drugs, resulting in his "fatal tumble," which is as disgusting and grotesque a depiction of someone's death as any I've ever heard. Furthermore, you even admit to knowing absolutely nothing regarding the circumstances of his death, and still include all this useless information about "econocide" and giving the false impression that financial concerns were what led to his suicide. I reiterate that I'm disgusted with your article, as quite frankly that's the only word I can think of that adequately describes how I feel regarding the poor writing, baseless speculation, and absolute disregard you show towards a very good kid's life and tragic death.

I was horrified to find this article as one of the first hits of Rohan's name on Google. You know nothing about him, and the way you write about him makes me sick. I only hope that no one in his family stumbles upon this piece of trash. If I were you I would remove any trace that this article ever existed. Please have a heart and do so.

This was a disgusting, unprofessional, poorly-written piece of shit.

Dear God!  I join everybody else in their disgust and disbelief.  Is there not a way to flag this???This really makes a mockery out of a tragedy.  You basically just read one article about it and spit out some nonsense.  Don't quit your day job, scumbag.

Tina, this is disgusting.  You should be ashamed.You are clearly a poor writer, but somehow have even poorer integrity.

I completely agree with the comments above. Let those who knew and cared about Rohan and his family ponder what may have led to this tragedy and those who don't have a clue stay away from pointless and damaging speculation. His parents loved him deeply and *do not* struggle financially; he was an enormously driven academic; no one was less likely to be involved with drugs. He has a younger brother at a very vulnerable age. All of them are suffering terribly because of this. Imagine how *you* would feel if you read this about your son or brother based on absolutely no evidence. It's outrageous to use a terrible tragedy to make a point about a phenomenon entirely unrelated to this individual.

I agree. This article is a piece of shit! I know the family and I can tell you your speculations are all wrong. His family is wealthy and he was extremely bright.

Tina, you have participated in spreading horrible rumors and character assassination. Worse still, it is cast upon someone who tragically cannot even defend his good name. What is this theory you propose about Rohan's death because he was concerned about finding employment?!? He wasn't even a graduating senior.  Please, please, please... I beg you to retract your comments. The Vakharia family happens to be one of the kindest, most loving families. Give them the respect that they deserve in their hour of suffering.

Anyone who suspects that Rohan took drugs just didn't know him at all. Really!  The mere suggestion is absurd.     Rohan was a good friend of our son since middle school years at Oak Hall School.  I cannot imagine a nicer, more gifted young man than Rohan.  He was truly remarkable in his incredibly gifted intelligence and in his love for his family and friends.  Those of us who knew him are shocked, grieved and baffled by his death.  We do not understand what drove Rohan to take such a drastic and permanent action.  Perhaps it was the loneliness of being so far away from the family that he loved, or maybe it was just the intense pressure he put on himself because of being so talented.  Whatever  was the motivation, we know it was certainly not because of money or drugs.  One thing that we do know is that the world is diminished because of his loss and our hearts go out to his family.  The world has lost a bright beacon of the future.

I am a CMU alumni. Tina Kells, it is a shame that you feel justified in posting this article. You are horribly misinformed. As for the other CMU students and alumni who have posted on this site, please help to get that garbage graffiti removed off the walls in the stairway of Wean Hall. Why I never did anything about it while I was a student I have no clue. I now feel ashamed. It without a doubt served as a catalyst for this devastating event. Do whatever you can to make sure that writing is done away with. All CMU students know exactly what I am talking about. 

I ,too, knew Rohan and am going to miss him dearly.  He was kind, humble, funny, bright and just an absolute pleasure to be around.  He always spoke lovingly about his parents and his younger brother.  They were a very close family and always supported one another.  Rohan was very driven, and seemed to enjoy the challenges of learning.  He never boasted about his achievements and always downplayed his successes.  My thoughts are with his family and I hope that they can find some peace knowing that he touched so many lives in his short time on Earth.  I am truly going to miss seeing his big smile.

we will miss rohan a lot.

I am praying that his soul is better now and continuing his journey, my thoughts are with him and the rest of CMU family

Tina, this is simply horrible journalism. I didn't have the honor of knowing Rohan personally, but from what I've gleaned using credible sources is that he was remarkably smart, very gentle, and a truly special person. For you to use this platform to purport your claims is simply grotesque. Bottom line: There's no correlation here, so please don't stretch for your own gain. We're lucky to have had a spirit like Rohan for as long as possible. RIP, my friend.

Tina, this is simply horrible journalism. I didn't have the honor of knowing Rohan personally, but from what I've gleaned using credible sources is that he was remarkably smart, very gentle, and a truly special person. For you to use this platform to purport your claims is simply grotesque. Bottom line: There's no correlation here, so please don't stretch for your own gain. We're lucky to have had a spirit like Rohan for as long as possible. RIP, my friend.