US

PA College Professor Walks Out of Class and Leaps to His Death

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say a Philadelphia college professor killed himself by diving over a second-floor railing inside a campus building during class.

The Philadelphia Daily News reports ( http://bit.ly/pSOzfC ) that the instructor was Rudolf Alexandrov, an adjunct professor who taught math at Chestnut Hill College.

The newspaper says the 71-year-old professor walked out of his class Wednesday, returned briefly, yelled and then ran to a second-floor railing outside the classroom. Police say campus security was summoned and Alexandrov dived over the railing and hit the floor, some 20 to 30 feet below.

Lt. Robert Zaffino, a Philadelphia detective, says Alexandrov had had a history of depression and had been having suicidal thoughts.

The private four-year college did not cancel classes but made counselors available to students and others.

Comments (120)

1 2 3
  • BigKevin
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:18pm

    Meanwhile across town a bunch of Blacks open fire on a public bus…..What a city.

    Report Post » BigKevin  
    • NOBALONEY
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:28pm

      Maybe they should test the water?

      Report Post » NOBALONEY  
    • yellowdog
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 3:27pm

      Nice gratuitous introduction of race. I would be interested to know if you had a similar reaction to a white Glenn Beck fan’s ambushing and killing three Pittsburgh cops back in 2009? Thought not.

      Report Post »  
    • Secret Squirrel
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 4:02pm

      .
      I guess he didn’t calculate the odds of survival.
      Maybe he was running the numbers on gravity.

      Of course, If I taught in Philadelphia, I’d kill myself too.

      Report Post » Secret Squirrel  
    • USAMama
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 4:20pm

      Yellowdog:

      Back that up with facts. Show that guy was a Beck fan, and yes it was one guy.

      Report Post » USAMama  
    • Pujols
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 4:36pm

      He was a Lib and found out His life was a lie. What a country.

      Report Post »  
    • JPRAustin
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 4:38pm

      I was upset about Akers leaving Philly too, but this reaction was a bit much.

      Obviously, this poor man had major problems…RIP

      Report Post » JPRAustin  
    • J-Law
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 5:11pm

      @Yellowdog While I agree that the fact that the thugs were black should have been left out of BigKevin’s comment, your response is even more ridiculous. Even if you hadn’t completely invented the irrelevant “fact” that the guy was a Glenn Beck fan, there is a huge difference between one guy who has mental problems opening fire in 2009, and the kind of general thuggery we see every single day in Killadelphia and Pittsburgh.

      Report Post »  
    • LarryofArabia
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 5:11pm

      The city of Brotherly shove.

      Thanks Barry.

      Report Post »  
    • roostercogburn
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 5:50pm

      What about the large groups of “blacks” going after the “white folks” at the Wisconsin State Fair, if these folks are not charged with a hate crime it’s time to remove all hate crime laws from the books. What pushed the clowns over the edge, this has been rampant all across the country the last couple years, yet the lame stream media refused to cover it, I suppose if they didn’t cover it, it didn’t happen..

      Report Post » roostercogburn  
    • vtxphantom
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 7:41pm

      He was dying for a DissapointMint.

      Report Post »  
    • avenger
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 7:49pm

      I can understand it.tired of worthless crap brain washing the dummies..

      Report Post »  
    • The Third Archon
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 8:47pm

      “white Glenn Beck fan’s ambushing and killing three Pittsburgh cops back in 2009″
      Wait, when did THIS happen? I didn’t hear anything about THIS. Seems like something the mainstream media would have picked up on if they’re “SO liberal” as they’re purported to be…

      Report Post » The Third Archon  
    • The Third Archon
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 8:49pm

      Oh wow, it’s true.

      http://www.nowpublic.com/world/pittsburgh-cop-killer-was-glenn-beck-fan

      Wait–I thought the Democrats were supposed to be the ones for white supremacy…

      Report Post » The Third Archon  
    • Alvin691
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 10:11pm

      @yellowdog – FAIL, he was an Alex Jones fan, and anti-semetic. NOT a Beck fan.

      Report Post »  
    • NeoCrusader
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 12:16am

      I live in Milwaukee and am still in shock over what happened at the State Fair. Simply NUTS! One of the thugs was quoted as saying “Jus‘ havin’ some fun”.

      Report Post »  
    • Napkin
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:03am

      Cleanup on aisle 3…..

      Report Post »  
    • Caniac Steve
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 10:57am

      a lot of crap going on there but it will all calm down AFTER Hockey Season starts !!

      Report Post » Caniac Steve  
  • Steel Awesome
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:16pm

    At 71 years, he lived a long and fruitful life. Carousel finally caught up with him.

    Report Post » Steel Awesome  
    • John 1776
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 4:02pm

      Which field of math? Maybe Economics. That would explain it.

      Report Post » John 1776  
    • Knucklenose
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 2:02am

      I didn’t know how relentless Sandman could be! Kudos Steel…LOL!

