Adolescent Suicide

2596 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What causes depression in college students

Adolescent Suicide

Joseph Connelly Gazzola used to be a Northeastern University football star. He has since taken his own life, and it has hit everyone he knew very hard.

As reported in the Boston Globe, “Mr. Gazzola, known as Joe, was born and raised in North Attleborough, showing a love of football and a tolerance of all types of people. ‘He didn't care much about differences,’ said his father. ‘He could relate to anyone. He was the kind of kid who could walk with princes and paupers and never see a difference.’”

Gazzola is not alone. There have been a numerous suicides on college campuses as well as among teens in the same age bracke. It is a real proble and it is time to take note.

On October 7, 1999, a student at Ramapo College killed himself reportedly due to a break up with his girlfriend, similar to what allegedly caused the fourth NYU student, Diana Chein, 19, to commit suicide by jumping from the top of her boyfriend’s apartment building after a break up on March 10, 2004. The cycle of depression and self destruction is apparent in all cases.

There have been many instances of suicide that have occurred in the past years at universities across the country, and since it is such a sensitive subject, there have not been nearly enough coverage as this topic deserves, considering this issue does not seem to be going away. When collecting data about suicide statistics, the age range is broken down as people ages 15-24, which spans most developmental years. Within this bracket are college-age students and this age-group has by far the most troubling statistics around it.

In a study released by Brown University, their psychology department shed some light on common myths and facts surrounded suicide. These m...

... middle of paper ...

...s there is a higher awareness level,” said Hayes. “There are still far too many suicides but now they are much better prepared.”

When Gazzola died at NU, the counseling center team dealt with Gazzola’s teammates, roommates, and friends who were left bewildered at this misfortune. Also, with Northeastern’s less than perfect record this academic year, the unfortunate deaths of James Grabowski during the Super Bowl riots (although he wasn’t an NU student, his brother is), and Walter Dedrick found dead in his apartment, (still unexplainable) for example are just a few disasters that demonstrate just how real the problems are and that something needs to be done. It is time for everyone to step up and pay attention to the people around you. Some may not even realize they have a problem, but you can end up making all the difference to a friend in need if you are aware.

Show More
Related

  • Nicholas Lou Saban Research Paper

    519 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. was born on October 31, 1951 in Monongah, West Virginia. As a child Nick had a dad who didn’t want anything short of perfection from Nick. He started working at his dad’s gas station when he was eleven years old. Big Nick, who was Nick Saban’s dad, got the idea to start a Pop Warner football team. He liked the idea of providing small town boys with an activity that would keep them busy and build character. By the summer of 1962 they had enough boys to form a team. They were named the Black Diamonds. He soon discovered that he loved coaching football and he was good at it. In their first season they only recorded one win, but they quickly improved to 5-5 the next season. In their third season the Black Diamonds started

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Suicide On Campus And The Pressure Of Perfection By Julie Scelfo

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Julie Scelfo’s “Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection” first appeared in The New York Times magazine on July 27, 2015. Scelfo discusses the pressure that family, society, and the individual places on themselves to be perfect. This stress ultimately results in college- age students taking their own lives. “Nationally, the suicide rate among 15- to 24-year-olds has increased modestly but steadily since 2007: from 9.6 deaths per 100,000 to 11.1 in 2013.” Scelfo uses an anecdote, statistics, and expert’s observations to successfully portray her stance on this issue.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography: Teen Suicide: Annotated Bibliography

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    The main argument in this article is that there needs to be more ways to help people that are suicidal. The main point of this article is that they want to people to be more aware of how to help someone, and it is also full of information. The topics that are covered in the article are the issues at hand, the background with suicide in teens, and the next step that society needs to take. This article is about helping people that are suicidal and how to help them and let us know the next step that we need to take.

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Sanity

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout Shakespeare?s play, Hamlet, the main character, young Hamlet, is faced with the responsibility of attaining vengeance for his father?s murder. He decides to feign madness as part of his plan to gain the opportunity to kill Claudius. As the play progresses, his depiction of a madman becomes increasingly believable, and the characters around him react accordingly. However, through his inner thoughts and the apparent reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor simulating insanity in order to fulfill his duty to his father.

    Read More

  • The Epidemic of Male Suicide

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the past decade, suicide rates have been on the incline; especially among men. According to the New York Times (2013), “From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent… The suicid...

