Oh my God, I am getting to the point that I'm afraid to read the Sun. This is terrible, just tragic!

It seems to me that there are two distinct issues here. Severe pressure that may or may not drive students to take their own lives and, people dying (whatever the underlying cause) as a result of the gorges. With the news of this student less than 24 hours after the last seen jumping off of this structure, wouldn't it be prudent to have it patrolled 24/7 by a human being? Forget millions of dollars for safety nets and higher railings. People will always find a way around technology. There is no substitute for good old human contact. Perhaps they could build a guardhouse. But it needs to be manned continuously! They should also have camera surveillance for surrounding areas not easily visible from this post. This would also prevent the many injuries students obtain while illegally swimming in the gorges. I may not be a Cornell student or graduate but it is apparent to me that it is logical to take immediate action to prevent this from ever happening again, or at least making it a very rare event. Surely two days in a row must inspire the University to take more serious action than a sympathetic E-mail, and reminder of the schools mental health program! Again, I am not saying this is the answer to suicide prevention as many posters assert every time someone suggests securing the gorges. I sent my freshman (Engineering student)off this past September to Cornell proud and hopeful...now I am hoping that the pressure there doesn't drive him to unhappiness and despair. My heart is heavy for all of the students who have been lost and their families and friends. This is a very sad chapter for this fine institution.

Matt wrote a moving and descriptive poem of his struggle with the darkness of depression in his facebook page on March 3 at 1:28 am. I'm not sure why nobody picked up on it. Depressed people often try to cover up because they are embarrassed. Reach out and persist when you think someone is in trouble.What a terribly sad tragedy.

The suspension bridge must be closed permanently. Also, all bridges must be covered and made such a way that no one can jump-off the bridges. There must be security cameras in these bridges as well. This is a very non expensive way to prevent such mishaps in cornell campus and also help students to be safe in harse winter.

This is tragic. When we will hear more about the circumstances under which these tragedies happened, so that we can help prevent them in the future?

This death presents our community with yet another unspeakable tragedy. While President Skorton has clearly been placed in an extremely difficult position, it surprises me that only now is the University's public level of concern beginning to approach what it should have been all along. This, by the account of the rumor mill, is Cornell's fifth suicide this year. Is it only because two men in 24 hours (both Engineering majors) have allegedly chosen to take their own lives, that we should start making an effort to take care of one another? What did the others teach us? The University has thus far sent a message to its students that if each one of us were to leave this earth, our legacy would be a closed-off bridge and a form-letter email. Yes, Cornell is competitive. Yes, Ithaca can be rather depressing. And yes, the University does invest a great deal of money and time in student mental health. If nothing else, however, we can learn from these tragedies that THIS IS NOT ENOUGH. Advisors who make no effort to contact their advisees, RAs whose doors remain perpetually closed, and no real university effort to integrate anyone after the end of orientation week - these are issues that need to be addressed. The bridges are not the problem at hand here; the abandoned student body is. We appreciate that the school is now beginning to treat these untimely deaths with the concern they deserve, but we have a long way to go. Step your game up, Cornell.

Why does everyone assume that suicide is the case in these string of deaths? Has homicide been ruled out? It seems somewhat suspicious that 3 male students have died within such a short time span. I hope the police investigate this further.

This is getting sick.

Every time I hear of this happening, my heart breaks for the Parents, Family and Friends of the Student. It is difficult to comprehend the complete and utter despair that a person is in to bypass a "cry for help" first. According to the people who knew them, their was no indication. If there was no indication, it makes it that much more difficult to prevent. The increase in meetings with advisors, this weekend room checks, suggested freshman courses, increased railing heights etc... may be successful in reaching most, but for those few, the ones that break your heart, only a chance at stopping it is at the crucial point that may be the only option. Has Cornell installed live feed cameras on all the bridges that link to a security monitors at the police station? A Tech watching the feeds can certainly call the Cornell Police, like a Blue Lights, if they see someone behaving in such a way that it is cause for concern.

My thoughts and prayers are with their Families.

There was police and/or staff person on every bridge since last night and early this morning. See this link for information on what steps Cornell is taking: http://cornell.edu/video/static03132010/ An alumna '05

This is an unspeakably tragic story, and my condolences go out to everyone who knew and loved these students. The solution, however is not covers on bridges, higher rails or bridge closures. These petty measures will not protect students from themselves. Cameras and guard towers might be a deterrent, but the will to live or die is still within the individual and no guard tower will stop a person on a mission from finding another route to their goal.

