eadad

Very sad. Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers,

http://marquettetribune.org/2009/11/17/news/siebenaler

dbwes

Yes, my daughter told me about this over the weekend.

Montegut

Will keep his family in our prayers.

beastman

Unimaginable. How his parents and sister can ever make sense of this I have no idea.

My wife and I decided NOT to tell our kids about this.

dbwes

Editorial from student paper:

http://marquettetribune.org/2009/11/...rquette-spirit

Ari7

Andrew was from my high school, and though I didn't know him well we had several classes together and was a wonderful person - always smiling. He will be missed very, very much.

Montegut

Ari, so sorry for the loss of your friend. If you feel you need help, don't hesitate to get it. I lost a good friend to suicide in college, and the counseling center on campus really helped me through it.

res ipsa

It's unfortunate. College suicide is a more serious problem and a more common occurrence than most people realize.

keymom

Beastman,
Why wouldn't you talk about this with your kids? My family has experienced suicide. I talk often with my college aged kids about sadness, depression and its potential for suicidal thoughts and actions. You never know which kids will have troubles. Don't let it seem like a taboo subject


A moving response from Andrew's dad in the comments after the article in the Trib
" Rick Siebenaler said:
November 18th, 2009 at 9:19 am
To the many friends of Andrew at Marquette, to those he knew and those he did not, I extend our family’s deepest gratitude for your thoughts and prayers.

Andrew was a beautiful ray of light in our lives. As his father, I cannot express how great an influence he has had in my life. His mother and sister were equally touched by Andrew, every day.

Please continue to share your feelings with the Marquette community. It is in reading messages such as these that we find comfort and the strength to move ahead.

In response to Renesmee Jackson – Andrew was happy, joyful and joygiving by nature. But, as many of us do, he experienced times of deep sadness. Andrew made a devastating and irretrievable decision when he was unable to see beyond the pain he felt during a moment of despair. In that moment, he did not reach out to those who loved him and who might have helped him.

Students, faculty and frieds at Marquette: learn from Andrew’s decision. Reach out if you are in need; reach out to those in need. Know that the darkness of despair can touch us all. For those in pain, have confidence, know that you are not alone and that even in the darkest moments, there is a ray of light for you. As these messages attest, you are blessed, as Andrew was, to live within a community of love and support. Be part of it. And pledge now to draw upon it in what may be your hour of need.

As shared by Andrew’s RA after his death: “So know this, there are strong arms around you with God. I know He loves you and you live on with me, forever in my heart. Stride Forward.”

With great love, Rick Siebenaler (Andrew’s dad)

beastman

Keymom, I've rethought my initial response and think I will talk to them. The lesson from this tragedy is so clearly to get help if troubled and I cannot exclude the possibility that they won't possibly find themselves in that position one day. And if a discussion can encourage them to get that help, I will do it.

My initial reaction to this story, quite honestly, was that it was so horrific I couldn't bear to burden them with it as it's so completely beyond their comprehension. But life changes for kids and in a few years they may be in very different situations.

I have also had a conversation with my father in law, who's a psychologist and teaches at a very small liberal arts school in Wisconsin, a bubble if there ever was one, and I was stunned to learn that they too have experienced suicides in the last year. And this weekend I read the following story about upward trending of college suicide:
A 'national crisis' of student suicide touches Minnesota | StarTribune.com

I also read Mr Siebenaler's post and found it eloquent and moving. Heaven help him and his family.

dbwes

The messages from the Siebenaler family have been amazing -- I could only hope that God would give me such strength and love during a time of such sorrow.