      Report Post »  
  • chips1
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:07pm

    He was a math professor? It just doesn’t add up.

    Report Post »  
  • nysparkie
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:02pm

    Allahu Akbar, an Islamic exclamation called the Takbir in Arabic which means “God is the Greatest”

    Report Post » nysparkie  
  • jeff.cooper
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:01pm

    Senator Robert Casey will introduce a bill that will require colleges and universities to electrify and increase their rail heights by 2 feet. A mandatory suicide councilor will be stationed in every campus building across the country; paid for by new provisions found in Obamacare, of course. This compassionate act take place under the premise that we all must do our part to prevent stressed students and faculty members from ending their lives prematurely because government needs every taxpayer it can get.

    Report Post » jeff.cooper  
  • I SPY
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:54pm

    The future looks bleak for the liberal party.

    Report Post » I SPY  
  • Attention2Detail
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:48pm

    If I had to deal with Philadelphia every day, I would be tempted to do the same thing. Maybe the fact that the college didn’t care enough about him to cancel classes for even a day had something to do with it.

    Report Post » Attention2Detail  
    • One Man One Voice
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 5:35pm

      Or perhaps they should have done the decent thing and offered to help him with his depression since they obviously knew he had suffered from it.

      Report Post »  
  • Son_of_Liberty
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:46pm

    “Never do today what you can do tomorrow. Something may occur to make you regret your premature action. ” Aaron Burr

    3%

    Report Post » Son_of_Liberty  
  • Psychosis
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:42pm

    he was upset because our politicians failed their math classes

    Report Post » Psychosis  
    • derbys_mom
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 3:08pm

      our politicians took math classes?

      Report Post »  
    • AlansTigg
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 3:49pm

      didn’t know they knew any math

      Report Post » AlansTigg  
    • Blue Collar Conservative
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:38am

      If he was any good at his job, he did it because his life savings just went by,by. Or he did the math on BO’s spending and realized what it means for his grandchildren.

      Report Post »  
  • Gypsy123
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:42pm

    It is beyond me why these people can’t get help before they do this

    Report Post » Gypsy123  
    • ontherocks
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:22pm

      Sometimes depressed people don’t seek help because they are afraid of being “labeled”. Once that sort of information becomes part of medical records, it is possible for it to make it onto the internet, where it can be accessed by insurance companies, the government, present and future employers,…

      When these entities have this sort of information, they can make judgments that can affect your future. Every depressed person is not a candidate for suicide nor “going postal”, but someone sitting at a computer screen – deciding some part of your future – will not know this. And they may make a decision to “be on the safe side” by denying you insurance coverage, denying you a job, putting you on a “watch list”,…

      I know this seems a bit paranoid, but am I wrong? It may be part of the “velcro effect” of depression or it may be true.

      Report Post »  
    • Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 3:59pm

      I honestly doubt that‘s what goes through a suicidal person’s mind unless they’re from the Tea Party.

      Report Post » Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American  
  • Whostolemypig
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:38pm

    He was attempting to understand Obama math and flipped out.

    Report Post »  
  • Secessionista
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:37pm

    Sorry to hear about this. People suffering with depression and or manic depressive disorder are horribly tormented. Just living life is terribly painful for them, and they do not really wish to die anymore than you or I. Since most people cannot even envision what such a severe mental pain state is like, imagine instead being in so much physical pain, for so long, that you would rather die. Dying wasn’t a sweet release for him, anymore than it was for the world trade center jumpers – he was hurting as much as they were, and he just could not bare it any longer – he had to act. Most people who commit suicide live for years and even decades struggling with their condition, and we as a society have not found an answer or a cure for them yet. Sad.

    Report Post » Secessionista  
    • getalong
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:01pm

      Many people who are diagnosed with mental illness should first be checked for disorders in their Hypothalumus gland and other endrocrine glands. My brother who was a healthy, down-to-earth man who would give the shirt off his back to help someone, suddenly became mentally ill. They immediately diagnosed him with bi-polar and put him on drugs. The drugs did not work and he killed himself. A year later, it was discovered through another sibling that my family has an hereditary condition called MEN1. It can cause tumors to form on endocrine glands and can cause signs of mental illness since it attacks the very centers that control sleep, thought, and feelings. If he had been given a complete endocrine exam (CT, MRI), we may have been able to save him. Mental illness is too quickly diagnosed when there are other reasons for it.

      Report Post »  
    • AMERICA4EVER
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:03pm

      It’s just like any other disease, there is so much money made off peoples mental and physical problems that there is no incentive to find or release a cure. My doctor told me that if aspirin was invented today it would cost $50.00 apiece. I know this sounds crazy, but look at all the money that has been put into diseases like MD, and cancer, and yet no cures or preventatives. The last medical break through after the polio vaccine was the vaccine for HPV. And therein lies the reason healthcare costs are out of control. It is all greed and again the public pays the price.

