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Cornell is NOT a Suicide School!
Proud of it regardless!
The month of March proved to be a very interesting one for my alma mater, Cornell University. On the positive side of things, the men’s basketball team made history with it’s performance in the NCAA tournament. On the negative side, the media ran with the sensational journalism about Cornell being a suicide school. Seeing that I’ve been on a positive kick lately, I’ve tried to focus on things going well in my life including the performance of my school’s sports teams. I’ve had people approach me telling me how proud I must be to see my basketball team not get trounced out of the tournament by 20-30 points after the first game. I’ve had a fair share of laughs and I’ve been able to reconnect with people I haven’t spoken to since college because of the excitement around March Madness. But for each happy moment I’ve had regarding my school, I’ve had an equally unpleasant moment because someone approached me talking about suicides.
For years, Cornell has been called a suicide school. During my senior year of high school, people often got wide-eyed when I mentioned attending there for college. People told me to be careful in Ithaca, NY because the stress would be so incredibly crazy that I might jump off a bridge like the other students. I looked at those people with a side-eye then the same way I’ve been looking at all the people that have been approaching me about the recent suicides. Since the start of the 2009-2010 school year, there have been 6 confirmed suicides on campus. Most of us have read about them on CNN, USA Today, or the New York Times website. When I first heard about the 2 suicides in March, I got concerned. Oddly enough, my concern was with how I would handle questions from all the people who would approach me as the Cornell delegate to explain why kids are jumping off bridges and if it was like that when I was on campus.
I’m here to tell everybody that it was not like that when I went there. Cornell isn’t a school where people run around jumping off bridges, slitting their wrists, overdosing on pills, and finding other creative ways to end their existence. Is it an academically challenging institution? Yes. Is it in an isolated town/city in Upstate NY? Yes. Does the weather get gloomy during the winter months because of the location? Yes. Do people fail out? Yes. Do people party hard? Yes. Do some people not party at all? Yes. Quite honestly, you could ask me a thousand logical and predictable questions and 99% of them won’t deviate from the obvious answer. Will you get dehydrated if you don’t drink water? Yes. Duh. It doesn’t take a high S.A.T score to figure that out.
What makes Cornell different, similar to any other renowned institution, is that the students there performed at an above-average level in high school in terms of their classes, involvement in activities, and standardized test scores. I’d even go as far as saying that the average student that graduates from Cornell is probably a bit more ambitious and focused with regard to what they want to accomplish for themselves. And just like anywhere else, you get people who take it to the extreme and stress themselves out because of personal and family pressure. You also get people who come into school already having mental health issues that weren’t adequately addressed before they got there. And as I have fielded questions from people about why Cornell students are killing themselves publicly (This is the only reason these incidents are really making the news), I’m yet to hear someone ask what was going on with these students before they got there and how come nobody caught the symptoms before they left home?
As Americans, I think we have issues with discussing mental health in general. I don’t even think it’s something that we consider when we’re interacting with people on a daily basis. If we see someone that appears to be down, we often label them as a buzzkill or joy thief while not considering that their behavior may be a sign of something more serious. Most of us don’t even want to be asked what’s wrong when it comes to our own potential mental health issues because we fear the judgment that we’ll receive from our peers, friends, and family. On top of all of this, you can’t force anybody to seek or accept help for their issues. This is true of the students at Cornell as well as the thousands of other people that commit suicide during any calendar year. It just so happens that in Ithaca, the events happen publicly as opposed to in one’s room, home, or another private location.
I say all of this not to say that my school is better, but that we could all be better in how we perceive and discuss mental health issues. I honestly think a lot of these incidents could be avoided, but we’re too busy being absorbed in our own lives and what we want to see and believe to really make a difference in the lives of those who truly need our help. That’s not a Cornell thing. That’s a real world thing. Of course I can’t speak for everybody, but I think you know truth when you hear it or read it.
I don’t have any particular questions for today. Feel free to agree, disagree, or share thoughts on anything that you think is relevant to the topic. I know you got something in mind.
