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By Nancy Xie
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Mar. 25, 2009 |
No one remembers, or wants to remember, the suicide that disrupted Lowell seven years ago. Did the memory of yellow and blue suicide-prevention ribbons really pale with each successive graduating class? Four weeks prior to the end of the 2002 school year, then junior Thomas Hoo shot himself. A wrestling champion and captain of the football team, he had appeared to be an unlikely victim. If anything, Hoo’s death shows that high-achieving teens can also be at risk for suicide.
In a school with intense academic rigor, or in any school, we as a community should seek to better balance the students’ academic pursuits with their emotional needs.
Students need to be informed of available resources. Besides school-wide activities on stress-management and health, we should invite speakers from local suicide prevention organizations such as Crisis Line. “Students should become educated about the signs of suicide,” Wellness Center behavioral health counselor Kin Leung said. “Suicide doesn’t happen out of the blue; it develops over time.”
Furthermore, suicide can happen to teenagers who appear to lead a normal life on the surface. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not rank suicide as the “third leading cause of death among 15 to 24 year-olds” without a reason. Competitive and high-achieving students make up about one-third of all teenage suicides.
To promote awareness about teenage suicide and depression, the school can also increase education among the faculty and staff. Basic changes can begin in the classroom through training teachers to become more sensitive to outward signs of depression. “When teachers cultivate better relationships with their students through being available and open to talk, and not just about grades, students feel more supported,” Wellness Center community health outreach worker Max Anders said. “Suicide usually happens when people feel that no one’s there for them; we should reinforce that someone is always there to listen.”
Currently, teachers and staff can use the Wellness Referral to direct students of concern to the Wellness Center. However, if faculty or staff members see evidence that a student is at-risk for suicide, they are required by law to file a Mandatory Report notifying the authorities since they have a responsibility to protect students who cannot protect themselves. This 1974 law was enacted since even well-meaning people can hesitate to bring in official help.
Even though teachers and the Wellness Center provide help for students who go to search out assistance, some students may be reluctant to seek help due to peer pressure. “The biggest issue that Lowell students face is stress since it’s hard to maintain their level of academic excellence,” Wellness Center Coordinator Jen Krasner said. “It’s harder for them to speak up about their issues and not feel like that’s stigmatized.”
Besides the Wellness staff, students can find ways to assist peers, such as a friendly conversation. However, if a friend realizes that the severity or length of a peer’s depression necessitates a health counselor’s intervention, he or she can anonymously refer the student to the Wellness Center. The Wellness Center can increase outreach to the student population to help those coping with depression in an effort to prevent suicide. “They’re motivated to succeed academically,” Krasner said. “But I want students to take care of themselves as well, not just their grades.”
We, whether as family, friends, classmates or educators, can help students in need by trying to be more aware of those around us and their actions. The complexity of some situations calls for patience and sensitivity, for the tragedy of seven years ago should not be repeated within the memory of yellow and blue ribbons.
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