By ryan February 13, 2001
Dismissing the popular belief that stress and competition at Cornell lead a greater-than-average number of students to commit suicide, the Boston Globe published a survey last week revealing that Cornellians are actually less likely to take their own lives than students at colleges nationwide. From 1990 to 2000, nine students killed themselves at Cornell, representing 5.7 student deaths per 100,000 per year, according to the article. These statistics put Cornell in the fourth position out of the eleven peer institutions the Globe ranked. With eleven suicides in the same number of years, a student death rate of 10.2, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) far surpassed Harvard University (7.4 deaths per 100,000 per year) and Duke University (6.1 suicides per 100,000 per year). MIT’s suicide rate is also 53 percent greater than the national average among college students, which is 10 per 100,000 per year. Although each suicide remains a personal tragedy, “the data that we have suggests that we have lower than average suicides; we have done relatively well,” said Dean John E. Hopcroft, College of Engineering. With an undergraduate rate of 7.4 students deaths per 100,000 per year (according to the survey data), over the last two years, the engineering college is on the high end of the University’s suicide rate. The college, which enrolls 2,700 undergraduate students each year, still had two voluntary undergraduate deaths in the last ten years. To increase suicide and crisis prevention, the college expanded its student services, which, in conjunction with University Health Services, work to identify suicidal students and “try to make them feel connected” with the school, Hopcroft explained. Other programs during engineering students’ first year seek to develop this connection, such as the mandatory weekly meeting with advisors, or the Freshman Writing Seminar, which ensures that “all engineering freshmen have two courses with fewer than 30 students” each week their first semester, the Dean added. Across the University, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) identified 589 students last year who presented signs of depression as their “entering complaint,” making it the most common grievance of the student body, said Dr. Phil Meilman, director of CAPS. He did stress, however, that not all students with signs of depression were suicidal. Surveys estimate that 20 to 65 percent of students have, at some point in their lives, entertained suicidal thoughts. Suicidal thinking “is actually not uncommon,” Meilman said. “Completed suicide” at Cornell remains scarce, although “each suicide is one too many,” Meilman noted. Whether it is because of good counseling or circumstances, “it’s hard to really trace (this rate) to cause or effect,” said Tanni Hall, the acting dean of students. “Statistics are tricky.” Zeynep Kayhan ’04 was one student who was not surprised by the Globe’s survey. “At other schools that don’t have the same academic reputation, [student suicides] don’t catch the eye as much as they do here,” she theorized. Despite the wealth of services the University offers to find guidance and counseling in times of crisis or doubt, “students who commit suicide tend not to seek mental healthcare,” Meilman said, adding that this was a common finding at Cornell, and at other college counseling services in the country. “People need to look after one another, that’s what caring means,” Meilman said. “I am absolutely convinced that a significant number of lives have been saved by the timely intervention of friends, Resident Advisors, parents, and faculty,” he said. The Empathy, Assistance and Referral Services (EARS) trains students to answer their fellow Cornellians’ distress calls. The service, generally staffed by two student volunteers every night, answered 640 calls last year, 20 of those being from “students in distress,” Simpkins said. The counseling hotline provides referral to University and outside advisors and therapists and creates a link with the caller. “Listening is really helpful,” said Sarah Simpkins, advisor for EARS. Nevertheless, in regard to the nine student suicides over the past ten years, Simpkins feels that “the need for counseling has increased and the ability to meet that demand has not quite increased.” Echoing this position, Hall added that she felt the North Campus Residential Initiative and the West Campus Living Learning Community would have “a lot of support services built into them.” The Globe survey used data provided by the ranked colleges. Among twelve others, fellow Ivy League schools Columbia University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania and Yale University, declined to provide information to the daily.Archived article by Ariane Bernard
By ryan February 13, 2001
If you have strolled the streets of Collegetown within the past week, you are likely to notice a new addition to the typical array of bars, stores and apartment complexes. Last Monday, Salomon Smith Barney (SSB) opened a branch office at 407 College Avenue, in order to service old and new clients situated closer to Cornell University and the business community. A main SSB branch is already located on N. Tioga Street while the Collegetown location will serve as a satellite. “We are pleased to be the first full financial services company to be located in Collegetown,” said Ezra Cornell ’70, first vice president at SSB. A division of Citigroup Incorporated, SSB is a global, full-service investment banking and securities brokerage firm. Among the array of benefits that the office will provide are retail financial services including asset management, certificates of deposit, life insurance, retirement plans and checking accounts. “Our primary focus is University staff, professors, administrative personnel and local business people,” said Bob Pochily, a SSB financial consultant. Approximately two and a half years ago, Cornell collaborated with Herbert Dunn, senior executive vice president of SSB and Sanford I. Weill ’55, chairman of Citigroup Inc. Potential ideas were discussed regarding a SSB branch closer to the Cornell campus and plans were ultimately finalized last year. The collegetown branch has three financial consultants on staff and one administrative assistant. According to Cornell, Collegetown has been evolving over the years and providing more services for the community — and not just dining facilities and living accommodations. “We will be having some initiatives, presentations and seminars to talk about various investment products,” Pochily said. “Right now we have been focused on getting up and running,” he added. In addition, both a public relations plan and web site are being formulated, Cornell said. “It is very exciting to be here since Collegetown is such an alive and vibrant community.” An opening ceremony is being planned for later in the year, to welcome both students and clients to the new office. SSB has been located in Ithaca since 1941, but has switched names throughout the years due to mergers and acquisitions.Archived article by Rachel Pessah