The tragic story of University of Pennsylvania freshman Madison Holleran’s recent suicide made national news, sparking conversations about how such horrific events can be prevented.
Even before Holleran’s death, people have discussed strategies of preventing tragedy. In December 2013, CNN wrote in an article titled “Big Brother is watching,” that at one school, social media monitoring actually helped save a high school student’s life because the student “was talking on social media about ‘ending his life.’”
However, as the article cited, there is much controversy over whether schools “should do more to monitor students’ online interactions off-campus to protect them from dangers such as bullying, drug use, violence and suicide.”
At Fairfield, students and professors alike had differing opinions about this strategy. Dr. Michael Serazio, an assistant professor in communication who studies social media closely said, “Anything that can be done to prevent tragedies, like [Holleran’s] death should be considered.”
Logistically, however, he said that it may not be practical for the University to be able to screen all of its students’ social media for warning signs.
“What can happen, I think, is the University relies on students to monitor other students’ social media content and try to pick up on warning signs that way,” he said.
Dean of Students Karen Donoghue ‘03 said, “If students bring forward concerns via social media, we address it and make referrals. We rely and encourage friends to refer when someone is in need.”
Students, who interact with each other through social media on a daily basis, also cited the importance of helping those in need, but questioned the University’s role in that.
Junior Kathryn Dennen said, “I think that people deserve to have people there to help them, but I don’t think the University should be in social media.”
She said that a good resource for people in distress is campus ministry. Also, students can turn to the counseling and psychological services center, a faculty member or a friend if they are in need. Students can also do things such as make lists or call a close friend or family member, like Dennen does, when they are feeling stressed.
Senior Hillary Fitts said that such monitoring would be “an invasion of privacy” and that “it comes down to friends and family.”
“It’s truly up to those who are around the person the most to recognize certain tendencies that seem uncharacteristic,” she added.
Professor Kathryn Phillips, who teaches nursing students about mental health, discussed the importance of physical warning signs that would obviously go unnoticed by social media monitoring.
“You might be able to find something [in social media],” she said, but most people exhibit signs such as “change[s] in behavior, personality, sleep patterns, how they’re eating.” They may be “talking about death,” “saying that they’re feeling overwhelmed, that they can’t do this anymore,” and all of these are signs that the student needs help.
Reports about Holleran’s behavior before her suicide said that her parents had noticed changes in Holleran when she came home from the winter break.
Phillips provided statistics from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which state that “nearly half of all college students say they felt so depressed that they found it difficult to function in the past school year.”
She added that in the case of Holleran, she was a freshman “adjusting to a new level of academic rigor” while also being away from home, which would have played a role in the stress she was experiencing. However, she said that any student can experience stressors that test their ability to cope. Seniors, for instance, may feel stress due to the economic climate and its possible effect on their post-graduation employment.
She said Fairfield “put[s] supports in place for you here, like having your advisers meet with you, the first year experience program,” due to the stressors that can occur throughout any college student’s experience. The counseling center and other resources are also in place for that reason.
Freshman Gabriella Restivo said that if she was concerned about a friend, she would talk to them personally and would also feel comfortable going to a counselor or parent if she felt it was necessary.
Donoghue further emphasized the role students can play in preventing tragedy among their peers. She said, “Students cannot be bystanders. We need their help when people are in need.”
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