I certainly don't have the solution; I loved cornell and felt a part of a well connected community. Swimming in the gorges and jumping off the cliffs are some of my favorite memories of my time in Ithaca. I don't know if there's an organizational level (department? major? residence hall?) that could be most effective in creating a supportive environment that might prevent student suicides... maybe in the end it still comes down to "look out for each other" on the most individual of scales.

Constant surveillance of bridges will at best prevent jumps, not cure the depression that causes suicide. Anyone determined enough to jump will find another way to end things.

Cornell isn't the only place where stress is high, especially with the recession. If you want to stop suicides, you have give people the support they need to get past their problems. And since it is often not obvious that someone is that desperate until it is too late, that means continually looking out for our fellow men and women in all the communities we are a part of.

Cameras aren't going to do anything nor someone patrolling 24/7 to prevent bridge jumping. It's quite obvious a jumper will find a way to jump if they are really determined even with physical deterrents. It takes one simple motion to carry one over the side, and not even a person yelling will be able to stop that unless they are right next to them. It's about stopping the issue of depression/stress and having avenues of open communication prior to someone being driven to the point of no return. The administration has made it very clear we have open channels to talk to if we needed, there's 5 areas to find supportive services on campus..

RIP Cornellian.

[the following was sent to the Engineering Dean, and I post it here publicly]

I have a few suggestions, as someone who did his undergraduate work at a notoriously difficult school, Caltech:

* The engineering faculty needs to seriously rethink the curriculum and the pressures it puts on students. As a member of the student government at Caltech I was continually trying to get engineering faculty to reconsider the onerous requirements, coupled with the external pressures that students face these days. While these requirements might have been reasonable in the past, and present faculty can say, "Well, we had to go through them when we were undergraduates", the fact of the matter is that the world is different now and students are faced with a variety of pressures---familial, societal, cultural---that were simply not present in the past. If the requirements cannot be changed, then we need to seriously reconsider the desire for graduate in four years, and push for five years or more, with the requisite needed increase in financial aid.

* The engineering faculty should push for at least one day off of classes each month. While a master's student at MIT, I saw how this policy was welcomed by students and professors alike, and, according to the undergraduates, was helpful in increasing student morale. In the dark humor of MIT these days were known as "suicide prevention days".

* Most importantly, the engineering faculty needs to stand with the professors in the humanities and the arts and call for the arts programs to not be cut. As a student at Caltech, myself and others relied on the arts---music and theater arts---as a way to deal with the insane workload. The engineering faculty, starting from the Dean down, must call on the Provost to prevent the major cuts being discussed in the Theatre, Film, and Dance program. By standing in solidarity with these other departments, the Engineering College can show its students that it understands the importance of these other programs to their students' well-being. We cannot see our students as compartmentalized, but rather need to understand how engineering students utilize resources across the university to deal with the challenges of being an engineering student.

The problem is NOT the bridge. It is NOT the gorge. If someone wants to kill himself or herself, that person will find a way. I'm sure campuses with 0 bridges have suicides. Instead of worrying about making the bridges safer, let's concentrate on the atmosphere of this institution as a whole. Reach out, check up on your friends, even friends you've fallen out of touch with, even classmates and acquaintances. Simply saying "I'm here for you" isn't enough...actually be there, actually show support. While I too believe that the administration of Cornell needs to make a better effort, we as students can make a better community for ourselves.

It is sad to hear that two tragedies occurred within two days from a great institution. Has the Cornell faculty and staff, especially those from the College of Engineering, ever thought about the real cause of student suicides?

It is quite obviously that the origin of depression and pressure of Cornell undergraduate students stems from the careless and arrogant staff of the university. Their productivity isnormally evaluated by research, not teaching. Imagine this: faculty or contracted-instructors who teach classes treat undergraduates like graduate students. Instructors who pay more attention to their research than on being good teachers do not provide comprehensive concept explanations on the subjects taught. They expect that Cornell students are natural geniuses and have the knowledge before they enter Cornell. There are discussion sections and tutoring provided to students but they always conflict with other classes. Furthermore, it seems like they enjoy defeating students with questions originating outside the topics covered in class.

If you go back and read the reports of these "suicides," dating back past 2002, you will see that most of the friends and loved ones stated "there was no indication." Maybe there was "no indication" because they weren't depressed/suicidal. How can you prevent something that's not there?

The ads on the Sun website aren't helping at all:

"Study in Vermont this summer with UVM. Catch up. Get ahead."

