Media struggles with coverage of suicide cluster

Posted on | November 3, 2009 | No Comments

The high school my wife graduated from, in Palo Alto, California, is dealing with a tragedy – four students have committed suicide by stepping in front of trains at a nearby commuter rail crossing during the last six months or so. A fifth was headed to do the same thing, but his mother got suspicious, followed him, and pulled him off the tracks with the help of some passers-by.

This type of cluster is rare, and has received quite a bit of attention from, of course, the school, the surrounding community, and that then spread to the national media. It’s interesting in the coverage of the events, experts, and even students at the school, Henry M. Gunn High School, have noted that the exposure may have contributed to the cluster through the attention the school and its students are getting, the attention paid to those that committed suicide, and some sort of lowering of the bar for those who might have considered the act, but were put off by the act of stepping in front of a train — almost a “they did it, I can, too” response. One adult interviewed said that video footage of a train bearing down on a crossing might make the thought of completing the act more easily considered.

The online clips I’ve seen about the story avoided that type of shot, although there was plenty of footage of crossing gates, flashing lights and clanging bells at crossings, as well as coverage of emergency responders dealing with the aftermath on the scene.

National experts have become involved in the discussion, and local resources are being called into play to try and stop anyone else from joining the tragic toll that HMG is dealing with. Students have started their own efforts to avoid further heartbreak, starting a program called ROCK (Reach out, care, know), and a blog — HMGGMH, Henry M. Gunn Gives Me Hope — for visitors to post their thoughts on the school and the positives it brings to their lives. There are also a bevy of articles that advise that avoiding the subject is not wise, that talking about it to help the kids – and all impacted – understand and process it is a positive step, not one that might lead to additional suicides.

Ideally, there won’t be more news about another incident in the cluster, and the news cycle will roll on and find other stories, while the school and community will work to heal and learn from these shattering events.

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