Matthew Nehring, freshman of East Campus, dies

Matthew L. Nehring ’18, a resident of East Campus and a native of Colorado, died Saturday night.

“I have some terrible news to share about one of our students, Matthew Nehring, a freshman on 1W,” housemaster Robert C. Miller ’95 wrote in an email to East Campus residents on Sunday. “Last night, in the Stata Center, Matthew apparently took his own life.”

A dorm meeting was held Sunday afternoon in East Campus with representatives from MIT Mental Health and MIT Student Support Services, as well as chaplains, the East Campus graduate resident tutors, and Chancellor Cynthia A. Barnhart PhD ’88.

“In this moment of tragedy, we extend heartfelt sympathies to Matthew’s family and friends,” President L. Rafael Reif wrote in an email to campus. “I would also like us to take time to focus on one another as a community. There is no greater source of support than the sympathy and kindness of the people we know best.”

Reif and Miller encouraged students to reach out if they needed help or guidance.

Several students had already responded to the news by sending emails to the East Campus community, offering condolences and welcoming their peers into their rooms to pray and talk about depression.

Reif’s email announced a community gathering to be held on Tuesday, March 3, at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Lobby of Building 10 to remember Nehring, who was a staff member of The Tech’s business department.

Members of the MIT community who feel affected by the deaths can access MIT student support resources and Mental Health Services at http://together.mit.edu, or via phone at 617-253-2916 during the day and 617-253-4481 during nights and weekends.

This article was last updated at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 1.