A Massachusetts Institute of Technology junior was found dead Tuesday morning in his Walcott Hall dormitory room, becoming the second student in less than two years to die of substance abuse at the prestigious Cambridge university.
Richard Guy, 22, of Mission Viejo, Calif., died of asphyxiation as a result of nitrous oxide poisoning, according to the Middlesex County medical examiner. Guy was inhaling the substance, commonly known as laughing gas, out of a plastic bag.
MIT is treating Guy's death as an accident, according to university spokesman Kenneth Campbell. It is believed that Guy, who was alone at the time of his death, inhaled the gas to get high.
Campbell said the substance is not controlled on the MIT campus, however, it is illegal when used as an inhalant.
According to Campbell, members of the university's medical department have been available on campus to help students deal with the tragedy. However, MIT does not start classes until September 7, and some students have not yet moved back on campus. With the exception of two rooms in Guy's dorm, the building remains open for students to reside and move in to.
"This is a tragic, unfortunate reminder that some actions can have dire consequences," Campbell said.
As far as drug education is concerned, Campbell said all MIT students have some type of drug awareness program when they enter into the university, which includes a section on inhalants.
MIT students said last night the incident has put a damper on Rush Week, the freshman orientation period that is normally a lively time on campus.
"The atmosphere is pretty dark," said Sarah Kim, a junior who lives on the first floor of Guy's building. Guy's room was on the fifth floor.
Kim was watching a movie with friends on her floor Tuesday night when they heard sirens and saw police cars pull up outside. Within an hour, a hall tutor had passed on news of the incident and gathered students in a study lounge to talk. A school psychiatrist also stopped by to provide counseling.
"It seems like something like this happens every year and I'd just like the rest if the year to go well," said Adam Mullett, a sophomore who also lives on the first floor of Guy's dorm. "If it happens this early, it makes you wonder how is the rest of the year going to go? It's kind of depressing."
Mullett said the dorm's fifth floor has a reputation for "crazy" behavior and news of drug abuse there doesn't surprise him. However, both he and Kim said they don't see drugs as a chronic problem on campus, adding they wouldn't blame the building staff or the university for Guy's death.
"He should have known better," Kim said. "It's like Scott Krueger. In both cases it was just irresponsibility."
Krueger, an 18-year-old MIT freshman, died in the fall of 1997 after a night of drinking at an MIT fraternity.
This is not the first time MIT has dealt with the use of nitrous oxide as an inhalant. In 1984 an MIT student died of nitrous oxide poisoning, and five students were expelled for using the gas. In 1988, an MIT fraternity was found using nitrous oxide at a pledge party. In 1991 at MIT's Lincoln Lab, two electricians were found dead in their truck after inhaling the gas for recreational use.
Nitrous oxide is a clear, colorless, slightly sweet gas which is used most commonly as an anesthetic, typically by dentists. It can also be used as a propellant for foods such as whipped cream and as an auto racing injection to boost horsepower. It can be purchased in small cartridges called "whippets," available at restaurant supply stores.
A person who is experiencing a nitrous oxide high may have difficulty maintaining balance, slurred speech, immunity to stimulants such as loud noises and pain, and lapse into unconsciousness.
Carl Johnson, President of the Compressed Gas Association, a Virginia-based company which oversees safety standards for industrial and medical gases, said the use of nitrous oxide as a recreational drug has been a consistent problem for the past five to six years.
Johnson feels that the gas will not become a controlled substance, but his organization has been working with many states, including Ohio, New York and Michigan to help pass laws to promote the safe use of nitrous oxide. Johnson does not know about the organization's affiliation with Massachusetts.
"This is an unfortunate incident," Johnson said. "We're doing all we can to prevent people from doing these things."
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