Dave Hardison
CCSG Contributor
Oct. 10, 2005 a young man
by the name of Kyle Ambrogi
took his life by a gunshot. He
was a running back from the
University of Pennsylvania’s
football team, and had run for
two touchdowns the Saturday
before his death. He was
greatly cared about by his
question comes to mind: Why?
The short answer is depression.
Depression is a condition
world. Unfortunately, there are
only two things close to a cure.
First, there is medicine, which
serves to balance out chemicals
within the affected person’s
system. The other solution is
psychiatric help. Each has its
own drawback. Medicine isn’t
guaranteed to work, but when
it does, it only works for a short
period of time. Psychiatric
counseling allows insight to the
cause of the person's
.
depression, and aims to
source. Depression can result
from many things, like stress
and home life. In some cases,
there is no defined cause for
depression, only the symptoms.
Depressed people exhibit
feelings of uselessness, and often
consider the only solution to
be killing themselves.
According to the
American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention; suicide is
the second leading cause of
death for college students, the
first being car accidents. Such
a statistic is likely to conjure up
myths about the cause of
suicide. Falsities include the fact
that students who attend
schools with high academic
standards are more likely to kill
themselves than others.
- According to Brown
University’s Psychological
Services Website, “student
suicide rates are not related to
institutional prestige, size or to
one’s class standing.” An
article found in The University
of New Hampshire’s student
newspaper supports this
statement. Graduate student
Jen Conant says “I know people
who go to Harvard that come
from really messed up families,
and their escape is going to
Harvard. Academics is their
escape.” Such evidence
with high academic standards
do not attract students with
suicidal tendencies. In most
cases, the cause of depression-
triggered suicide is the abuse of
alcohol or drugs.
Students arrive at colleges
and universities with a sense of
liberation. No longer are they
living under the old “ball &
chain? at ‘home. The
responsibility is placed squarely
in their hands. Some students
turn out to be diligent workers
who can handle themselves,
while others bask in the
university social scenes. These
students might begin to fall
behind in their ~work.
Understandably, they would be
upset by this. Unfortunately,
these students often turn to
drugs and alcohol as a means
of venting their frustration with
the class work. Alcohol, by its
very nature, is a depressant.
Combine alcohol with a
student who is already down-
and-out, and the results could
We, as students, must look
out for one another. Losing a
friend, or even a classmate, is a
traumatizing = experience
nobody should have to endure.
Villanova University suggests
the following methods for
dealing with a fellow student
who has suicidal tendencies: be
CCSG Contributor
The exhaustion is apparent.
The dedication is obvious. The
love is true.
It’s Thon 2006 and Rec Hall
is packed with dancers and
Four Diamond Families who
would
stay just as long as the dancers
do.
Dani Leonardo, CCSG
Programming Director,
formerly from Penn State
Altoona, said, “I danced last
year. It is hard, but it’s easier
when you have 100’s of people
supporting you, telling you to
keep going, and sometimes
literally holding you up.”
We're somewhere around
hour 30, and in the midst of it
all a water gun fight breaks out
between a tiny warrior and a
battle-hardened avenger. The
soldiers ride into battle on
piggy-back because they’ve
danced for so long they can
barely walk.
As arms link, an impenetrable
wall is formed against cancer
and is so high, only love can
climb it. That's exactly what
is in this room: love. But
sometimes, even love needs a
dancer Patty O'Leary in my
arms as she struggled to stay
on her feet and dance for the
kids who couldn’t.
As I held her and she
stretched out her legs I
wondered how these students
were able to do this
extraordinary feat. Would I be
able to stay on my feet for 48
willing to hear the student
out, don’t act surprised (doing
so may distance yourself from
the student), or seek help from
professors or advisors. While
peer involvement is a
necessary factor in suicide
prevention, Dr. Alan
Lipschitz, M.D. suggests that
university officials,
administrative or otherwise,
should pay attention to
withdrawn. Even a simple
two-page paper can give
tendencies, Dr. Lipschitz says.
Instead of focusing on
disruptive students, focusing
on these withdrawn students
can possibly prevent suicide.
Here is a memorial site to
Kyle Ambrogi: http://
www.tedsilary.com/
kyleambrogi.htm
A BR
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