Such language, of always being behind, of always trying to get ahead, is one of the many fuels for the furnace of pressure on undergraduates today. They're constantly told that they need to work harder, that they need to do better, that they are not doing things well enough, that they need to _achieve_. Where has the time gone when college was a place to explore, to meander, to get lost and try and find one's way through the world? This pressure on our students has to stop. We have to figure out a way to make college less a preparation for a job---a job that in which the pressures will likely only continue---and more a place for building oneself through whatever means necessary. Doing so is hard, of course, and requires major structural adjustments both inside and outside the university. However, it's the only way to proceed, because the decrease in mental health, both inside of colleges and outside in the general population, is not going to get any better otherwise. We need to start seeing our students (and people in general) ecologically---meaning in the sense of a whole, entire person, always already embedded within mental, physical, and social processes that all impinge on one's ability to function, and that all need to be considered when speaking about the well-being of a person.

Oh, Jeez! Here are the facts about suicide as found in the NIMH web site. Note that there is nothing about suspension bridges or "crushing" course loads mentioned:

Suicide is a major, preventable public health problem. In 2006, it was the eleventh leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for 33,300 deaths. The overall rate was 10.9 suicide deaths per 100,000 people. An estimated 12 to 25 attempted suicides occur per every suicide death.

Suicidal behavior is complex. Some risk factors vary with age, gender, or ethnic group and may occur in combination or change over time.

What are the risk factors for suicide?

Research shows that risk factors for suicide include:

* depression and other mental disorders, or a substance-abuse disorder (often in combination with other mental disorders). More than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have these risk factors

* prior suicide attempt

* family history of mental disorder or substance abuse

* family history of suicide

* family violence, including physical or sexual abuse

* firearms in the home, the method used in more than half of suicides

* incarceration

* exposure to the suicidal behavior of others, such as family members, peers, or media figures.2

However, suicide and suicidal behavior are not normal responses to stress; many people have these risk factors, but are not suicidal. Research also shows that the risk for suicide is associated with changes in brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, including serotonin. Decreased levels of serotonin have been found in people with depression, impulsive disorders, and a history of suicide attempts, and in the brains of suicide victims.

As someone who has been struggling with an onset of depression since my arrival in Ithaca last fall, I can say that the news of the recent student deaths has been devastating. And folks who argue that the services offered by Gannett are not enough, I sadly have to agree. I saw a number of different people last semester, hoping to find a good fit (someone with whom I could speak openly and not feel as though I was being dismissed or my concerns trivialized) and did not succeed. It seemed that the question I was asked most often was, "And how are your classes? Is this affecting your schoolwork?" (The answer was no. My emotional state has had no impact on my performance, but the fact that I admitted to crying daily should have been the focus of the discussion, not my grades). I found that NOT going to Gannett was less stressful (I was also alarmed by the fact that they were all-too-ready to prescribe anti-depressants). Sometimes it isn't the stress of the workload and sometimes it is. Sometimes it's the feeling of isolation and sometimes it's stress and problems that you're bringing with you to Cornell from home. Who knows? It varies from person to person. We are in our own heads/rooms/offices so often - working, reading, left with our own thoughts - that even when in the company of others, it becomes easy to remove yourself and still not really be there (at least in my experience). Recently, someone asked me how I've been doing at Cornell and I burst into tears. Horrified (to say I was embarrassed is a gross understatement), I began to apologize. The person I was speaking to hugged me in response, and though that made me cry all the more for a moment, the fact that a total stranger extended that sort of personal human kindness, made that day different for me than those of the past eight months. The point of this long-winded anecdotal-esque statement is to say: Hug a stranger today. Hug a friend, roommate, neighbor, a person you once had class with that you see crying on campus. You can't underestimate the difference this could make for someone.

It's difficult to say what drives each student to suicide, in the three cases, from what I've heard from friends who knew these students, there didn't seem to be signs. Hindsight is 20/20, but we cannot read the minds of others even when we're constantly around them.

Yes, suicide is preventable, but the fact that Cornell's location in the gorges sensationalises the deaths more than other universities. As a pre-frosh, when I told people I was going to Cornell, many joked "don't jump off the gorges" to me. There are other students at other schools that have committed suicide (ie Northwestern, several weeks ago), but we don't hear about it because of the location or we're so absorbed in our own Cornellian bubble that we don't notice the outside world. I have joked many times when I go home how "starved" I am for news because I don't have the luxury of reading the newspaper when I should be studying for an exam.

I don't believe that raising the barriers will make it better, because students will attempt to take their lives in other ways. Yes, we should reach out to friends more, but due to the amount of school work, this is difficult because we're each caught up with our own workload, relationships, and etc. For the people who say we should change the curriculum, it's the same everywhere else. Public universities deflate their grades more than we do, and EVERY SCHOOL tries to weed people out. It's not just us. True, compared to the other Ivies, we grade deflate a lot, but what about public schools such as UMich or UC Berkeley? It's really difficult to know when someone is having trouble, and if they are not willing to open up, then we cannot force them to get help. It is up to them to open up and take that step.

