<p>Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds. Each and everyone is a tragedy. It does happen at other colleges and even high schools - even more perplexing is the phenomenon of suicide “clusters”. This is when several occur at the same place (same school. town etc) that are not related. When this happens it is just awful because no one knows just what to do about it.
There is no evidence of a suicide “cluster” at West Point. I think that it was appropriate for West Point to send the letter to parents of applicants - to be forthright and honest about the events.
The stigma of suicide is real and people want answers. Since often times answers can’t be found they want to blame something or someone; when no one is found to blame the institution gets the blame. This happened at my kids’ high school a few years back when there were several suicides over several years. People wanted to know “what was going on” etc.
I would hope that no parent would discourage their child from going to West Point based on the suicide tragedies that have occurred this year.
Both suicides happened off post. There no safer place for your child than on post at West Point. They are well taken care of by the chain of command.</p>
<p>I think what Ann is getting at is that by not disclosing previous mental illness or emotional problems puts a person at risk when they are living in a stressful environment. West Point can be a very stressful environment and exposure to stress can seriously affect someone who is susceptible.</p>