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<p>[Spencer</a> Watson Seupel Obituary: View Spencer Seupel’s Obituary by Poughkeepsie Journal](<a href=“Legacy.com”>Spencer Seupel Obituary (1990 - 2012) - High Falls, NY - Poughkeepsie Journal)</p>
<p>I am impressed with this parent’s bravery at being so honest and public about their son’s tragic death.</p>
<p>(My apologies if this has already appeared on CC…I didn’t notice it in the Penn State forum or anywhere else…)</p>
<p>Very powerful and beautifully written. Condolences to this mom.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting.</p>
<p>Brave Mother to share her story and innermost thoughts. It is heartbreaking.</p>
<p>My heart breaks for this mother. Very touched she shared her story with others. This I will remember.</p>
<p>Heartbreaking.</p>
<p>So very very sad</p>
<p>thanks for sharing…</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing. Beautifully written by a very heartbroken mother.</p>
<p>The essay appears in today’s New York Times - [‘Do</a> You Know Who Died?’ - NYTimes.com](<a href=“'Do You Know Who Died?' - The New York Times”>'Do You Know Who Died?' - The New York Times). It made me cry. The author has created a website - [My</a> Business - Home](<a href=“http://www.spencerwatsonseupel.com/home]My”>http://www.spencerwatsonseupel.com/home) - with the goal of beginning a dialogue in Spencer’s honor.</p>
<p>My heart breaks for this mother. Thank you for sharing such a moving piece.</p>
<p>Oh, I just read the essay in the Times this morning. It made me cry, too. Heartbreaking.</p>
<p>I cannot begin to imagine the strength it took to sit down and write that. What a gift she has shared with others. Heartbreaking.</p>
<p>I read Celia Seupel’s essay in the NYT today and was very moved, particularly because I also have a 21 year old son in a fraternity. I naturally was curious to know what fraternity Spencer was a member of (hoping it was not my son’s), so I did a little Internet research. In the course of my research, I was dismayed to discover that just a month before he died, Spencer had been cited for the possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. So alcohol wasn’t his only drug of choice; the young man was apparently using other recreational drugs. His mother does not mention this in her essay or the obituary or in tbe website she set up in his name. She focuses on binge drinking, but while being drunk might have facilitated the suicide, what motivated it is clearly much more complicated. </p>
<p>There are so many things that could have accounted for a severe
depression that his mother was not aware of; he might have been
worried about telling his parents about the citation, or that having a police record could impact one’s career possibilities, for example. I loathe any society or community that condones or ignores binge drinking. I think it is a scourge and I think Spencer’s frat (ATO, by the way) is partially responsible for the situation that led up to his death. But clearly this young man had more problems than his mother recognized.</p>
<p>Many of our kids are emotionally fragile and the world can be a tough place; this Mom is asking us all to pause and think about our humanity when we deal with others. So, so sad.</p>
<p>We want so badly to keep our children safe, hold them close, but you can’t. They have to grow up, live their lives. You hope they remember your teachings, your warnings. When tragic deaths occur such as Spencer and Franco, you can only pray for the families and the moms -especially the moms.</p>
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<p>I do not know Spencer or his mother. But, by reading the obituary, I would say she clearly recognized his problems:</p>
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<p>His problems were recognized.</p>