MIT, relatives settle suit over student suicide in '01
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has settled a lawsuit filed by the parents of Julie Carpenter , a sophomore who committed suicide in 2001 by ingesting cyanide.
The terms of the settlement, which the court was notified of yesterday, were not disclosed. Tim and Kay Carpenter filed the suit, seeking $20 million, in 2003.
The Carpenters accused MIT of causing Julie's death by mishandling her reports that a male student was stalking her. The student slept outside her room, broke into her computer, and downloaded intimate video of her and her boyfriend that he showed to classmates, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also said MIT knew she had become suicidal and did not respond adequately.
MIT eventually forced the student to leave the dorm amid the harassment allegations , but she killed herself a few days after she found out he would be allowed to reapply for residency in the building the following semester.
In a joint statement with the Carpenters, MIT Chancellor Phillip L. Clay said the university has done a great deal in the past five years to revise its disciplinary process, improve mental health services, and create training programs for staff members.
Carpenter's death was one of a string of suicides that raised questions about whether MIT was equipped to respond adequately to students' mental illness.
``We are pleased that, since Julie's death, MIT has made these changes," the Carpenters said in the statement.
MIT officials would not say what conclusions a special investigator reached after looking into whether the university mishandled Carpenter's case.
Neither the Carpenters nor their lawyer could be reached for comment yesterday.
Ken Arnold , the father of Julie Carpenter's boyfriend, yesterday criticized the Carpenters for filing the lawsuit.
``I believe wholeheartedly that Julie's death was caused on that particular day by a failure of MIT's systems," said Arnold, adding that there were other causes as well. ``But I think MIT has understood that for a while, and we could have gotten more accomplished without litigation."
It was the second such settlement this year for MIT. In April, the university settled with the family of Elizabeth Shin , who died from burns she received in a fire in her dorm room in 2000, after a series of suicide threats.
But MIT and the family ultimately agreed that Shin's death was likely a ``tragic accident."
Marcella Bombardieri can be reached at bombardieri@ globe.com. 
