Salpointe Catholic High School - Horizons Yearbook (Tucson, AZ)

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12 FEATURES , ,QLwWM,M,,M,. :M wsinqiiw L YK W V ,: :5'n:EliI1 ff , . - 1 Q L , is Jviiwilfe . f u. 2 M, -. Hg y, 1 V ' ,. .zuu W. ,fri -M :aww T

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L l ...him 'QF X WRC Qc., SQ' Lis? HU CINE, UL 3 'KN!H57l 2'E 1 U. , ...st 1 F 'Tir 4-Q .Hs ii-v ,ug,,,'ftsfe Gossip travels fast, thanks to Amy Patterson, '87, and Paula Scalone, '87, via a not-so-subtle note. Meanwhile, Tanya lberg, '87, prepares one of her own, as Chris Patyk, '87, and John Nichols, '87, use the more direct approach, and Bob Fanning, '87, puts down his Enquirer to watch, Victimized by rumors, these students wish to remain anonymous, Spreading the news, Katie Romano, '87, tells a friend, Lost in the maze, frosh Regine Webster, '90, and Megan Stefanek, '90 search for the rumored elevator. RUMORS ll Q-QR, 1 f 1' n

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l l l l - l l l l l f l l el i A T l THE GREAT DEPRESSION l A A H. 7 7 H he thr at of teena e suicide Hello? ' . who attempt suicide do not succeed, talking to counselors, teachers, priests, Kathy?'lt's Susan. ' 8 A -3 butarather end up doing great bodily or coaches. But who would alpointe Hi, Sue. ls something the matter,-5 You harm to themselves. There are those students turn to if thinking ab ut com- sound upset. i A l A who have been confined to a wheelchair mitting suicide? According t a Sal- Yes, l . . . l swallowed some pills. for the rest of their lives because offan pointe poll: , Oh God, when? ' , attempted suicide. Those who do suc- t l can't remember . . . Kathy, will you ceed in killing themselves usually don't lil 56 percent would turn to a friend for please help me! l'm afraid. l understand the finality of death. help, , 7 Of course I'll help you. I love you. l'm Who, then, ' is the A true victims of- a lj 12 percent would discuss thrir prob. going to call 911, and then l'll belright suicide? Salpointe students split half- lems with a family member, a d there. a , way on the answer to the difficult ques- El surprisingly, 32 percent of poll re- Although the lcharacters in this dia- tion. Conner Childers, '87, feltithat the spondents would keep their eeling to logue are fictional, similar situations oc- cur rnore often thanamost people would care to believe. lSuicide'has.,become a major issue in lthe 'worldf todayl. and ranks second arnong the causes of ado- lescent death. l a Salpointe poll stu- dents unanimougly decided that silicide is never a reasonable answer to thelpres- sures that teens face. As one freshman offered, Problems and stress can al- ways be, worked out. Yet an attenript at suicide is made 70 times each day iln the United States. a . Why has suicide become such a 'com- monl response to problems in today's society? The reasons are many. During the teenage years, emotions are rvery interise and tiny traumas can reall t add up to a lot of stress for the individ5i.ial, explained Vickyl Stromell, director of Tucson's Suicide Hotline. Such prob- lems may include a rough family life, the pressure of schoolwork, the recent loss of aloved one, orluncertainty about the future. 1 For someone contemplating suihide, the rationalizatioh seems simple. lEnd- ing the life equals ending the probliems. A suicidal person believes that his or her death will make others feel how much suffering lie or she went thr ugh while alive. What they fail to realize, however, is that,l as one junior pointed out, f'Ending your life does not end the person who takes his own life loses the most,.because 'fthere isso much that is unseen,'untouched,jand unexperienced by adolescents. .A sophomore agreed, and stated that suicide depriveslthe person of thezmany wonderful things life has to offer. The other half ofthe respondents felt -that those left behind had the ,biggest burden to carry, and pointed out that conflicting emotions continue to torment 'fsurvivors for months. Family andfriendslexperience not only deepesadness when 'someone they love kills themselves, but also an enormous sense of guilt. Expressing her feelingson the loss of a friend, Kris- ten Andersonf '88, said, ' lt hurts . enoughftomakelme ,wantwto forget,butl 4 loved her7s'o much'that'l-can't. S. ' A great number offstudents feltfthat, as a community, Salpointe should form is some type of suicide prevention pro- gram. John Kinerk, '87, suggestedthat a hotline or counseling center is need- ed which teens could trust. They need a good. first- stepiin helping themselves realize that they are .worth somethingfr' Other Salpointe students. agreed that there 'should be at place where students could go sandy share emotions and thoughts with their peers-in a casual, confidential atmosphere. One such pro- gramihad begun in Tucsonfin co-opera- tion with'the!Suicide Hotline. Special.. f themselves. A Because so many students would not express their feelings, it is vital that friends and family pick up on the warn- ing signs of a potentialf suici e. Said Kim Mills. '88, A person,has tohbe very sensitiveto a'friend's feelings. 1 t's nec- essary to watch for the slightest sign of depression, even when it rnay not seem like an actual 'warning sign'. Jl'he tip- l offs, to a possible' suicide att cludef 1 1 'El a change in eating lor' sleepir its L l lil using phrases such as yo even miss me when l'm gone. Ill giving away personal belongings, or mpt in- ng hab- won't e Greater. awareness of these 'warning signs was brought to Salpointe by the untimely death ofa Salpointe student in l February of 1986. Heather Trial o. '88, made theapoint that it's sad to think that-the actual death of a friend often the only thing that 'makes is most people realize the seriousness of la teenhge sui- cidef' r ln today's fast-paced society, with its constant advancement, it is easy to lose sight ofthe worth of the ind within it. But if more teens learn ividuals to com- municate with others, and more people SUICIDE 13 lives of those around you. They must listeners wereavailable if a teen wanted learn to recognize when a palason is pick up the pieces and go on. Some- to talk out problems with someone the 'reaching out, then maybe the tt reat of thing else they fail to realize is that most teen's,own age. Other options included teenage suicide could be ended! l I fa l , , l. , a adlfff'-44-L Della- eC5arvJ2 9-tok l t l TEENAGE l l