on the scale of sadness/anger that we used in improv class tonight to express emotion. That’s a 9 out of 10.
From the Washington Post:
At Va. Tech, Near Silence For a Student’s Anguished Cry
I don’t really know how, after the horrific happenings on campus in April 2007, that the university could merely send police to the home of a reportedly suicidal senior, police ask if he’s OK, the police are satisfied with his answer of “I’m fine,” and then the university do nothing else.
Seriously, what else do you think a suicidal/depressed person is going to say to law enforcement officers?
Mental health on college campuses is a complicated issue–no doubt. There are privacy issues (most students are legally adults), and it’s complicated when the student has withdrawn from classes and peers. It’s so easy to just be forgotten and not noticed, especially if living far enough from family and or off campus where there are no RAs or roommates. But maybe it’s time to lighten up the privacy policy, especially if parents are helping pay the bills or listed as a contact. Even my own college’s counseling services had its faults.
While it seems Daniel Kim had few, if any, friends on campus, he had online friends. Or people whom at least were concerned enough to contact the campus and give a warning. Good for them because it’s never easy to say something. People are told relentless to tell someone when it appears another person is endanger. They did the right thing, and it seems like the university really dropped the ball.
I think this blog says it best:
I have been pretty outspoken about the culpability of Virginia Tech administration in the mass murder last year. And now they’ve screwed up again. A student has killed himself.
What is Vice President, Larry Hincker’s response?
“This is an adult who lives off campus, so it’s under the police jurisdiction.”
Great answer. You uncaring, thoughtless fuck.
Yes, he was off campus. No, he wasn’t in any database. Yes, he’s an adult. He’s still a student. And now he’s dead. What if someone else from the university and intervened in the same way that you’d hope they do for reports of 19-year-old suicidal sophomore still living in a campus dorm?
I’m beginning particularly critical of Virginia Tech because after April 2007, they should never have left a call of concern go answered with a mere visit by police.
The only mention of Dan Kim is the column from Marc Fisher linked above and a story from The Roanoke Times giving the cause of death. Media ethics guide reporters away from writing about suicides. So it’s not suprising to see few other hits. (Unless it involves a public or high-profile person, or takes place in a public area, suicides are a no-no.) I do hope, however, that there are stories reporting how and why there is a big potential failure within Virginia Tech’s counseling or crisis center services.
Blogged with Flock
