Death and violence are not rites of passage

[Deja Q]

Article here.

(BIG SNIP)

...While the horror of the murders in Blacksburg galvanize our attention, we in the national media seemingly lack the capacity to report and analyze what has become accepted violence and death on campuses around the country.

Fatal mass shootings in our nation's elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and colleges number just over 250 killed in the past 80 years. While shooting violence is worsening, it does not approach the toll of other violence on our college youth.

We all seem unable to assimilate the fact that thousands of college students are dying violently each year. About 1,100 students each and every year will commit suicide, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and four of every five young people who attempt suicide exhibit clear warning signs.

The rate of drug overdoses among teens and young adults more than doubled over the five-year period from 1999 to 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. And each year, on average, there are 1,400 drinking-related deaths among college students nationwide, according to the Task Force on College Drinking. The Task Force estimates that binge drinking by college students also contributes to 70,000 cases of sexual assault or rape each year.

The Virginia Tech murders are horrible. And because they are dramatic, they have our full attention. But for all our sakes, I hope we also ask ourselves why our society permits what has become the routine slaughter of a far greater number of young people on our college campuses. We should also ask ourselves why we've done so little to understand the causes of all these senseless deaths on our campuses.

(SNIP)

Richard Arum, professor of sociology and education at New York University, offers one opinion on the root causes: "I would argue that discipline in our schools earlier is not working. And young men, in particular, are not internalizing the norms and values of our society. And periodically, you get acute manifestations of this, as in these rampage school shootings."

Article has more, but when I was in school (the 1980s) an awful lot was permitted. When I heard my high school brought in metal detectors I wasn't entirely surprised, but it threw me off kilter nonetheless.

I found the article, and found it to be highly interesting given the subject material is not the sensationalist drool-a-thon the mainstream media typically get orgasmic about. This article actually poses a question and dares to cite a cause - quite possibly the very thing the mainstream media would typically fear most; for to them, merely saying there's (a symptom that they call a problem) keeps them contented.