      Report Post »  
  • AlansTigg
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:34pm

    very sad, hope his family and the students are all handling it ok

    Report Post » AlansTigg  
  • gooeylewie
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:30pm

    I blame the TEA party for comparing the main stream media‘s delusional attempt to discredit a common sense balanced budget with 1984’s “2+2=5″.

    he just couldn’t take the illogical bad mathematics of Keynesian economics.

    Report Post »  
  • CommonSenseis Missing
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:30pm

    Perhaps this will become a trend around our college campuses

    Report Post »  
    • concealled9mms
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:49pm

      wow a few dozen doing this at berkley would be a good start. and no i do not feel sorry for cowards

      Report Post »  
    • Bigliardi
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:56pm

      With those bearded pony tailed professors of the inane, insignificant and unimportant, flying off every ledge…Pray that it would start at Harvard, move to Yale and Princeton, and work itself Westward, ending up at Berkeley by noon of the first day….

      Report Post »  
    • thomasdaddy
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 4:28pm

      CommonSenseis Missing…………Thanks for the warning!

      Report Post » thomasdaddy  
  • dscon
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:29pm

    maybe he lost a bunch o money in the market on recently.

    Report Post »  
    • vennoye
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:35pm

      Nope, Saudi must have put in more money………market is up 114 right now………..he should have waited!!

      Report Post » vennoye  
  • Ethereal
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:28pm

    Something similar happened with a calculaus prof at my college (University of Wisconsin Parkside) fairly recently. He commited suicide by diving off a third level all the way down to the first level floor. He was my prof for calc and was a real nice guy but obviously had some personal problems.

    Report Post » Ethereal  
    • concealled9mms
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:50pm

      it was because his union dues went up

      Report Post »  
    • Lamarr01
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:01pm

      I took calculus and physics during a summer session. When attempting to analyse the flight of a bird, I accidently hit my head on my Volkswagon.

      Caution: Calculus kills.

      Gravity: It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law!

      Acceleration_Gravity = 32ft/sec^2
      Assume a Level = 25 ft.
      The calculus professor fell 2 levels.
      The professor was 71 years old.
      How long was the professor’s flight?

      Report Post » Lamarr01  
  • An AmericanMom
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:27pm

    It‘s still Bush’s fault…….right????

    Report Post » An AmericanMom  
    • freeweever
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:36pm

      Yes indeed it is Bush’s fault, joke, but also we need to look further into “balcony control”. Some people should not be able to have a balcony, and if they do they should be required to obtain permits for said balcony, and the proper screening to surround the balcony as well. Then we should also make “balcony protection” a planned agenda and a bill so it becomes the right of every born person to recieve and have the civil rights to obtain thru taxes their own balcony, and have it be totally permitted and safe so we all can have social and “Balkany” justice. Balkanizers!

      Report Post » freeweever  
    • Firebrand
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:46pm

      @free
      =o)

      Report Post » Firebrand  
    • Dkoonz
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:24pm

      Need to create a Super Commision to study this first.

      Report Post » Dkoonz  
    • AlansTigg
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 3:47pm

      that’s awesome Free!

      Report Post » AlansTigg  
  • Locked
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:27pm

    Terrible choice. His students, friends, and family must be traumatized :-/ Hope he’s at peace now.

    Report Post »  
  • Dkoonz
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:24pm

    The Tea Party done it! Some how they will get blamed for this i’m sure of it.

    Report Post » Dkoonz  
  • heavyduty
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:23pm

    That’s what UNIONS and OBAMA will do to you. Either drive you to drinking or suicide.

    Report Post »  
    • saranda
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 2:30pm

      What a small minded terrible person you are to take advantage of a suicide caused by mental illness to make your stupid comments.

      Report Post »  
  • mossbrain
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:20pm

    He was the school diving coach.

    Report Post » mossbrain  
    • BuckOfama
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:33pm

      LMFAO, that is funny….. But much like a muslim suicide bomb instructor he can only show you once.

      Report Post »  
    • I.Gaspar
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:37pm

      That’s cold.
      But funny.

      Report Post »  
    • Dustyluv
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:40pm

      They took off points for the landing.

      Report Post »  
  • SacredHonor1776
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:17pm

    Is this just a sign of the times? Will we be seeing more random suicides?

    Didn’t stuff like this happen during hte Great Depression?

    Report Post »  
  • Firebrand
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:16pm

    There are better ways to discuss the physics of gravity.

    Report Post » Firebrand  
  • BurntHills
    Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:14pm

    5‘ll get ya 10 that he had escaped some sort of communist country and couldn’t handle this obama nightmare of Communism all over again… HERE.

    Report Post » BurntHills  
    • kcinco
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:43pm

      you took the words right outta my mouth

      Report Post » kcinco  
    • loriann12
      Posted on August 5, 2011 at 1:45pm

      The name did sound Russian, didn’t it? Rudolf Alexandrov.

      Report Post »  
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