The Justice

Lisa Frank/the Justice

The beginning and end of the school year are some of the hardest times in a college student's life. These are the times when life becomes overwhelming and it becomes more difficult to cope. Last May, we were reminded of this when a Brandeis student died by suicide.

Unfortunately, this campus failed to understand its obligation in suicide prevention to address students at higher risk for viewing suicide as a viable alternative to problem solving.

Specifically, how suicide is portrayed in the media can put our student body at a higher risk for suicide. According to the American Association of Suicidology, "The media can play a powerful role in educating the public about suicide prevention. Stories about suicide can inform readers and viewers and highlight opportunities to prevent suicide, but they also have the potential to do harm." In fact, appropriate media coverage has been shown to decrease suicide rates. I would have liked to see campus publications offer information on suicide and resources for students.

Brandeis campus forces made us aware of a resource on campus-the Psychological Counseling Center-but many students had already gone back to their hometowns for the summer. This left us with no place to turn for help.

But across the United States, these resources do exist.

In 2000, the U.S. Surgeon General declared suicide a serious public health problem. It's time the Brandeis community started treating it as such. Suicide prevention begins with education. Everyone is responsible for knowing the risk factors and warning signs of suicide and how to identify them in another person. Risk factors may be thought of as leading to or being associated with suicide; that is, people "possessing" the risk factor are at greater potential for suicidal behavior. Some of the most common risk factors are a history of trauma or abuse; mental and certain personality disorders; substance abuse; relational or social loss; a lack of social support and sense of isolation; and the stigma associated with help-seeking behavior.

Often, after a death by suicide, people say they never saw it coming. In the vast majority of cases, the warning signs just went unrecognized because so many of us don't know what to look for. Any time someone talks about suicide, it should be taken seriously. It's not manipulative or attention-seeking; it is a cry for help. The topic of suicide is taboo in our society and therefore rarely discussed in a healthy manner.

Continued...

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