No. I’m not depressed. I’m just tired of you asking the wrong questions,
34 Responses to “Cornell is NOT a Suicide School!”
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Slim I apologize for asking you today.. I think I was asking more because well I dont know. But as someone that worked in mental health and now works in higher ed at an Ivy league school (no Cornell) I was needing to talk to someone about it. But I never realized that maybe you get inundated with commentary about it. Again my bad
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Slim Jackson Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 11:07 pm
I’m definitely not saying people shouldn’t ask questions. I’m just sharing the perspective of someone who’s been asked the same question many times by people who normally don’t have anything else to say to me. Def didn’t write this because you asked me a question. No worries. Please continue to ask me questions. Please.lol.
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Intellectual Hedonist Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Why is water wet?
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Amen Brother Slim!
I will comment more in the morning. Just sharing a couple of links:
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/01/01/cornell-cuts-suicide-rate-in-half/
http://www.baylor.edu/lariat/news.php?action=story&story=71363
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This reminds me of a conversation I’ve had recently about the help antidepressants provide vs. the constant misdiagnosis of mental health issues and throwing medication at every problem. We also discussed how getting help/admitting there’s a problem equals weakness to a lot of people, especially black folks.
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Slim Jackson Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 8:48 am
Yeah, I don’t know what it is with this particularly when it comes to black folks. Someone could be OD depressed and they’ll get told to suck it up or go to church as opposed to go talk to a trained professional. We also need to get over this myth that suicide is just a white person thing. Definitely not true.
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Mis.Education Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I agree with both sentiments here whole-heartedly. Being in the mental health field, as well as currently working as a therapist in a college counseling center, I am constantly questioning the usage of medications WITHOUT education around them or concurrent behavioral counseling so that folks do not become “dependent” on outside sources of treatment. What I have seen throughout my training is that younger and younger people are being diagnosed with mental illnesses (and that could also be a sign of the times)–or that eveyrone’s looking for a quick fix to real life and common problems, without being instilled with the proper skills to soothe oneself. It saddens me greatly day in and day out, which is why I chose this field primarily to assit minorities, reduce stigma, and increase resiliency and awareness about mental health issues.
This post woke me up this morning! Very appreciative of a more sincere look at 1) mental health and 2) suicide in general.
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SaneN85 Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 1:15 pm
The fact is that some pharmaceutical companies are paying physicians/psychiatrists to prescribe more and more of these medications. I’ve seen it happen many times. It’s because of this that we are diagnosing more and more children with ADHD and other mental health issues.
On the flip side, this over-diagnosing has caused more stigma around using these medications and have become somewhat of a hinderance to those that truly need help. It has come to the point that half the time when someone tells me they’re on such and such medication, even I have begun to question whether or not they are making mountains out of molehills. This in turn feeds into asking for help = weakness.
It’s a dicey situation either way, and there is no easy fix.
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I was told the same stories about Cornell’s suicide issue as I was peering down the little waterfall thingy Cornell has. As I “visited” my aunt my senior year of HS, which actually turned out to be a recruitment of some sort staged by her and my father. This Florida girl, after being snowed in that damn city for an extra week and having finally gotten out via Syracuse (God only knows how long I would’ve been there had I not tried my luck), could see why they committed suicide by the weather alone. I did not hate snow when I got to Ithaca, but by the time I left, lets just say we were not friends.
I was amused however by the fact that my aunt sat her ice cream on the window sill for days after buying it from the grocery store and it not melting. That was pretty cool and yet very gross to me.
I enjoy psychology and did minor in it, so I do understand its benefits and as a first gen American understand all too well how it is ignored it the black community. From ridiculous notions of bewitchment to just plain reckless labels of “rudeness” plastered upon a family members serious diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. The latter is just plain denial though. I still try to think of ways to remove thousand year old superstitions and or religious ideologies from it all together and make people see it for what it simply is and not be afraid to seek help…not an easy task for sure. But there is hope for younger generations.
