Warning signs
Be aware of prevention programs

It’s something that no one wants to think about, or really deal with.

On Aug. 28, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville associate professor John Locke and graduate student James Easton Kelly were found dead in Locke’s office after an apparent murder-suicide. It was only after the deaths that students began to question TCU’s preparedness in case of a suicide on campus.

Preparation is the key to handling any situation. Being able to catch suicidal warning signs — such as withdrawal, recklessness and alcohol and drug abuse — and knowing what to do if a person exhibits these signs are the first steps in preventing a suicide from happening.

Last May, the university held a two-day outreach program which was attended by 57 faculty and staff members. The program, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, looks at assessing risk factors and referring help for the suicidal. Programs like this should be continued and need to be attended by more faculty and staff so they can look for warning signs and help students find the counseling they need.

Besides being prepared, faculty, staff and students need to be aware of facilities on campus they can go to when they need counseling. Monica Kintigh, a licensed professional counselor for the TCU Counseling Center, said the counseling center is prepared to help students deal with the pressures of school and social life. The problem is that some students don’t know where on campus to turn to when they do need advice. TCU needs to publicize what programs are available to students, faculty and staff so that help can be administered to those who need it.

The university needs to be prepared just in case the unthinkable does happen. After all, we don’t want to be prepared after it’s too late.

An Australian teenager was arrested Aug. 24, after attempting to douse the Olympic torch with a fire extinguisher.

The incident marks the second time a torch bearer has been attacked this summer; the first attack took place in July when a 19-year-old man jumped from the crowd, grabbed the torch and began running in the opposite direction.

Charges have not been filed in either incident, which Sydney 2000 organizers are calling simple pranks. According to the New South Wales state police, the flame was not extinguished in either incident.
What’s with these crazy Australians? Americans may set off a bomb in the middle of the Olympics, but we would never try to extinguish the flame.

Imagine if you were the person who extinguished the Olympic flame, the torch that will light the cauldron during the Sept. 15 opening ceremonies in Sydney. How could you live with yourself? Can you imagine the response from your family and friends?

Since the first Olympic ceremony in Athens, the Olympics have become a symbol of world unity. Trying to interrupt the flame’s cross-country voyage with a prank is not only disrespectful to the organizers of Sydney 2000 and all citizens of the world but also to the sanctity of the games themselves.

But what if these young men’s actions weren’t pranks as the Olympic Committee quickly announced following each incident?

Major news sources reported that the incidents may not have been simple pranks, but instead protests. If this is the case, it is nothing new to the Olympics. Even Jesse Owens’ monumental Olympic performance in Nazi Germany is considered a protest.

Unfortunately, neither of the would-be torch vandals are revealing too much about their motive for the attacks.

Could it be like the corruption that has occurred on our own soil with Olympic officials in Salt Lake City? Maybe the Olympics aren’t quite as unifying as they used to be. Or maybe these young men are just upset that the Olympics aren’t starting until the middle of September (I must admit, I considered putting out the flame myself when I found out that Australia would be holding the Olympics in September).

Regardless of what their issues with the Olympic organizers may have been, did they have the right to disgrace the torch?

Some would argue that no, they could have protested in other fashions. Still others will argue that by stealing or extinguishing the torch they were doing what they could to uphold the true meaning of what the Olympics have come to symbolize.

The modern-day Olympic Games have become somewhat bittersweet as we approach the first Games of this century.

They are bitter in the respect that everybody knows that the festivities will grab the entire world’s attention for the weeks of the Games. Therefore, anybody with political agendas or possibly violent ideas, as seen with the Atlanta bombing, sees a window of opportunity. However, there is the sweetness that comes with seeing the world’s best athletes competing together for that gold medal.

When it comes down to it, the political agendas of committees or teenagers no longer matter but instead the athleticism of the Olympians.

Despite the misguided protests by many different groups and individuals over the years, the Olympics truly do represent all of the great things that this world has accomplished.

James Zwilling is a sophomore news-editorial major from Phoenix, Ariz.
He can be reached at (james_zwilling@usa.net).

The best thing I can say about a winner being named on “Survivor” is that the show is finally over.

Unfortunately, the bane commonly known as reality television seems to have caught on. With the amazing success of “Survivor,” one network after another has started to launch new shows pitting people against each other to win a coveted prize. CBS already has plans for a “Survivor II” in the works but, instead of a deserted island, the contestants are off to the wilderness of Australia.

The network is also currently airing an annoying knockoff of “Survivor” called “Big Brother.” This show combines the premise of “Survivor” with that of the popular MTV show “The Real World.”

