Staff hosts suicide prevention panel

Five Portland State faculty and staff members discussed suicide facts and prevention tips on May 15, as part of a panel about suicide among college students and the legal implications that suicide has for a university.

Tuesday’s discussion was not held to discuss hard facts, but to provide an avenue of sharing suicide prevention information, said Layton Borkan, interim director of counseling and psychological services at the Center for Student Health and Counseling (SHAC).

The panelists said it is important that students who seem to be suicidal contact some kind of help, such as the Multnomah County Crisis Line. They said that people who are suicidal often seem depressed, and may exhibit drastic shifts in behavior or be withdrawn from friends.

If students seem to show these signs, the panelists said that someone should contact a help line.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, behind automotive accidents, according to a 2005 National College Health Risk Behavior survey. The national average of suicides on campus is 1,088 per year and the overall student suicide rate is 7.5 out of 100,000, the panelists’ research presentation showed.

There have been no conclusive suicides at Portland State in the last three years, according to Borkan. She said that Oregon’s universities generally have a low rate of suicide.

The University of Oregon reported a total of four suicides between 2000 and 2004, she said, and Oregon State University reported two suicides this year.

Borkan said that tracking suicide statistics is very difficult for universities because of uncertainties when assessing student deaths and because some parents do not wish to disclose the suicide of their children.

“Suicide statistics aren’t always conclusive,” Borkan said. “It’s mostly educated guessing, since some families feel shame when their student commits suicide.”

Borkan said that 50 percent of students are likely to exhibit suicidal gestures, such as superficial cutting or lethal blends of alcohol and drugs. She said that clinical depression is a major role in these actions.

Fifty percent of college students will experience depression and 60 percent of people who commit suicide suffer from depression, according to the panelists’ research presentation.

Panelist Carla Riedlinger, SHAC suicide prevention coordinator, told the audience that she has read research claiming that over 90 percent of all suicides are caused by depression. Borkan said that PSU applies a “Question, Persuade and Refer” (QPR) model to help depressed students access mental health resources on campus.

PSU general counsel Henry “Chip” Lazenby spoke on the panel to address legal questions regarding student suicide. Lazenby said that the legal aspects of suicide cases are often varied and must be approached on a case-by-case basis.

Lazenby said that if a faculty member is concerned about the mental well-being of students, they should talk with their students and ask why they feel suicidal.

“We don’t need to be legally draconian about suicidal risks, but a university does need to have practical protocol in place for managing the risk that suicide poses to the university,” Lazenby said.

Borkan said that students all need to be aware of emergency contacts in case of a suicidal crisis, and the panel distributed emergency contact cards to the audience. She said that calling the Multnomah County Crisis Line or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can save students from potential suicide.

“Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem,” Borkan said.

Sukhwant Jhaj, interim director of University Studies, and Michele Toppe, assistant dean of students, also participated in the panel.

The Multnomah County Crisis Line phone number is 503-998-4888, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).