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Slim Jackson Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 9:01 am
“I was told the same stories about Cornell’s suicide issue as I was peering down the little waterfall thingy Cornell has.”
You somehow managed to make the gorge sound cute and innocent.lol.
But yeah, the weather can affect people. I also know people who were in sunny Florida after years in the northeast and they still got depressed. I do believe that some people drive themselves into depression, but of course I’m not an expert.
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Mis.Education Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 12:39 pm
I think that “drive themselves into depression” is a little harsh, but yes, people do play a role in their resilience from mental illness/mental health concerns. “Seasonal Affective Disorder” is real, though rare. I also tihnk people have easily come to use the term “depressed,” for what is really sadness, which is a common and OK feeling to have.
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Wow I never knew this about Cornell…as a high school senior I always used to say Cornell would have been my ideal school…that’s if it weren’t in frickin’ isolated cold as hell Ithaca! Jeez.
My warm California blood just wouldn’t let me do it…I landed at Berkeley instead. But even if I HAD heard this rumor as an undergrad applicant, it wouldn’t have been enough to deter me (the cold weather, however, was enough to keep me away…*shivers*).
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One thing I will say is know how you react to drugs and stress…
Hosting Weekend Freshman year: I’m a paranoid weed smoker. I was so stressed about trying to stay in school, I got higher than I ever been, and I completely lost my mind. The team had to call them amber lamps. Very embarrassing. Def a breaking point to my ego. I had to learn how to not stress little things and make my life worse. Don’t dwell on a B- and not do any more work in that class (true story).
The running joke within our kind was the fact that ‘we’ weren’t the ones jumping off those bridges. But I don’t know if that is still true.
I am in no position to judge, but school pride could have been higher.
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“…but that we could all be better in how we perceive and discuss mental health issues. I honestly think a lot of these incidents could be avoided, but we’re too busy being absorbed in our own lives and what we want to see and believe to really make a difference in the lives of those who truly need our help.”
So much truth said here.
I wonder if I could do Ithaca? I lived in Alaska for 5 yrs. 10 months of darkness and -50, -60 degree weather. The first 5 months was depressing but after I got thru those months, I fell in love with that place.
Whenever anyone mentions Cornell, I always think of that episode of The Office when Andy was upset Dwight for wearing a Cornell sweater and so forth… hilarious!
Happy April’s Fool Day
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SaneN85 Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 11:02 am
I automatically thought of Andy on The Office too.
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Cornell is totally a suicide school for one reason… Easy Access!!!
When you’re low and you imagine (if just for a second)that you should just end it all instead of fail and be $100,000 in debt while working at Taco Bell, you typically have to put some effort into offing yourself. You have to buy a razor, or some rope (where do they sell such?), find a sturdy pipe, fill up a bathtub, etc etc…
But when you are walking across a gorge to your Labor and Employment Law, Organic Chemistry, or Wines Exam, you need no supplies or previous plans to simply jump. And the gorges are super pretty any way. What a poetic way to go…
I’m making jokes, but the truth is… Cornell is Anal Rapingly HARD (wow, pause all of that). I personally went from being an all “A” over-achiever in high school to someone who was happy to get a C’s… consistently. I had to come to grips with the fact that my Detroit Public School education had me light years behind the private school nerdy pampered brats I called classmates and grading curves are the Devil.
But if I were a tinge more high strung, I can see how I could have lost it. Even with me accepting my g.p.a. that will never get me into Grad School, there was a lot of crying, feel inadequate and depression on my part.
But you’re right Slim… what saved me was the ability to talk through my emotions. I would have never brought it up to my friends, but my Mom (God Bless Her) probably talked me off of a metaphorical ledge once a month during my 4 year stint. But the talking worked as my coping mechanism. It helped lift the weight off my chest and Mom helped me see that my failure there was not the end of the world…
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Miss Jenkins Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 8:19 am
Cornell is totally a suicide school for one reason… Easy Access!!!
