MIT student raised in Scientology commits suicide

[May 28, 1998]

"Alone in a 15th-floor classroom, MIT sophomore Philip C. Gale drew a physics formula on a blackboard showing what happens when a body falls from a great height. Then he slammed a chair through the classroom window and jumped more than 200 feet to his death" [Boston Herald, May 21, 1998]. Since Gale's death in March, many have questioned whether his suicide at 19 was attributable to his upbringing in Scientology. Gale had left Scientology, but years of Scientology schools, studies, and home-life must have been deeply ingrained. Gale attended Scientology's "elite" Delphi Academy boarding school in Oregon from age 8 to 14, enrolled at MIT at 15, and took time off at age 17 to work for Earthlink, an Internet company with Scientology links (recently bought by Sprint). Gale suffered from depression, but Scientology denounces psychiatry. Gale's mother, a high-ranking Scientology official, was a leader in Scientology's Citizen's Commission on Human Rights, an anti-psychiatry group. Psychiatrist Dr. Garder was quoted in the Herald saying "The lifetime risk of successfully completing suicide in individuals with recurrent depression is 15 percent." There is also the suggestion in Scientology that those who leave will commit suicide. A friend of Gale's said, "Leaving Scientology was a traumatic experience. He was brought up thinking it was the only way." The Herald reported that a University of Oregon [Conway, Siegelman] study showed, "Former Scientologists had the highest rates of persistent fear, sleeplessness, suicidal and self-destructive tendencies, violent outbursts, hallucinations and delusions, compared to ex-members of other religious groups." It is not insignificant that Gale chose to end his life on March 13th, as the birthday of founder L. Ron Hubbard a revered Scientology holiday.