Breaking the silence
to Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE). For every one of those successful suicides, 25 people attempt suicide, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. What can be done? Last year, the Grand View community grieved two young men who took their own lives.
Kyle Moore was an 18-year-old freshman in the fall of 2015 at Grand View University. He died in October at Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines by what his parents described as an accidental overdose.
Seven months later Will Penamon, a 19-year-old freshman, committed suicide at his home in Independence, Missouri.
In the wake of both tragedies, very little communication was given to the Grand View community. Officials at Grand View chose not to disclose any information on how either student died. This caused a lot of speculation, and misinformation circulated campus and social media. The Grand View Crisis Team, a group of approximately 20 leaders on campus, decided how
to handle the situations of Moore and Penamon’s deaths.
Grand View Crisis Team
The crisis team puts together a communication plan within 24 hours of a campus crisis. The goal of this team is to be able to make a plan and effectively communicate any information that the families involved would like the Grand View community to know. Along with Grand View as a whole, they talk to immediate friends, classmates and teammates when a student dies, to offer support and one- on-one counseling.
Kent Schornack, director of leadership and counseling, explained the process Grand View leaders
go through when a crisis happens, specifically a death. The first people to get notified are usually Schornack; Jay Prescott, vice president of Student Affairs; Kenlyn Gordon, assistant director of leadership and counseling; residential assistants and hall directors.
Usually within 24 hours of the death, either Schornack or Prescott will make contact with the family
to express sympathies, gather information and find out how the family would like Grand View to handle the situation. Schornack said he needs to let campus know what happened but also make sure that
he won’t cause the family any more trauma than they have already been through. Schornack does reevaluate what the family wants communicated throughout the few days and weeks that follow a student’s death.
Schornack said he wants Grand View students to feel at ease, but when it involves a family, the parents are the ones who just had the most traumatic experience of their life, and you don’t want to make that worse. Each person, friend and family grieves in a different way. The crisis team has to take into consideration not only the students but also the family of the student who just died. Part of the follow up that Grand View officials do with the family is let them know what is being said on campus and ask them how they would like to proceed.
The crisis team made the decision to contain as much information as possible when rumors spread after Moore’s death. Schornack said the decision to contain information
was based mainly on the wishes of the family, but he also took into consideration the needs of the students. Schornack said we are a society that wants immediate information, and there are rumors that fly on social media. When he sees this misinformation, he has to remind himself that his priority is with the family and how they would like him to proceed.
“It comes back to the protocol of primarily honoring how parents want to handle information,” Schornack said. “You just have to kind of hold your ground and communicate what you can communicate. Know the priority of where your highest level of respect for information comes from.”
Schornack and Gordon agreed they have to continue to evaluate how much information should be given out to students and faculty when a crisis happens on campus.
Student Perspective
Many of us as students felt left in the dark last year when the two deaths occurred within our Grand View community. As can be expected, students started talking, and stories began to get further and further from the truth. We then pointed fingers and questioned whether others could have done more. By that point, we lost sight of who we really should have been thinking about.
We of course asked what happened, why it happened and whom it happened to, but did we ever stop and ask the hard questions of ourselves? Could I have done something to prevent it?
Is there anyone else around me who I need to be concerned about? How do I get help for myself or someone else if needed? Whom do I talk to on campus for help if I have depression or thoughts of suicide?
As sad as this is to say, many of us would not be able to answer those hard questions. At one point or another, we have all heard or been a part of discussions on depression and suicide. For example, Schornack or Gordon talk about mental health during new student days. I suspect at least 90 percent of us have left those discussions thinking I will never have to deal with a situation or people like those presented to me today. I know I did. But when two young, depressed men take their own lives, does it fall back on the students for not taking advantage of the resources given to us and actively engaging in the fight against depression, loneliness, doubt and suicide? I think it does.
Schornack explained why Grand View has not offered a campus-wide speaker on suicide and depression.
“I remember we had a student a few years ago die in a car accident coming home from the Iowa vs. Iowa State game,” Schornack said. “We tried to offer not so much a speaker but a large group of availability and processing stuff together, and maybe one or two people came.”
This is why we need to start asking the hard questions and recognize our roles in combatting mental health. Take a look around at the people in your life, and ask yourself those hard questions.
Are they depressed or isolating themselves to a point that you should be concerned? If the answer is yes, find help from counselors on campus or people in your local community.
Staying Ahead of Mental Health
Peer Counselors, a student leadership group on campus, educate students through different activities and events throughout the year on a variety
of topics, including mental health. Peer Counselors are a select group of students who are able to sit down and talk with anyone who would like to do so in a relaxed atmosphere. Students are able to email Peer Counselors directly to set up a time to meet.
Schornack said even though there are multiple tools, resources and educational opportunities at Grand View and around Des Moines, most people won’t fully listen to the information given to them until they are personally affected by a situation
If you are not suffering from depression, there are 350 million people in the world who are, according to the Huffington Post.
If you think someone might be struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask that tough question, “Are you thinking about committing suicide?” according to Schornack.
What Can You Do?
“I think suicide is a tough topic for people to talk about,” Gordon said. “I wish it weren’t because it is happening, and we need to talk about it.”
Gordon suggested using any of the resources offered on campus or any resources within the Des Moines community if you are battling depression. Even if you don’t have depression or suicidal thoughts, 30 out of every 100 college-age students reported having depression, according to the Huffington Post.
Even though we might not be able to fully prepare for or prevent depression and suicide from happening, Grand View does offer ways for students to get help and get involved so they don’t feel so isolated.
Schornack said he aims to have more relationships and connections built on campus through participation in small groups and events. On campus groups such as student ministries, SAC, Viking Council, salsa nights, free movie nights and other events that are put on by various groups to help to reach students in a fun environment. It then falls back on the students to go to the events and make an effort to reach out to others.
Many students might still have some lingering questions about Kyle Moore or Will Penamon’s deaths. If you are one of these students, Schornack challenges you to stop and ask yourself if these answers will make you feel better or if they will just help your curiosity.
“Can you be a community that just supports each other in grief instead of a community that just wants to know what happened?” Schornack asked.
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