Suicides shock NYU community

The pressures of university life and its effects on students have been put under scrutiny by a recent spate of suicides at New York University (NYU).

The three suicides this semester at NYU have left parents and administrators wondering what steps to take.

Michelle Glucagon's off campus fall on Oct. 18 was preceded by Stephen Bohler's Oct. 10 leap and the loss of junior John Skolnik in Sept.

According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, for people 15-24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death, behind unintentional injury and homicide. In 1999, more teenagers and young adults died from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, and chronic lung disease combined.

Senior staff psychologist at the Tufts Counseling Center Julie Jampel explained that going off to college an exacerbate the already stressful and painful period of adolescence - regardless of which school the student is attending.

"Students are away from home, one is on one's own, and there is the stress of academics and the stress of trying to decide what to do with one's life. These things are all part and parcel of college life and can be stressful and depressing for some people," Jampel said.

Jampel stressed that depression and suicidal feelings are both treatable. "If someone seems depressed or suicidal, I would urge their friends to really encourage that person to get help. It doesn't have to be that way."

"We do see people who feel suicidal [at the Counseling Center]. It is not uncommon in a college population from time to time," she said.

However, these statistics can be misleading in the sense that they make it look like suicide is much more common among younger people than older people Jampel said.

"The primary reason [for these statistics] is that younger people are not dying of the things that kill older people," Jampel said. "Illness and disease are less common in younger people and so suicides and accidents are more likely to be the cause of death at a certain age."

In the wake of these two recent suicides, NYU administrators are taking steps to prevent future student suicides. These steps range from installing panels on the library walkways to offering increased counseling services.

At NYU, university officials are still trying to determine what caused these two students to jump to their deaths from one of the upper-level interior walkways at the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library. According to the New York Times, an NYU spokesman said that to his knowledge, there had never been a previous suicide at the library.

NYU officials said that Bohler apparently jumped from a library balcony on either the 8th, 9th or 10th floor around 3 p.m. on Oct. 10. On Sept. 12, Skolnik jumped from the 10th floor.

Fellow students who knew Bohler and Skolnik said that there were no visible signs that either was contemplating suicide. Carolyn Bohler said that she did not notice major emotional problems with her son and described him as "extremely happy to come to NYU" to the Times.

What has been troubling to students, parents and administrators has not only been the outwardly happy appearance of the two students, but the record of NYU as a low-stress place where there have historically been few suicides.

Though the city medical examiner's office was investigating whether Bohler had been on hallucinogenic drugs at the time of his death, many are left wondering if there is something about the university system that prompts suicidal feelings among teenagers and young adults.

Following each of the first two suicides, NYU sent an e-mail urging students to make use of the school counseling services. NYU provides students with 12 free therapy sessions, plus additional sessions if there is a legitimate depression problem. Dorm meetings were also required.

"It's really disturbing," NYU freshman Beebe Reisman said. "A lot of people felt very uncomfortable going to the library again." The third suicide occurred nearby Reisman's dorm, and she said, "It's on everyone's mind."

A friend of hers, she said, has "just been a lot more careful about what he's said to people" since the suicides.

NYU sophomore Jonathan Sanden noted that despite university efforts in prevention the school "is only touching on the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of places where students can kill themselves. The only thing [the glass panels] are preventing is the students from making a statement."

He feels the real solution to the quandary is counseling and finding the root of the problem.

After the suicide of sophomore Alex Mendell earlier this year, Tufts has encouraged students to take advantage of the Tufts Counseling Center and Ears for Peers if they are feeling depressed or just want to talk with someone.

The Tufts Counseling Center can help students who are depressed or feeling suicidal by working to find an individual solution. "We can work with someone at the counseling center -- we can facilitate a meeting with a psychiatrist, or help them find a therapist in private practice or a clinic in the community that might better suit their needs," Jampel said.

Ears for Peers is a confidential hotline available from 7 pm to 7 am every day. Student volunteers who are familiar with the pressures of college answer the phones and "lend an ear" to students who need someone to talk to.