Slow on the uptake

[vernard]

So I'm sitting here in my office at GA Tech waiting on my workout partner to make it in for our regularly scheduled 7am workout (its 6:35am). I decide to read the local campus newspaper, the Technique for those of you that have never heard of it. And on the front page in the lead position is the an article entitled "Tech self-reports NCAA violations". I'm thinking, well at least we had the integrity to rat ourselves out. The next article below that was "Five thousanda turn out for Six Flags". Its nice to know that a university so hell bent on turning out the best engineers and scientists that the world will ever see can still take some time to offer cheap tickets to one of the worst theme parks in the country. *sigh* So I start scanning the rest of the page to see the little article that invariably make it there but are of little or no consequence.

That's when it hits me: "Clough: tuition may have to rise" and "Student commits suicide in Brown".

I literally shuddered. "Student commits suicide in Brown" . The entire article itself is 2 inches. Two fucking inches .
I did some digging and there was a post about it in the georgiatech here

Its just sickens me that something as significant as a student losing their life on campus (mind you, she was a freshman and had only been at GA Tech a month ) would get such a cursory mention. I guess its better than it being buried on page 12 or some such but it still feels wrong. Oh don't get me wrong, I know the standard reasons why you do it. Protection of privacy for the student and her family, lack of solid facts at the time of the story publication, etc. But it still feels so insignificant. And I can't help but think that the size of the article represents the amount of concern that Tech has. Its just an article. Its just a newspaper. Its just a brief nod

But it was also a life. And its gone. I didn't know here at all but I still feel diminished by her death.

Elesha Spencer died Wednesday evening at around 6pm from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Rest in peace.

Comments

[jerseygirl1.livejournal.com]

*shudders*

IMHO, Tech really needs to pay better attention to the care of its students.

Moment of silence

[sharrainchains.livejournal.com]

I am sorry. Sorry that someone so young reached the point that she had to take her life - and that the school apparently cared so little that it could happen AND that it could be reported with such scant coverage. A more prominent place and a memorial-type layout would have been possible - and would have acknowledged the magnitude of the event, without violating anyone's privacy. I hope the school views her death as a call to provide better support for entering students - and to bring to their attention any resources that are already available.

[webwench.livejournal.com]

Often newspapers are reluctant to give much print to a suicide case. The general feeling is that giving attention to a carried-out suicide makes committing suicide more attractive as a way to get attention/publicity. This could be a factor, I dunno.

[mieper.livejournal.com]

as part of my new teacher training, i attended a workshop on suicide prevention. one of the things they really stressed was the difference between a contemplated suicide, an attempted suicide, and a completed suicide.

they said there are lots of kids who are depressed, especially at high-stress times of the year (right before prom, before holidays (lots of family time), just before finals, etc.), but most don't actually plan their way out. most of the kids who do come up with whole plans for suicide are not doing it because they can't take it anymore; they do it because they think other people will be better off without them. it's very, very seldom a spontaneous thing; major depression usually lasts for years prior to their making plans.

symptoms include drastic changes in behavior, usually negative: plummeting grades, poor attendence, extreme introvertedness, giving away stuff, saying goodbye in a strange way, etc. kids sometimes look for a sympathetic ear, but usually not (they don't think people will understand and/or are afraid of the social stigma). these may not be so visible if you don't know the person very well.

they told us that if we suspect that a kid has some serious problems, we're to confront them in private, and ask whether they've thought of killing themselves. the kid will either laugh it off ("ha.. of course not!"), give you a funny look ("where'd you get an idea like that?!"), or say "yes." the first two you can deal with and feel better immediately. the last response warrants immediate attention.