Page 8-D-Thursday; September 4, 1980-The Michigan Daily
ollegiate pressures breed depression

I

By LORENZO BENET
Last May, a week before her final exams,
26-year-old, law student Cynthia H. wad
found dead in her apartment from a self-
inflicted gunshot wound. A neighbor said
shortly after the incident that "Cynthia was
depressed because she set very high goals for
herself. She worked super hard to get where
she got in law school. " Commenting on the
tragedy, law school Assistant 'Dean Susan
Elkund said, "I don't think there is any
reason to believe the suicide had anything to
do with the law school."
* * *
John S., a 22-year-old senior at Michigan
State University, was found dead in his
apartment last June 1st. Police found an em-
pty bottle of hydrogen cyanide next to his
body. A week before his death, John had told
his close friend he was thinking of killing
himself His friend did not know that people
who talk about killing themselves are high
risk candidates for suicide.
* * *
JOHN- AND CYNTHIA are not
unusual cases. In the past 15 years, the
suicide rate for young people ages 15-29
has risen 300 per cent nationally. It has,
become the second leading cause of
death for this age group.
What's even more alarming is the
number of deaths recorded as suicides
may only be the tip, of the iceberg.
"Deaths resulting from automobile ac-
cidents, the number one cause of

teenage deaths, may actually be
suicides. Yet many of these deaths are
recorded as accidents," explained
Robert Lobis, a psychiatrist for
Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick,
Massachusetts. He added some
suicides, such as drug overdose, are
difficult to diagnose and some parents,
moreover, wish to cover up their child's
suicide by having it recorded as an ac-
cident.
Lobis characterizes most suicide vic-
tims as people who are confused about
whether they want to die and suicide is
often a cry for help that ends tragically
because of miscalculation, poor
judgment, or bad luck. "It is
estimated," he said, "that for every
successful suicide there are between 10
to 100 attempted suicides."
HE STRESSED there is no one type
of person who attempts or commits
suicide. "It is an individual act with in-
dividual causes and cuts across race,
class and cultural lines," he said.
If there is one common denominator
linking people who are thinking of hur-
ting themselves, Lobis said. "It's
depression."
According to a Harvard University
study on "Depression And Suicide In
College Students," depressed students
tend to have severely reduced self-

Ann Arbor offers numerous counseling services for
persons who are considering suicide or are depressed about
school or any other aspect of their lives.

NAME
SOS Crisis Center
Ozone House
Counseling Services
76-Guide
Counseling Center
Women's Crisis
Center
University Hospital

ADDRESS
114 N. River Ave.,
Ypsilanti
608 N. Main St.
3300 Michigan Union{
Michigan Union
1007 E. Huron
211 N. Fourth Ave.
1405 E. Ann St.

HOURS
24 hours 7
days a week

11 a.m.-11 p.m.
7 days a week
8:30 a.m.-
4:30 p.m., M-F
24 hour service
7 days a week
9 a.m.-5 p.m.,
M-F
9 a.m.-5 p.m.
M-F
24 hour service
7 days a week

PHONE
485-3222
662-2222
764-8312
764-8433
4.
-764-9466
761-9475
/ 994-1616

It also emphasized depression in
students can be ignited by their lack of
a sexualized love object or by their
homosexual feelings, fantasied or
overt. Students falling in the latter
group, as well as foreign students who
have flunked out of school and would
rather die than go back to their
homeland, are considered very high
risk candidates for suicide, the study
noted.
The report stated two criteria in
predicting whether a student is thinking
about suicide. First, the recent or im-
pending loss of a significant person,
usually the death of a parent. Second,
ruminations about death, and/or
threats to commit suicide.
"People who talk about suicide
should be taken seriously," Lobis said.
"Eight out of every ten people who
commit suicide tell someone they are
thinking of hurting themselves before
they actually do it."
Other signs mentioned by Lobis in-
clude a great change in eating or
sleeping habits, the giving away of
prized possessions, a severe drop in
school grades, and a general feeling of
hopelessnes or worthlessness.

hotline and befriending service) said
empathic contact is crucial in suc-
cessful interventions with suicidal per-
sons. "One must reach out in a genuine
feeling way, to the extent that one feels
in oneself that the suicidal person's
rage is necessary," she said.
Caspar stressed the following must
be done if you think someone is
depressed or contemplating suicide:
" assess the immediate risk of
suicide by asking the person if they
have thought of how they would do it.
" ask if they have the means to do it
(Do they have the pills or the gun,
etc.?).
" ask if they have decided when and
where they would do it.
Lobis said the intervention process is
difficult and painful and "we must fight
within ourselves the automatic tendency
to avoid responsibility, to minimize the
seriousness of the situation, and to
hasten reassurance, more for ourselves
than the suicidal person," he added.
"If the suicidal person feels a sense of
connectedness, and a genuine sense of
being understood in a feeling way, his
or her self-esteem will rise sufficiently
to diminish the urgency of his suicidal
impulse and the person can subsequen-
tly be guided toward obtaining
professional help," Lobis said.

