A Middlebury College senior, Lia Smith, a transgender woman and former member of the diving team, died by suicide in October after reporting difficulty feeling accepted on campus. The death has reignited questions about campus climate, LGBTQ+ support services, and mental-health outreach at selective liberal-arts institutions. Middlebury officials and student groups are facing pressure to detail what counseling, inclusion training and reporting channels were available and whether gaps in those systems contributed to Smith’s isolation. The case underscores ongoing challenges colleges face in serving gender-diverse students while balancing privacy, athletics policies and Title IX processes. Higher-education leaders should expect renewed scrutiny from trustees, accreditors and donors over campus care models and crisis-response protocols. Institutions may need to reexamine outreach, retention and safety measures for vulnerable student populations and report concrete steps to improve access to mental-health care and inclusive supports.