Shakespeare's Macbeth said life "is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Perhaps this is what that student who threatened to commit suicide in Irish Hall felt last week and maybe what many of you feel right now.
Two weeks ago, Stephen Bohler, a freshman at New York University, died after falling from the 10th floor of Bobst Library in New York.
His death may not have been a suicide, but three students have committed suicide by leaping to their death in recent weeks at NYU.
Is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to blame?
"Laws make much of a student's college life secret," said an article in The New York Times.
The 1974 federal legislation called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act originally was put in place to give students the right to evaluate their own records because some teachers would not allow them access. The law also stated colleges could not release any information about the student without permission. Many of us have had a semester in which we really appreciate this law when grades are sent out.
But it's not just our grades that parents have no access to. They can't get our medical records either, or find out why their child may be seeking medical help.
Inez Okrent, whose son was in his third year at Harvard, found out about her son's suicide death after an organ donor organization contacted her, not the school.
As we all know, college changes everything. Many of us are not as close to our families because of distance or the mere fact that we are making a way for ourselves and feel we have to do it alone.
The privacy act seems to perpetuate this problem, but attitudes are slowly changing. Many universities, in conjunction with counseling services and psychology departments, are deciding that safety is more important than privacy.
For instance, counselors at the University of Michigan have students sign a paper allowing the school to contact parents if it becomes necessary during treatment.
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students after automobile accidents, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
And the National Institute of Mental Health reported that suicide is the eighth-leading cause of death among American adults, at 1.3 percent. That is two times the amount of deaths attributed to HIV/AIDS in this country.
No matter what outside reasons are for wanting to commit suicide, FERPA, which prohibits some communication between parents and their children, shouldn't be blamed. Students need to reach out.
"A person suffering from depression cannot monitor themselves," said Okrent.
ASU offers many services for students who are depressed or contemplating suicide, including a suicide prevention program. The counseling and consultation office is located on the second floor of the Student Services building.
The Web site lists risk factors of suicide that we should all watch out for in one another, including loss of interest or pleasure in most activities, extreme changes in sleeping patterns and feelings of guilt or self-blame.
"When they do go for help, few report their suicidal intent, and few receive any psychiatric treatment, even though nearly half the suicidal students present the need for some medical treatment in the months before committing suicide," according to an article by Dr. Alan Lipschitz on www.afsp.org.
Even if our parents don't have access to our records and grades, there is no law prohibiting communication.
So keep the lines open. The first step to feeling better is reaching out to someone.
Catherine Portillo is a journalism senior. Reach her at catherine.portillo@asu.edu.
