“Satto was always super gentle, very kind, and clearly extremely smart.”
Jones said he learned of Tonegawa’s death when he saw several friends’ statuses about the death on Facebook.
“One of the statuses said, ‘RIP Satto,’ and I thought, ‘That couldn’t be right,’” he said.
“He was such a happy-go-lucky, awesome guy. He was very kind and sincere.” Jones added.
An exceptional pianist and a cellist, Tonegawa was selected to perform at Carnegie Hall while in high school. He was the recipient of Milton’s Science Prize, which is awarded to students who have demonstrated “enthusiasm as well as outstanding scientific ability” in physics, chemistry, and biology.
He was one of 24 in a class of 180 students to graduate cum laude from Milton Academy.
Tonegawa is the second student in just two months to die at MIT. In September, sophomore Nicolas Del Castillo died in an apparent suicide, just three days before classes began.
According to a 2000 report in The Tech, MIT’s suicide rate among undergraduates was well above the national average. More recent data were not available.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention showed that the national average in 2008 was 11.84 suicides per year for every 100,000 people. Comparatively, the MIT undergraduate suicide rate from 1996 to 2000 was 18.1 per year for 100,000 students.
Paul J. Barreira, director of behavioral health and academic counseling for University Health Services, said the rate at Harvard is fewer than 5 per year for 100,000 students.
Barreira added that Harvard has created new freshman workshops to introduce students to a variety of mental health resources available on campus. Harvard also conducts depression screenings in the dining halls every fall.
“Besides giving away free J.P. Licks gift cards, there are three things we aim to achieve,” Barreira said. “To reduce stigma in talking about depression and anxiety, to raise awareness of the symptoms, and to find students who are depressed and have not been treated.”
—Staff writer Jane Seo can be reached at janeseo@college.harvard.edu.