New York
It is always perplexing when a young person who seems to have so much to live for commits suicide.
This is certainly the case with New York University student Pranay Angara, whose body was found in his dormitory room on November 9. He suffocated himself with a plastic bag after leaving a note to his family and pushing a dresser in front of the door. Why he did it is not known, but it is difficult to fathom why a middle-class 19-year-old from upper New York state who was in his second year at one of the nation's top universities was pushed over the edge.
His death came only 18 months after NYU freshman Allan Hunter, 18, jumped from the top of his apartment building in downtown Manhattan after a fight with his ex-girlfriend. Eight students from the university have now committed suicide since 2003.
Suicide is the second biggest cause of death among college students in the US, with about 1,100 taking their own lives every year, according to the Jet Foundation, which works to prevent student suicides.
What puts NYU in the spotlight is the number of incidents in recent years and the fact it is the university which high school students most want to attend.
Its unique urban setting, surrounded by some of Manhattan's hippest neighbourhoods, is a big part of its charm, but perhaps also what can make it a nightmare.