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Disillusion: Adventures at A Catholic college: An opportuinity lost |
Posted by
tallidaho on Friday, October 29, 2004 - 12:46 AM PST
One can always tell the most about the personality of an entity by how it reacts to inordanate amounts of stress. Lately, this particular Catholic College has had more than it's fair share. A freshman football player committed suicide after finding out he was being prosecuted (in a civil case) for a rape that both the school judicial system and the public judicial system had cleared him of. One shot to the head, and it was over.
At least, for him. For the school, things were just beginning. To start off with, this was one in four reported rapes from just one weekend. While this particular one was ruled as a non-issue (as both verbal consent, and alcohol for both parties had played a part) the other three were pending in the city judicial system. In addition, this student was well-liked by most in the co-ed freshman dorm (which I still contend is a BAD idea). In the three and a half weeks since this suicide, there have been six attempted suicides in this building alone.
Statistics would say this is normal. Every attempt to "reach" students and "provide emotional support" has supposedly been taken. The problem with this? There are two therapists on campus. One is so ultra-religious most students are scared of him. The other is so overloaded she is working 12-hour days on a regular basis. Where else do students have to turn? Not many places. Mostly, their Community Advisors (CAs, instead of the generally accepted RA's). As a hall director, I am in my second year of the CA group, and we do not have the training, or the ability, to handle a crisis like this.
So instead, in comes the spiritual "help." For some, it is welcome. For most, it is not. Why? Because the comfort that the human psyche needs at this point is not met with the priests going on about how the individual that committed suicide was going to hell for his sin, how the woman who accused him of rape is blaming him for her decision to be a slut, and how everyone should confess constantly because they could die at any time.
Am I the only one here that says WOAH! What happened to the concept of human dignity? Of not only caring for the souls of the flock, but also the health, the dignity, the well-being, the emotional life of those that are supposed to be saved? The man who committed suicide is not only sorry for, and regrets, his actions, as was expressed before his death; but there has been so much pain already, why add to it?
At a time that this school had the opportuinity to show it's best colors, the worst have once again flown. My worst fear is that the next student who tries, succeeds. How many students must die before the "leaders" realize that there is a time for compassion?
I only wish that when this man's spirit came to say his final goodbyes, and walk down his hallway once more, he could have been greeted with sadness, loss, and understanding-- not the feelings of hatred and self-loathing that could have been so easily prevented.
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Adventures at A Catholic college: An opportuinity lost | Login/Create an account | 4 Comments |
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Re: Adventures at A Catholic college: An opportuinity lost
by ash_psyche (-)
on Oct 29, 2004 - 03:52 PM
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Sheesh, that's rediculous. What a bunch of morons. No wonder there were attempted suicides afterwards. Did they even bother to address the community guilt issue in that dorm? It's horribly misguided 'christian counselors' like that that made me choose my major in psychology in the first place. If I ever turn into anything like that, I respectfully request that I be shot. But what's this about him being sorry for his actions? I thought he had been exonerated by the school and public judicial systems. Sounds like he didn't do anything that bad to be that sorry for.
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Re: Adventures at A Catholic college: An opportuinity lost
by Tiresias (tiresias43athotmaildotcom)
on Oct 29, 2004 - 07:00 PM
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Sometimes I think schools and many other environments end up exacerbating the problems they try to solve, especially when it comes to the emotional health of their students. Sometimes I think that even the way administrators call attention to problems makes it worse. At the first speech given during orientation at my current school, I was struck by the fact that the speaker chose to mention that students tend to exhibit mental problems at a rate far above the population at large, and that there is a big problem with alcoholism and drug abuse that it is believed often start in school. Also, I was told repeatedly that the following year would be the worst of my life and that I should just get used to the idea. They were right, but I thought that was a harsh way to be greeted into a new environment.
The stress didn't stop there...it continues on through school. There have been so many examples of professors or administrators saying or doing things that seemed to serve no useful purpose besides adding stress. We had a speaker in one of my classes a couple days ago who made sure to tell us to behave ourselves because it is difficult to get a job and we all have mountains of debt to pay off. I sat there thinking "as if we all aren't worried enough as it is."
But to bring this back to the topic at hand, the environment at your school does not sound at all conducive to encouraging students to seek help if they need it. Blanket declarations about and condemnations of sinful behavior might help force people to stay in line, but it can't make people want to. It is much easier to get people to do something if they want to, rather than just feeling like they have to.
On a side note, why do you think coed dorms are a bad idea? I lived in one my first two years of undergrad and rather liked the experience (hell, I basically had a coed dorm room my first year since two of our girlfriends were there nearly all the time).
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