Last Wednesday I attended a talk given by the Counseling Center about suicide and its prevalance in college life. The lectures was titled "Ask a Question, Save a Life." Suicide is the second leading cause of death of college students. That is a huge number of students taking their lives that could be prevented if some people were to step out of their comfort zone and forgo the awkwardness and ask questions. As teachers we all need to be aware of signs that students and even fellow teachers may be depressed or suicidal. There are so many great places that we can send people that need help or need to talk out problems. The counseling center is a great start. They have walk-in times from 1-4 during the week and a hotline that people can call after hours if they are in need of help. We didn't talk about resources outside of the Appalachian State community, but I am sure that there are great resources in elementary, middle, or high schools in other counties.

An interesting thing about suicide is that it isn't bound to one race, gender, or social class. It affects all people no matter what color or what sex you are, how much you make in a year, or if you are straight or gay. All types and kinds of people have killed themselves and all types and kinds of people have loved ones who have committed suicide. This fact is really interesting to me because we have talked about issues and situations that divide schools and people and suicide occurs and affects all people. Suicide is outside of race, class, gender, and education.