4

4

Emergency Services


esteems, serious interpersoanl
relationship problems, an unusually
high sensitivity to current social issues,
and a critical value divergence between
themselves and their parent
generation.

The report said depression often
arises in students when they "fail to
meet unrealistic expectations set by
themselyes and/or their parents,
and/or have made no career choice by
the end of their junior or senior years."

'U

SALLY CASPAR, 'co-director
Boston chapter of the Samaritans

of
(a


Need a lawyer?'Student Legal
Services is at your disposal


I


Extensive academic counseling is also provided by the
University. The following is a list of academica counseling

By DAN WOODS
Between ten page history papers and
grueling calculus exams, students often
encounter a variety of legal problems
requiring professional counsel.
The office of Student Legal Services
(SLS) was created by the University in
1971 for precisely this reason. The clinic
maintains five professional attorneys
and three additional support staff.
University undergraduates and law
students volunteer their services to
the office. All the services provided by
the office are free and paid for by man-
datory student fees amounting to $2.25
per student.
Located on the fourth floor of the
Union, SLS primarily deals with lan-
dlord/tenant problems, employment
and insurance contracts, and consumer
matters with warranties and defective
products, explained law student and
SLS volunteer Paul Teich.

He also said SLS deals with cases in-
volving family law matters, em-
ployment grievances, and criminal
legal matters.
The office holds drop in hours on a
first-come first-served basis on Monday
and Thursdays beginning at 2:00 p.m.,
according to SLS DIrector Jonathan
Rose.
ROSE ADVISES prospective clients
to "bring along all papers, including
leases, correspondence, cancelled
checks and anything else you think
might be relevant." This will save the
student and SLS time, he added.
Rose said during the appointment the
lawyer hearing a student's case may
suggest the client pursue the litigation
on his or her own, rather than having a
SLS lawyer or volunteer represent the
student in court.

"In many cases merely notifying the
landlord, or whoever, of your intent to
pursue the matter and also presenting
him with a written lawsuit supplied by
SLS will be enough to get a com-
promise," he said.
TEICH STRESSED SLS may not
handle certain cases because of restric-
tions handed by the state and Univer-
sity Board of Regents. These include
cases -
" involving individuals not enrolled at
the University.
. in which a private attorney could
represent a student in a claim for
money damages for a percentage of the
recovery, should he or she obtain one.
. involving profit-making ventures by
students.
" that would put an attorney in SLS into
a professional conflict of interest.

TEICH ADDED the office is only
*allowed to give advice in cases-
* involving litigation by one student
against another student of the Univer-
sity
" involving claims amounting to less
than $600.0
" involving traffic violations unless the
student's license is at stake
" in which the University is a plaintiff
or defendant in a legal proceeding.
However, Teichs explained that there
are exceptions above the restrictions,
and students should not hesitate to
come in to discuss any case. He also
said students are required to pay for
long distance phone calls and court
fees.
Despite limited facilities and a small
budget, Teich concluded that the office
provides high quality service and is
open to all suggestions and criticisms
students may have.

offices:
NAME

ADDRESS

Academic Counseling
Office
Coalition for the Use
of Learning Skills
Opportunity Program
Student Counseling
Office

1213 Angell Hall
1021 Angell Hall
1415 Mason Hall
1018 Angell Hall

HOURS
8:30-4:30 M-F
8-5 M-F
8:30-5 M-F
9-5 M-F

PHONE
764-0332
763-3402
764-9128
763-1552

4
4



uNmmmmwmmmmmm i Im-mmmmmim mmmm

t
1
I
t
t
t'
1
t
t.
t
t
I
t
1
1
t
t
t
I
t
t
I
I
.1
:1
'-e
:'I
:I
1
I
I

JUST WIHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WASAFE

To COME TO T HEBIG

"U"/

. e

i 9

u--rn
I
I
I
ii
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
'4
I
I
I
I
I
U
I
I
I
it
I
I
I
I
I
I
I-
I
*4
I,
U
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
*mm4

A

Michigan has one of the finest humor magazines anywhere!
It's called the Gargoyle. Your mother might not like it but it's a sure
bet that you will. Some people have been known to skip classes for
weeks on end just so they can savor every last joke. There will be at
least 4 issues this year so look for us. You'll love it!
If you would like to work on the Gargoyle that's great too. We
need Artists, Writers, Business Staffers, Production Helpers, and Sales-
people. You too can join the illustrious ranks of the Gargoyle. It looks
great on your resume. Don't miss out-look for signs for our introduc-

tory meeting or call 994-3891.

uommmmUmmmm

I

IghL md

w- rE A