Really though?
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DKing Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 9:41 am
I kinda have to agree with you on some things. I often felt like I was the only one happy to get that C-, because that meant I didn’t have to retake or drop the class. lol.
I had public school education too…went from Top of my High School class to praying that I could drag myself across the finish line (graduation).
I don’t regret my time at Cornell at all. Coming out the other side with grades that people said wouldn’t get me into grad school (trust me..based on what professors tell you, i shouldn’t have), but I got into two schools. Decided to work instead, but everybody in college needs to understand that money comes and goes, grades come and go. Sometimes being at any school and working too hard or being too focused, you lose sight of what life is really about.
What happens if you flunk out and you have $100,000 in debt..you might have to file bankruptcy? So..you live off cash! What a crazy concept, buy the things you can afford. lol.
I can agree with your statement on easy access, because..I had many days where your just like “you know what?! forget it all!” Except in my case, id take personal days and just skip all my classes, and go to the mall and the movies, or Syracuse, or go home, or whatever. Maybe a bit delusional, but if i was one of those people that felt i needed to end my life…There were some open spaces to just go ahead and do it.
I don’t believe Cornell is a suicide school at all, its just the openness of the behaviors. I’m sure lots of kids at other schools are drinking themselves to death, or doing drugs, or doing things more privately, and their families and/or the school can keep it private.
I would send my children to Cornell..they would just be armed with a better education then I had, God on their side, and a better understanding of what really matters in life.
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I hadn’t ever heard about the (perceived) high rates of suicide at Cornell until very recently (when I also learned that March is the month with the highest number of suicides, each year).
Suicide is one of those things that hits close to home as I’ve lost two friends to it. In both cases they were being treated for depression, but I think there’s a level to depression that is just hard for people to understand who haven’t ever been through it, that no amount of “talking” or medication can really get to.
Like I think it’s that lack of understanding that exacerbates it for some.
One thing I appreciated about my alma mater was that we all lived by the “work hard, party hard” mantra. The school even played into it — there were just as many “fun” opportunities as academic requirements. It’s not the responsibility of the school, in my opinion, but to have a school step up to that plate is a big thing.
I’m sure Cornell is doing all it can to curb this horrible issue, but some things are outside of their control.
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Slim Jackson Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 9:30 am
Cornell actually has a very strong mental health/counseling program. It’s been mentioned in tandem with the recent suicides. But you’re right, there are people that no matter what is said to them they are going to do what they’re going to do.
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My wife is a Cornellian and she has been saying the same thing about Cornell for years…
Kudo’s on the post bro!
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I’ve had to fiend off the inquisitive sharks ever since news first broke about the suicides. What most people don’t realize is that Cornell’s suicide rate has been below the national average for most of its existence, yet, due to the extremely dramatic—and public—way in which students take the plunge, the stories of suicide are sensationalized to the extent that folks actually believe this tragedy happens more there than anywhere else. Gives a new meaning to the idea that “perception is everything,” I guess.
Interesting how no one talks about the fact that MIT and Harvard have had the highest suicide rates for the past 20 years, or the number of students who jumped to their deaths in the school library at NYU. But I guess since neither of these schools have gorges, it makes sense…
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CHeeKZ Money Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Wasn’t there a Yale Student that jumped off the Empire State building? Yesterday?!
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Having to deal with the suicide of a teammate at Penn (DURING THE FOOTBALL SEASON TOO!!), I can personally attest that suicide is no joke.
A man was stranded in the ocean and prayed for God to come save him. On day 1, a dingo rowed by and asked the man if he needed help. The man replied “I’m waiting on God”. Day 2, a yacht came by and asked him if he needed help. The man replied “I’m waiting on God”. On Day 3, a cruise boat came by and asked him if he needed help. The man replied “I’m waiting on God”. The man died and went to heaven. He said to God, “I prayed and prayed and you never came” God replied “I sent three boats for you jerk.”
