Listening is medicine given to potential suicides
r.. m v n.iL - . . . , . j :e the According to the stale Health Department. 130
By Mary Kay Roth
Good God, don't jump
A boy sat on a ledge
An old man who had fainted was revived
And everyone agreed it would be a miracle indeed if
the boy survived
"Save the life of my child,"
Cried the desperate mother.
Paul Simon
Not all the "children" or young adults survive.
Suicide was the second leading kilter of U.S.
college students in 1974, according to the National
Institute of Mental Health. Only accidents claimed'
more students' lives.
State Health statistics show-that teenage suicides
have tripled in the last ten years. In 1973, 17 suicides
by young adults (between the ages of 15 and 24)
. were reported in Nebraska.
"Few people who have reached the age of 21 have
not thought about suicide," said Dr. Carmen Grant,
coordinator of Outreach, a UNL counseling service.
"Almost everyone has wondered what it would be
like if they weren't living."
Yet not everyone attempts suicide.
"I wish I could jive you ten easy steps to tell who
is a real risk," she said, "but I can't."
Something wrong
If a close friend does threaten suicide, Grant
adivsed it is important to stop and listen. Even if
individuals are only "crying wolf," she continued,
they are hinting that something is wrong.
Many people are so wrapped up in tasks-work and
school-they have no time to develop human
relationships and fail to notice the suicide danger
signs in others, Grant said.
When in doubt of whether or not to refer a friend
to professionals, Grant said, "err on the side of
Caution.""
"If you're afraid your friend will be angry or
upset," she stated, "remember they also might be
dead."
Immediacy
Immediacy also is important in determining the
seriousness nf a threatened suicide. It depends if the
individual is only depressed, Grant explained, or
already prepared to commit the act.
If the threat is serious, professional help should be
encouraged. .
The Outreach Center, a UNL walk-in or phone-in
crisis service, has seen recent increases in suicidal
tendencies among students, Grant said.
During the 1973 fall semester, 6.6 per cent of
Outreach's clients showed suicidal tendencies, she
said. That figure dropped to 5.4 in the 1974 spring
semester, but was up to 6.7 per cent last semester.
An Outreach worker's response to a suicide threat
is different for every individual and situation, Grant
said, but it is important for the persoT to talk it out.
It is a myth that everyone should ignore a suicide
threat, she continued, because if no one responds to
the threat more dramatic actions may be taken.
Take seriously
"Token" or "toy" suicides should also be taken
seriously. Grant warned that a suicide gesture, such as
a "slight overdose," can be miscalculated and become
a "real statistic."
Reasons for suicides are unique in each situation,
Grant said, but speculated that alienation may be a
major factor.
"Television has been a double-edged sword for
many," she explained, "because it is a dynamic
educational tool, but not a very good substitute for
personal contact."
Very few people actually wart to die, Grant
stressed, and the suicide threat indicates they are
calling for help.
"In fact, I've never worked with a person whose
will to live did not exceed any will to die."
Greater potential
But certain types of people do tend to
demonstrate a greater potential for suicide, she
added.
Males are more likely to go through with the act,
Grant said, and often use more violent means.
Females tend to use milder methods of suicide such
as an overdose.
According to the stale Iieaiui Department, 130
Nebraska men committed suicide in 1973 compared
to 29 women.
"Females have more ready releases," Grant
explained, "because they feel freer to express pent-up
emotions."
Other comparatively "high risk" individuals are
those widowed or divorced, living alone, unhealthy or
shut off from communication with others.
The most common suicide time is early in the
morning between 4 and 7, Grant said.
Easy to give in
If a suicidal person is up this early, she explained,
everyone else is asleep.
"This is the time it is easy to give in and refuse to
face another day."
Dr. Herbert Howe, director of the UNL
Psychological Consultation Center, agreed.
"Most people aren't thinking suicide 8 to 5,"
Howe said.
Dr. Ken Hubble, director of the University Health
Center, pointed out other variables relating to
suicides.
Suicide rates are usually lower in war years,
Hubble said, such as World Wars I and II and the
Korean and Vietnam Wars.
"People have their minds on survival," he
explained, "rather than destruction."
During bad socio-economic times such as the
present, Hubble said, suicides increase.
Statistics do net realistically mirror the situation,
Hubble said, because many suicides are labeled
accidents.
One student who was ticketed for driving while
intoxicated later told Hubble he had been attempting
suicide.
If the student had succeeded,' Hubble said, the
death would have been listed as a traffic fatality, not
a suicide.
"Fleeting thoughts concerning death is part of a
normal process for people of any age," he said, "but
when a student becomes obsessed with that death
wish, it is time for concern."
EZ
doily nobroskon
Semester may be bankrupt
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Address: The Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34, 14th and R Sts.,
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The Daily Nebraskan is published by the Publications Committee on
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Copyright 1974, the Daily Nebraskan. Material may be reprinted
without permission if attributed to the Daily Nebraskan, excepting
material covered
Students who experience one or two "bad"
semesters may declare "academic bankruptcy,"
as a result of UNL Faculty Senate action
Tuesday.
The proposal was part of the senate Grading
Committee's recommendations presented at the
Feb. 1 1 senate meeting. The provision will allow
a semester's grades to be removed from
consideration in a student's cumulative grade
point average (CPA) upon his request.
However, the semester would still appear on
the student's transcript, with a slash through it,
and he would lose all credit hours for that
semester.
Whole semester
Stephen Hilliard, chairman of the committee,
said the requirement that all credit for a semester
be removed would mean few students would take
advantage of the provision.
Franklin Eldridge, president-elect of the
senate, recommended that the senate allow
students to declare bankruptcy on just a few
courses, but Hilliard insisted the committee's
intention was that the whole semester must be
given up.
Paul Olson, professor of English, said the plan
"will not benefit just the poor student."
"But it shows an element of tolerance on the
S3 Stanard's IGA
Jobs For
Summer
Promising
Informed sources report that
summer job opportunities for
college students "look good" this
year. National Parks, Dude
Ranches, Guest Resorts, Private
Camps, and other tourist areas
throughout the nation are now
seeking student applications.
Summer job placement coordi
nators at Opportunity Research
(SAP) report that despite national
economics tourist areas are
looking for a record season. Polls
indicate that people may not go
for the big purchases such as new
cars, new homes, furniture or
appliances, but most appear to be
planning for a big vacation.
A free booklet on student job
assistance may be obtained by
sending a self-addressed stamped
envelope to Opportunity Research,
Dept. SjO, 55 Flathead Dr.,
Kalispcll, MT 59901. Student job
seekers are urged to apply early!
daily nebraskan
part of the university, and for this reason I like
it, he said.
Gerald Bowker, director of Academic
Services, questioned the legality of removing
credits from a student's record once they are
earned, but the senate still passed the motion, by
a voice vote.
The senate also moved that the provision be
made effective before the end of the spring
semester.
Grading policy
In other action by the grading committee, a
motion that "grading policy in a course be stated
whenever possible, in written form," also passed
by a voice vote.
The senate also passed a resolution brought
forward by Olson that the senate "express strong
concern that the systems level administration not
reject Lincoln campus action by the senate,
Academic Planning Committee or central
administration without due notice and given
reason or without a public hearing of the Board
of Regents."
The resolution followed the mention in the
report of the Academic Planning Committee of
the recently-submitted updated five-year plan.
Olson said he thought the plan "tended to
bypass UNL."
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page 2
Wednesday, february 26, 1975
