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Rebecca Cummings

Jackie Burr, Instructor

English 2010, Section 4

11 February, 2019

Open Letter to Herriman High School. Addressing Suicide Rates In Teens: We Can Make a

Difference

Last school year was a nightmare. I was horrified by the amount of suicides that

occurred, and I believe that you were just as horrified. How many teenagerss died? Six? Or

maybe seven? I do not know the exact number, but even one death is bad enough, especially if it

is a suicide. What I do know is that you came together and tried to find ways to fix this problem,

to prevent future suicides. I greatly appreciate your efforts, but I do not think that they are

enough. You have enforced many suicide prevention clubs and movements to help the school

come together to prevent suicides. I joined the Golden Gate Club to try and be a part of

something bigger; a bigger movement to help teenagers with suicidal tendencies.

I wish that your efforts could have prevented most, if not all, of those suicides. I knew

one of the boys who committed suicide. He was in many of my classes in elementary school

growing up. He was always very shy and quite. We also had the same piano teacher. I guess that

I should have seen the signs for him; he isolated himself a lot. The main “warning signs include

talking, writing, or drawing about suicide; showing drastic behavior changes; withdrawing from

friends or social activities; giving away prized possessions; taking unnecessary risks; becoming

preoccupied with death and dying; losing interest in his or her personal appearance; increasing

the use of alcohol or drugs; and having made a previous suicide attempt.” (Fisher and Frey). I
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have done research on rates of suicides in teens, and how to help prevent those suicides. I would

like to help you find ways to prevent future suicides.

In my research, I have found that suicide is approximately the third most common cause

of death for teenagers, ages 13-19. Depression is also a major problem. About 59% of teenagers

with severe depression never get treatment for it. One of the most interesting statistics that I

found states that “Five completions per 100,000 for females and 18 completions per 100,000 teen

males,” completion being the amount of successful suicides out of 100,000 attempted suicides

(Brown University Child & Adolescent Psychopharmacology). Those rates are horrifying, and

they show that suicides are more common in the male population. The suicides at school were

also mostly males.

Although these statistics are hard and sad to comprehend, there are many different

statistics on methods to preventing suicides as well. I believe that you can use some of these

methods to provide a safer environment for students. One of the most obvious methods that I

have researched and seen at work in school is the support and aid of teachers. Teachers see their

students everyday, and they have a chance to watch them, and read what they are writing.

Teachers are also more understanding of the problems that need to be addressed. If a teacher

notices that something is off with a student, they can send that student to the counseling office to

get help and support. Another method is the support of friends. We must all look out for each

other. A true friend would most likely be able to notice if something is wrong, and they can get

help from a parent or trusted adult.

I have had other personal experiences with friends and acquaintances that have

committed suicide, attempted to commit suicide, or have relations to someone that has
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committed suicide. There was another student I knew in elementary school that fell into severe

depression because she was being bullied so much. I am sad and ashamed to say that for the most

part, I just stood back and watched her get bullied every day. It was just as much my fault for her

depression as it was the fault of the bullies. I hope to never be in that kind of a situation again.

There are many things that I could have done to help her. And now, I have another close friend

that gets bullied by everyone, even by some of her own friends. This time I will not just stand

back in the shadows and watch as her life is being torn down by others. I have tried to be her

friend in everyway that I can. And I am watching very carefully for any warning signs.

There are many people that I know that suffer from depression, and I am worried that

their depression may lead to something catastrophic. I know that I can make a difference for at

least one person, and I believe that if we work together to help the students, we can change the

tide of high rates of suicides. I love the story of a boy walking along a beach that had thousands

of starfish laying on the dry sand. The boy would pick up starfish as he walked by, and then

through them back into the water where they would be able to survive. A man saw the boy doing

this and he asked why the boy would bother to try to save the starfish. He told the boy that he

would not be able to save all of them, and so he would not make a difference for all of the

starfish. The boy responded “No, but I can make a difference for this one” as he threw another

starfish back into the see. Individual people can not make much of a difference, but when people

come together, they can make a great difference.

My proposal for you, Herriman High School, is to create and develop an environment

where every student tries to make a small difference. The students only have to help one person a
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day. Smile at someone, say hi to someone, write a nice note, help someone in the hallway, pay

attention to your friends. We can make a difference for one “starfish” (one student) every day.

Sincerely, Rebecca Cummings

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Work Cited

“Experts: CDC Stats on Suicide Rates for Teen Girls Alarming, Action Needed.” ​Brown

University Child & Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update​, vol. 19, no. 10, Oct. 2017,

pp. 6–8. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1002/cpu.30250.

Fisher, Douglas, and Nancy Frey. “Teachers as Early Warning Detectors: Teen Suicides Are

Rising. Teachers Have a Role in Halting the Trend.” ​Educational Leadership,​ vol. 75, no.

4, Dec. 2017, pp. 80–81. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=128250340&site=ehost-live.

Horowitz, Karyn. “Dispelling the Myths Surrounding Teen Suicide.” ​Brown University Child &

Adolescent Behavior Letter​, vol. 25, no. 11, Nov. 2009, pp. 1–7. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=44751112&site=ehost-live.

Knopf, Alison. “Depression/Suicide Risks for Overweight/Obese Teens with BD.” ​Brown

University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter,​ vol. 33, no. 2, Feb. 2017, pp. 3–4.

EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1002/cbl.30191.