“Someone could be OD depressed and they’ll get told to suck it up or go to church” – People need to realize that God may be telling you to go get some help
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Slim Jackson Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 10:24 am
The teammate—did he display any signs in retrospect?
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Peyso Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 10:56 am
When I think about it, I feel like a Monday morning quarterback. I feel that everything was a sign when in actuallity it wasnt. Its hard to recognize these things in a senior RB, w/ a banging girlfriend, 3.5 Wharton GPA and a job lined but it did teach me that any and everyone is vulnerable to these issues.
He was generally the white guy who knew all the rap lyrics and rocked jerseys so he was real tight w/ the few black kids on the team. He became a bit more detached so we thought he wasnt effin w/ the black folk anymore. When we heard he was depressed and stuff so ppl would try to check up on him. All of a sudden, things seemed to get much better. Everyone thought he was pulling out of it. The truth was that the first stage of beating depression is eerily similar to the last stage of depression. Meaning that we thought he was getting happy because he was beating depression. He was actually getting happy because he felt relieved. He felt relieved because he had decided when and how he was going to kill himself. We smacked Bucknell in football on October 15th, he and his little brother were the fourth set of brothers to score touchdowns in the same game. On October 17th, he went home and shot himself.
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ASmith Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 11:18 am
I did a sick amount of research my senior yr of high school and first year of college on suicide and what you said is absolutely right… they always seem to be coming out of it at the end.
The one thing everybody kept saying after my friend killed himself in high school was how happy he’d been in the days leading up to it. I saw him the day he did it and he was back to his old, happy, joking self. It was impossible to wrap our minds around, which was why I set into researching it.
The one thing I took away was to avoid doing what you mentioned in your initial post, Peyso, and that’s to tell someone “they’ll be ok.” You never know how deep the depression runs and I think it’s better to overreact than not at all.
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Slim Jackson Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 11:22 am
Damn. This is really interesting and I’m glad you shared that. I just learned something new.
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Nick_L_Odeon Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 10:41 am
i know that parable.. good one to pull out.. it illustrates the point very well…
i’m not gonna say too much more.. because i read some of your comments.. and your intelligence makes me feel inadequate.. lol…
keep reading them books i never heard of…
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Peyso Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 10:56 am
awww, thanks!
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I never knew this about Cornell.. no joke, i only heard of it from “Andy” on “The Office”.. “went to an Ivy League school named Cornell…. you ever heard of it.?”
but i digress…
thanks for opening my eyes.. i ashamedly don’t really watch the news because i have nightmares.. and as someone that’s considered suicide herself.. it’s not easy to cry out for help when everyone around you is dismissive and doesn’t want to consider that there’s a problem.. let’s just label her “depressed” for right now.. she’ll snap out of it.. it’s so much easier to deal with if we take the seriousness down a level..
it’s sad… just so sad.. people don’t care about people anymore..
but that’s me going down the rabbit hole a bit deeper than i wanted to..
between you and i, i congratulate your ability to even get into that school.. that’s a big effin deal!!! but that’s just me…
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I won’t lie I used to hear that ish about Cornell all the time. I just figured it was the pressure of Academia. Honestly it happens everywhere, but Cornell is the sexy location to glorify because of the name. I had to defend Hofstra for a few weeks over that fake rape issue, so I can dig it.
You already know I ride with Cornell for obvious reasons, lol.
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Nice post.
I do think that there are a lot of previous issues that are with people before they get to college which are unseen and the stress of college can put a strain that then makes the problems visible. But having gone to a top 10 school myself- I can say that there is something unique about Cornell that’s not like other really high academic schools, the isolation. I have a friend who’s attending school there now and I’ve driven up a couple times and it’s truly is far from major locales, up on top of a hill which can be very secluded. I think when you have a place that takes you so far away from everything that reaching out can a bit more difficult. Not that Durham was the toast of popularity but I can understand how being that far away from a lot of things, in a stressful climate, with previous issues can bring about a higher rate.
Still such a sad thing.
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