Ten strangers are placed in a house for three months without any contact from the outside world, each nursing the hope that they will be the winner who walks away with $500,000.

In a house where cameras far outnumber people, the show prides itself on giving the contestants absolutely no privacy as they eat, fight and systematically pick each other off. The setting and the rules may be slightly different, but the basic premise remains the same: By setting groups of people in isolation with the sole goal of competing against each, it is possible to reveal the scheming and malicious qualities in each individual person’s character.

Correct me if I’m totally off base, but for some reason, these shows bring to mind another story of survival at any cost. Perhaps you’ve heard of it: Lord of the Flies. Only nobody has died and Richard was the only one walking around in the nude.

What these shows are essentially doing is creating people we love to hate. It is the nice, honest people who get left behind. The more devious the player, the better chance of their eventual triumph. And the worst part is, the public loves it. Millions of people tune in every week to watch these contestants lie and betray the people around them in the quest for large amounts of money and to be named winner of the game.

The most vivid example of the harm these competitions do was shown on the final night of “Survivor.” When it came time for former tribe members to speak to the two finalists, their bitterness and anger could be seen clearly on their faces. However, no one expressed his or her anger quite like Sue in her final, disgusting speech directed at Kelly. As Sue put it, if she passed Kelly and saw that she was dying of thirst, she would enjoy leaving her to die and be vulture food. I just love good sportsmanship.

I challenge people to find good qualities in these shows. When all the names are read and only one person remains, nothing has really been gained. The losers are disillusioned and just a little bit more cynical about the world, and the winner walks away with the loot, even though his only accomplishments are that he made alliances with the right people and he did the best job of being bad.

The premise of these shows could have been highly beneficial to our awareness of the problems our culture faces. But no one saw the actions taken by these people as conduct that should be rebuked. Instead of acknowledging the sickening behavior these contestants displayed, as a reality check and a stepping stone toward becoming better people, we rooted for our favorite offender and made bets on who the lucky delinquent would be. Ultimately, all I want to know is when it will end. I am extremely tired of turning on the television and seeing that our society has begun to embrace people for behaving their worst.

It seems highly hypocritical for individuals to complain about the fictional violence that supposedly corrupts the people of this country, and yet celebrate shows that teach people to deceive others to get what they want.

Laura McFarland is a freshman journalism major from Houston.
She can be reached at (l.d.mcfarland@student.tcu.edu).

It appears that the violence that we witnessed last school year in junior high schools and high schools has migrated to colleges. The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville was the scene of an apparent murder-suicide earlier this week. A teacher and graduate student were found dead on the first day of classes at the university.

Last year and this summer, when school shootings were sweeping the country like wildfire, no one thought it could happen at their school until it actually did. Like the old saying goes, if it could happen there, it could happen anywhere.

About three years ago, TCU students got a rude-awakening when a man was roaming the TCU community sexually assaulting female TCU students who lived off campus.

A lot of people think because they’re on campus in the TCU bubble, they’re exempt from crime, but that ain’t necessarily so.

What makes us exempt from any of the crimes occurring here, there or anywhere else in Fort Worth or the rest of the country? Nothing. Any given student or teacher could snap and, instantly, TCU would turn into the mirror image of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Oh, but for the grace of God it hasn’t happened at TCU.

I don’t know who killed whom at Fayetteville. I’m not even going to speculate. I don’t even know why one of them killed the other and finally himself. But allow me impart these few words to you. There is nothing that serious in life that should make you want to kill someone. It’s not worth it. Life is too short and too precious. I know this might sound cliché, but it’s true.

This is a great school and provides a great education, but your pocketbook isn’t the only way you pay. Every year students go crazy over grades and classes. It ís not a simple question of which class or which professor to take. They know that college is serious. Success in college almost guarantees your success in the real world. Plus, $399 per semester hour adds up to too much money for college not to be taken seriously. And most of us don’t have a penny to waste.

My freshman year I was stressed out during finals and couldn’t even eat or hold down food. I was so happy to earn a 2.9 GPA that year. l I could have slapped somebody and felt no remorse.

If college gets too expensive or too stressful, take a break. If you go crazy and kill someone, or even worse, yourself, guess what? Texas Christian University will still be here. You see, it survived the fire back in 1910 and has since survived all of changes the community has taken it through.

Trust me. TCU will be here. But the question is, if you kill someone or yourself, will you? Don’t get me wrong. Yes, school is serious and should be taken as such, but don’t let it control your life and potentially ruin it. I’ve seriously thought about killing myself several times, but you and I both have too much to live for; for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with TCU.

Yonina Robinson is a senior broadcast journalism major from Moblie, Ala.
She can be reached at (dovelove79@hotmail.com).