MIT student Richard A. Guy, Jr. died in his dormitory from asphyxiation by nitrous oxide inhalation on August 31, 1999. His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against MIT in August 2002, alleging that, although Richard was not blameless, the school’s lack of dormitory supervision and poor coordination among health services were the proximate causes of his death. Both sides settled the suit out of court in June 2005, establishing the Rick Guy Fund to provide a minimum of 10 years of funding for at least five incoming freshmen to attend pre-orientation programs.