Our community was hit by a terrible tragedy Thursday. Western administrators only added insult to injury by allowing the very personal death of our peer to become the subject of a rumor mill about why he may have committed suicide.
The university should not have publicized speculation of suicide in conjunction with the student’s name. It was inappropriate and an invasion of the privacy of our classmate and his family to send out memos about the potential cause of death to more than 14,000 students, faculty, staff and parents.
Suicide is not the proven cause of death for this young man. We cannot yet be sure he died at his own hands. If so, we can never even begin to understand why. It is unfair for university administrators to attribute that to him without proof.
This editorial board admits we are unsure if the family was involved in the decision to release information about the student’s death.
In situations as tragic as these, sometimes close friends and family members want the information available to the public. Doing so can spread awareness about suicide prevention and the depression that can lead to suicidal thoughts.
If that was the case in this situation, we are in full support of respecting the family’s wishes.
Paul Cocke, director of university communications, said officials would not be commenting on the family’s involvement in the decision to release the information out of respect for their privacy. Bruce Shepard referred The Western Front to Cocke when the same question was posed to him.
University officials took this tragedy and used it to spread information about preventing suicides and the wonderful institutions on campus that can provide help, such as the counseling center.
This outreach was an important step to take in preventing suicides among Western students and community members. We appreciate President Shepard sharing his personal experience with suicide and how it affected him. The university addressed the tragedy well.
The issue this editorial board sees is that university administrators published both the student’s name and speculation that it was a suicide.
If they wanted to use this tragedy to spread information about suicide prevention, they should not have published the student’s name. If they wanted to publish his name to inform students and faculty about the death of a community member, they should not have implied that it was a suicide.
Walking through campus and sitting in classes, one can hear the whispers and rumors spreading about why our peer potentially decided to kill himself — that is not our business as onlookers.
“Why” is something no one will ever be able to know. Choosing to commit suicide is an extremely personal decision that affects an entire community.
Spreading rumors is disrespectful and could be hurtful to the student’s memory, family, friends and everyone he met.
Suicide prevention information is vital, but not at the expense of our peer’s privacy.
We give our condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one — this week, or ever.
The editorial board is comprised of Editor-in-Chief Paige Collins, Managing Editor Marissa Abruzzini and Opinion Editor Sarah Aitchison.
