<p>monydad,</p>
<p>Cornell’s “normal” suicide rate is a result of averaging their data over decades to make such a claim. The school has spent enormously in recent years on “improvements” to make it difficult to commit suicide in public spaces. Just as enormous is the student outreach… for which they should be commended. They fully realize it’s an issue and are very visibly addressing it. Most notably the nets they recently installed over the ravines.</p>
<p>As for your take on technology in Ithaca and UpstateNY, you must have been too busy to notice… walking in the woods, smelling the trees and being awestruck by their beauty. ;-)</p>
<p>Cornell University, Rensselear Polytechnic, University of Rochester, etc… made upstateNY a technical powerhouse. Major corporations in upstateNY were sucking up graduates and these schools were spitting out local incubator start-ups left and right. I started going up there in 1986 and personally witnessed at least a decade of it. Unfortunately, it’s been a horrific downward slide for the past two decades, with tens upon tens upon tens of thousands of jobs lost. Whole communities destroyed economically.</p>
<p>So… You remember from nearly 40 years ago not only what companies recruited at Cornell and even colleges you didn’t attend (RPI), but you remember they didn’t recruit from Stevens… in particular? Wow! I only wish my memory was that good from my own college experiences 3 decades ago. </p>
<p>But even though I suspect your memory, it makes sense. Stevens is a much smaller school and the outreach is much more personal. Also, I doubt a Midwest firm would be very successful recruiting from metroNY. They couldn’t possibly offer the diversity, opportunity, salary, or experience available here. They would have no choice but to gild their offer to lure people “away from the light.” 
</p>
<p>The metroNY region is the most densely populated area in the country. There are more opportunities here in a couple of miles than there are in entire States. I am certain the vast majority of Steven’s graduates wind up in the region, but that’s not because they have no other choice. I highly suspect the same would be true if you looked at Columbia, NYU, Cooper Union, etc… But that wouldn’t make them institutions with limited regional appeal. ;-)</p>
<p>This isn’t Ithaca, where the nearest career opportunity is more than 200 miles away and the only option it to be remotely recruited. This is the holy land. This is where people want to come. Many major national and international corporations have a significant presence here. This makes all those companies “locals” to Stevens. There are internships, CoOps and job opportunities in these organizations locally, nationally, and internationally every year.</p>
<p>This same claim about recruitment days is echoed by every other large school unfortunate enough to be hundreds of miles away from population centers. They all claim to offer the holy grail of employment because of the recruitment… because that’s all they have. There is no local tech economy to absorb them. </p>
<p>The real truth is these are all outstanding universities. None of these kids are going jobless. None of them are pigeon-holed in any region. That’s just your opinion/ego/pride talking. The data doesn’t back you up in the least. All the salaries, opportunities for growth, and opportunities to live wherever they want…anywhere in the world… are equally impressive. The data from payscale supports this. The data provided by these institutions themselves support this.</p>