Suicidal Students
• Suicide
American universities are in a bind when it comes to dealing with suicidal students.
… Since universities are legally prohibited from telling their version of events—because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act—it’s tricky to know exactly what’s going on in these cases. But don’t be too quick to judge the schools. Potential suicides put them in a serious bind. On the one hand, it obviously constitutes discrimination to suspend every Zoloft-taker. On the other hand, keeping suicidal students on campus can compromise the well-being of other students and potentially open up schools to lawsuits from parents. Schools aren’t necessarily wrong to take a tough stand. And in fact, some quasi-disciplinary measures may be in a suicidal student’s best interests.
The dilemma of college students who threaten to kill themselves.