Suicide is
second only to accidents as a
leading cause of death among college
students.
(CBS) Parents
and students alike are constantly reminded
of problems like drug and alcohol abuse and
unsafe sex on college campuses.
But relatively few are warned about suicide.
Early Show Correspondent Tracy
Smith reports on this very real danger
that often goes undiscussed.
A study by the American College Health
Association showed that 15 percent of
students meet the criteria for clinical
depression.
It's a topic cloaked in stigma and shame,
but more colleges and universities are
choosing to confront it, rather than wait
until it's too late.
Just like other services on campus, parents
should encourage their college kids to take
advantage of counseling available there.
It's also a good idea for parents to know
some of the warning signs for suicide.
Warning signs and examples may include:
Changes in Behavior: If someone
starts talking about suicide, or seems like
he is saying goodbye.
Deterioration of Normal Functioning:
If grades are slipping, or a person can't
sleep or sleeps too much.
Intense Emotional State: Look for
rage, anxiety, or acting impulsively.
Precipitating Event: A breakup,
getting cut from a team, the loss of a
family member.
Nathan Eisert, 20, took his own life in his
college dorm two years ago. In a cemetery on
the outskirts of Louisville, Ky., you'll
find the message "Tell them Momma, a
life's too much to lose" on his small
headstone.
The message is for Nathan's friends, says
his mother, Jan Ulrich, adding, "I want
them to see that message, because I think
it's from Nathan, you know, I really do. I
think Nathan sent that message for me to
pass along. And when they come to the
gravesite, it's what I want them to walk
away with."
They say that college is supposed to be the
best time of your life and, for Nathan, it
started that way.
Always a lover of basketball, the 6-foot
5-inch player secured a spot on the Western
Kentucky team as a walk-on.
"He was having a blast," says
Stephen Ulrich, Nathan's stepfather,
"Every time the team got ahead in the
game, you'd hear the guys in the crowd and
everybody chanting, 'Nathan, Nathan.'"
But early in the second season, Nathan
injured his foot. He lost his place on the
team but never told his family.
"We're not realizing that because he
couldn't play, because he wasn't achieving,
in his mind that he wasn't measuring up. So
all of a sudden, he's sinking. Right before
everybody's eyes, he's sinking, and we don't
even see him sinking," says Ulrich.
Nathan hit rock bottom. And when he didn't
show up for a family event, his father went
looking for him.
And then the phone rang; it was Nathan's
dad. He said, "Where are you?" As
soon as Ulrich said that, Nathan's mother
replied, "Uh-oh... Don't tell me what
you're gonna tell me. I-- don't tell
me."
That's when he told her, "He's dead. He
shot himself."
How did things go so horribly wrong, so
quickly?
Jan and Stephen say they didn't recognize
the signs and that Nathan never asked for
help.
Their story's all too common: suicide is
second only to accidents as a leading cause
of death among college students.
A major problem, according to Phil Satow, is
that a large number of students are away for
the first time in their life and that can be
traumatic. Phil and Donna Satow became
experts on the topic after their son, Jed, a
student at Arizona State University,
committed suicide in 1998.
"There are so many new pressures that
they're facing: peer pressures, expectations
of parents of high grades. Young people
don't want to disappoint, " says Phil,
"so there's a whole series of things
that happen specifically at that time"
The Satows created the Jed Foundation to
urge college administrators and parents to
face the problem of campus suicide head-on.
Part of what the Jed Foundation is trying to
do is bring attention to these college
presidents that this is extremely important.
Because a healthy student body, a healthy
student community, is a better student
community for the entire school.
Now some schools are getting the message.
Emory University in Atlanta is taking a
proactive approach, asking kids in
classrooms how many of them have had a
friend of loved one that they know committ
suicide.
They add that by looking around, one can see
that this is not an insignificant topic that
they are talking about for their age group.
Students at Emory are required to take a
health class during which they watch a film
that features friends and relatives of
college suicide victims.
It's a project of the American Foundation
for Suicide Prevention designed to remove
some of the stigma of depression and
thoughts of suicide.
"It takes a lot of courage for students
to come and seek mental health services.
Still, even though I think it's better than
it used to be, it's still a difficult
decision for college students to make,"
says Mark McLeod, director of counseling
services at Emory.
McLeod wants kids to think it's a sign of
strength to ask for help. Instead, he finds,
they've been taught to say "It is a
sign of weakness to ask for help."
The Ulrichs hope that by telling their
story, they'll encourage others, including
administrators, parents and the students
themselves, to reach out.
"It's too late for us to save Nathan,
but it's not too late to save another family
and another Nathan out there, because
there's another kid out there that's
screaming for help," says Stephen
Ulrich.
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