My heart goes out to all the families and parents of these students, and may they be in a better place.

Bill, your cause is noble but naive. As midterm week and winter's final stretch enact their annual rendezvous, so do strung out souls and the intoxicating escape the gorges promise. Tragically, it's practically tradition. Devil's advocacy is moot, while suicide prevention programs are not. Time for a soap box exchange.

why are exams so infrequent and cover such a long amount of time thus intensifying the pressure, it is a high stakes way of running a semester, how about more frequent tests over a shotal interval thus if a student messes up one exam they have time to correct it. The way Cornell runs its campus is incredibly depressing. It is a lower ranked Ivy yet one of the hardest, does that make any sense from a marketing point of view. It is in a remote location, with lower rankings and harder grading, who is making out this mission statement. At this rate there will be many tranfers next year.The way to try and fix this is to have the campus begin to address the philosophy of the school.My daughter and I visited Yale last year and a professor there said that the undergraduates were treated like royalty, do you think that the professors at Cornell would say that about the undergraduates?

Maybe if they were treated better, better things would happen

Parent and Alumnus(Class of 74)

Grad Student,

Your comment here was by far the most insightful. Hugs and expressions of caring we can extend to each other cost nothing and can make an enormous difference. Let's interact as human beings first and students and professors second. I hope happier times are ahead for you and for CU and Ithaca.

The school is not doing enough to reach out to the students. Many young kids are going away from home for the first time in their life. The constant pressures of the curriculum, the arbitrary grading practices, the winter environment, ets all contribute to the impact on their mental health. There needs to be more support provided to the students.

My daughter was trying to cross this bridge on her bike Thursday afternoon on her way to chem class. As she saw comotion and looked down to see rescue workers, a police officer on the bridge shouted at her to "have some respect"

She will never cross this bridge again and not think of what happened. I cannot stop from feeling angry that this horrible occurence was compounded by the police officer that yelled at my daughter as if she was doing something wrong. My condolences go out to this family and friends of these indiviuduals but do no think for a moment that these deaths have not affected the entire community. Cornell must station permanent guards on this bridge.

Depression can be a very scary experience and it makes one do things that you may normally not do. People who have not experienced depression will find it hard to understand why those depressed feel and act the way they do. As an adult I had depression a few years ago when my mom died and it scared me so much that I went to see a doctor quickly. He prescribed medication which I did not take as I wanted to do my own research first. I reached out to friends and family for help. Eventho they had no first knowledge of depression it helped me to talk to them and ask them for help and sometimes just being together with me. But the one thing that helped me out of my depression is turning to my Heavenly Father in prayer. Only God can heal you and give you the peace in your heart. Only He can help you get thru the very difficult and dark times when all your best of friends cannot help ...go down on your knees when you feel lost and pray to Him. He loves you, He gave you life and He has a special plan for you. Nothing is that bad that you have to take your own life. There is always something to live for...your family, your friends and your Heavenly Father. Turn to God and He will lead you back to the right track. May the Lord be with you and May He keep you safe and give you Peace in your heart. Blessings.

I've known Matt for awhile and hes always seemed to be a happy kid. Fixing the bridge, which obviously many agree, is not a solution... Jumping off a bridge is one of the hardest ways to commit suicide. Don't watch the bridge... get everyone counseling, let up a little on the pressure of the students. Students don't need extra pressure from teachers or parents. There are plenty of ways to kill yourself without jumping off a bridge so focus on the students and their safety not the bridge.. with all do respect watching a bridge when kids are committing suicide is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. My thoughts are with Matt Zika's family and all the families who have had to deal with this.. I really can't imagine.

Dear Grad Student,

I am so sorry that you have been struggling since last fall and have not yet found a counselor who has been helpful. Please do not give up trying to get some help, and please do not dismiss the idea of medication so quickly. Depression changes one's biochemistry. Medication in addition to therapy helps more than either one alone. Please take a virtual hug from me and know that depression is a treatable condition and there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck to you.

The atmosphere on Ivy League campuses (and many others in this country) leave students feeling empty. Political correctness and over-emphasis on diversity have replaced old-fashioned education. Sadly, students are left without a higher calling in their lives (used to be called religion). God bless this young man and his family. There is so much pressure on kids already in middle school, not to mention high school, and not only must students perform strong academically, but they are "forced" to volunteer, excel in sports and the arts, etc., to be "well-rounded" and gain acceptance into big name universities. At what cost, I ask?