THENORTHERNLIGHT SEPTEMBER 11, 2012
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
WWW.THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG
Red Flags exhibit represents lives lost to suicide
By Nita Mauigoa
flags,” DeKeyser continued. “You could save a friend’s life.”
Staff Reporter
An estimated 1,100 college students in the United States committed suicide last year. The UAA Student Health and Counseling Center is displaying a “1,100 red flags” exhibit on campus as a memorial on, which began yesterday — Worldwide Suicide Awareness Day. The timing also coincides with National Suicide Prevention Week, Sept. 9-15. “The red flags stand for the warning signs to look for when someone you know has suicide ideation,” said Georgia DeKeyser, associate director and psychiatric nurse practitioner for the SHCC. Imagine finding someone lying on the floor bleeding to death. The first instinct would be to call for
help. DeKeyser likened this to suicide prevention. If someone says they are contemplating suicide, people should have the same urgency to call for help. “Be direct. Don’t beat around the bush. Say the words, ‘I care about you and I’m afraid you’re going to hurt yourself,’” DeKeyser said. “Find help. Don’t be that person who is regretful.” DeKeyser said suicide is the second most common cause of death for college students aged 18-24. Still, as telling as statistics
are, students do not feel a need to pay attention unless the subject is made more personal. “When we stand in the halls and say the words, ‘Suicide prevention week,’ and hand out flyers, students don’t seem to be interested. When we say to them, ‘Be ready to help a friend,’ that’s very compelling. They take the flyers. Friends are very important,” DeKeyser said. The 1,100 red flags exhibit will be up until Thursday. In addition, UAA will host various
booths throughout campus with information abou suicide prevention all week. Heather Chord, graduate research assistant at the Center for Behavioral Health Research and Services, said they will have booths in the Student Union and in Gorsuch Commons. Chord said they will promote their “gatekeeper” training program for students who want to become involved with their integrated suicide prevention initiative. “Pay attention to those red
For more information about specific dates and times for booths on campus during National Suicide Prevention Week, call the SHCC at 786-4040 or the CBHRS at 786-6381. Resources and contacts for information on suicide prevention and help hotlines are also available at the SHCC, room 116/120 in Rasmuson Hall.
Opened parking lot adds more spaces Retired Supreme Court justice “Spot closures” to be expected as project wraps up
shared civics message with Anchorage despite weather
By Nita Mauigoa Staff Reporter
By J. Almendarez Managing Editor
Students using the parking lots around the consortium library now have the benefit of 14 more spaces and a sidewalk connecting the library and the ConocoPhillips
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Integrated Science Building. Contract Administrator Eric Lopez said the spaces were made available because of the redesign of the lot. Now there are shorter lanes with more drive space as opposed
to long lanes with one way in or out. He said the new design was spurred by safety concerns that students were walking across the
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Amid stormy weather and canceled venues, retired United States Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor still made an appearance in a gathering held Wednesday at the Alaska Supreme Court. O’Connor was scheduled to appear at West High School and Central Middle School to promote her online education program, iCivics, before the Anchorage School District closed schools because of high winds. “I’d really like to bring home the commitment that justice O’Connor has to children’s civic education. She must have asked
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10 times, ‘Isn’t there something we can do for the students?’” said Walter Carpeneti, Alaska Supreme Court justice. Students from the West High School National Honor Society presented a slideshow introducing O’Connor before she conversed with Dana Fabe, Alaska Supreme Court Chief justice, in front of the crowded courtroom. O’Connor spoke of life as a child on an Arizona ranch to the struggles and triumphs she had experienced as a woman in the legal profession. “I was third in my class in law
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