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Sanity In Hamlet Analysis

    1561 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hamlet chooses to go mad so he has an advantage over his opponent and since he is the Prince of Denmark certain behavior is unacceptable, so by faking madness he is able to get away with inappropriate sayings and actions. We can see this when he talks to Claudius, Polonius, Ophelia and his mother. When Hamlet talks to Horatio in the first act he says how he is going to "feign madness" and that:

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Insanity In Hamlet

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the novel, William Shakespeare takes his readers through many twists and turns and several of the characters exhibit odd or unnatural behavior, most noticeably Hamlet. However, it leaves readers questioning whether Hamlet’s “antic disposition” is genuine or if it is fabricated. Many may argue that Hamlet is truly mad since it eventually results in his downfall, but there are several reasons suggesting that Hamlet’s madness is feigned. While he appears to be a lunatic on the outside, Hamlet is sane, as seen through his ability to investigate his father’s murder, gain new information, plot against other characters in the novel, and discover the truth.

    Read More

  • The New Future of Football

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    The danger is greater than you think. Alan Schwartz, a writer in “The New York Times Upfront,” quotes that, “A concussion is dangerous, pure and simple, but players don’t view it that way.” Schwartz is basically saying that the concussions that these players are getting are more dangerous than they think they are. However, the players probably view it only as another injury and continue playing before letting the injuries heal. Schwartz also says, “Concussions are more dangerous for teenagers because, studies shows, their brain tissues is less...

    Read More

  • The Growing Problem of Teen Suicide

    2340 Words  | 5 Pages

    A mother finds her 17 year old teenage son hanging from the rafters of their basement. To hear of this occurrence is not rare in society today. Every 90 minutes a teenager in this country commits suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds. The National suicide rate has increased 78% between 1952 and 1992. The rate for 15-19 year olds rose from two per 100,000 to 12.9, more than 600 percent. (Special report, Killing the Pain, Rae Coulli)

    Read More

  • Teenage Suicide In America

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today, teenage suicide is considered a big issue in America. Many factors contribute to this action whether it is overdosing on alcohol and drugs, cutting ones wrist with a sharp object, or pulling the trigger of a gun to put an end to their existence. Suicide is on the rise due to many factors such as family issues, social issues, and psychological issues. Increased education and awareness for the victims and their families could drastically reduce the number of suicide attempts yearly.

    Read More

  • Suicide Prevention

    1876 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain” (I-10). Ending a life is a big step in the wrong direction for most. Suicide is the killing of oneself. Suicide happens every day, and every day a family’s life changes. Something needs to be done to raise awareness of that startling fact.

    Read More

  • Depression and anxiety among college students

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the past 35 years the suicide rate for college campuses has tripled (Oswalt 1995). This shows that there is a clear need for something to be addressed within the college community. The recent surveys show that about 10-15% of college students are depressed (Lindsey 2009). Depression can be a debilitating illness especially when many students attend college away from their close friends and family. This could result in students with more suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide. In fact, the number of students with suicidal thoughts has tripled over the past 13 years as the number of students seeking help for depression doubled in the same span (Lindsey 2009). Depression can effect these teens in other areas of their life as well. The students who reported that they were depressed also reported that they considered their health fair or poor (Lindsey 2009). In their cases, depression not only effects them psychologically but also physically. Depression is also known to impair psychosocial development and academic success (Lindsey 2009). With all of these factors put togethe...

    Read More

  • Teen Suicide: A Growing Problem

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout researching teen suicide for my I-search report, I have learned many things. That no matter where you live, even in a small, sheltered town, there lurks the devastating reality of teen suicide. That there is no escaping it, all you can do is try to prevent it. All though I found my topic extremely depressing, I also found an extreme profoundness while researching it. It made me realize just how lucky I am, that I am the one helping, not the one hurting.

    Read More

  • The Problem of Teenage Suicide

    1928 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is a hopeful sign that while the incidence of suicide among adolescents and young adults nearly tripled from 1965 to 1987, teen suicide rates in the past ten years have actually been declining, possibly due to increased recognition and treatment.

    Read More

  • Suicide among college students

    2673 Words  | 6 Pages

    Suicide has become a critical, national problem and the extent of this is mind-boggling. Suicides have been proven to be one of the leading causes of death among college students. According to Webters dictionary “suicide is the act killing oneself on purpose”. It derived from the Latin sui, meaning “self”, and caedere, which means “to kill”. But this is just a definition, because an actual suicide holds different meanings to people such as tragic, shocking, a relief, a cry for help, a shame, heroic, the right choice, punishment, revenge, protest, anger, a mistake, desperate, hurtful and many more. But why do people, like college students who have their entire future ahead of them, simply give up hope and turn their heads away from life and commit suicide. There are several causes of suicide, recent incidents of suicide on college campuses, warning signs from a suicidal. I blame the Constitution and the United States law for not taking any hard initiative on the subject of suicide. I also impose the choice of the media, which is reflecting and portraying suicide towards a wrong direction. However most important questions remain: can the growing epidemic of suicide be solved, what are communities doing about it and what can they do to help?

    Read More

More about Adolescent Suicide

Open Document