Cause of death of Sidney Pacific resident remains undetermined
Institute: ongoing investigation is standard procedure; Reif: ‘moments of sadness’ draw community together
The cause of the death of Hadi Kasab, the 23-year-old graduate student who was found dead in his room last Thursday evening, had not yet been released at press time Monday.
“The MIT Police have determined that there is no threat to the community,” MIT said last week. A spokeswoman for the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office said Monday that an investigation was still under way.
Kasab lived in the Sidney Pacific graduate residence and was a master’s degree candidate in MIT’s Computation for Design and Optimization program. He was a native of Saida, Lebanon, according to the MIT press release.
“In this painful time, our hearts go out to Mr. Kasab’s family and friends,” President L. Rafael Reif wrote in an email to the MIT community last Friday. “Moments of sadness like this one reveal the very meaning of community. We share sadness together as surely as we celebrate our successes. When we draw together, we gain strength from each other. As we absorb the news of this loss, I hope we will all take time to reach out to those around us.”
Reif also wrote that plans to commemorate Kasab would be announced on the MIT News website.
Reif’s email reminded students who feel affected that they can turn to their faculty advisors, housemasters, graduate resident tutors, or resident advisors for support. Students can also contact MIT’s mental health services at 617-253-2916 or the graduate education dean’s office at 617-253-4860. Information about these and other resources is available at together.mit.edu.