Your Decisions Affect Those Around Youby Meche Williams '19 and Shawn McCraith '18 Suicide is a problem around the world and it can’t be solved with the flick of the wrist or a simple speech. Studies done in January 2017 by the New Mexico Department of Health say that New Mexico has the fourth highest rate of suicide in the United States. NM studies show that suicide is the eighth leading cause of death but is the second leading cause of death for the ages group of 10-49 years old. For white people the age group more susceptible to commiting suicide is from 35 years and older and for Native Americans the age group more susceptible is from 35 years and younger. But if we look at it from another perspective like gender, men were three times higher than women to commit suicide. Men from the age 75 years and older and women 45-54 years were more likely than any other age to commit suicide. About 53% of suicides used a firearm of some sort in 2011-2015 and it's still increasing. If we look at a the bigger picture and look at the statics of the United States suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. There are on average 44,965 deaths per year just in the US from suicide. Just as New Mexico in the US the men are 3.57 times more than women likely to commit suicide and on average there are 123 suicides a day. The different methods of suicide include: suffocation (25.9%), poisoning (14.9%), firearm (51%), and other (8.2%) that were done in 2016. One quote comes to mind when I think of suicide by Kirkup, “Suicide doesn’t end the pain. It just passes it on to someone else.” It’s so powerful and true; when ending your life you don’t just get rid of it completely but rather pass it on to your parents, friends, spouse, or siblings. They feel the heartache and pain because they lost you. Most of the family members that lose a loved one are stuck with such a huge question, “Why did they do it?”. It stays with some for months, years, or decades after the death of their loved one and they start to lose themselves because of it. Some family members who lost a loved one go through so much emotions such as, guilt, intense emotions, longing for the loved deceased, emotional pain, question religious beliefs, become isolated, anger at the deceased, rejection, lose of appetite, and wondering how they could of prevented it. I joined a support group for families affected by suicide and asked if one person wanted to share their story or say something to someone who is facing suicide or a family affected by suicide as well. A woman messaged but wanted to stay anonymous so we’ll call her Amy, her brother took his life seven years ago and she felt sadness, anger, and then more sadness. She still misses him and carries this grief with her and can't believe it happened. Amy said, “If I could say something to someone contemplating suicide it would be to get help. There is someone out there in your same position and knows what you're going through. Don't be shy or embarrassed. Talk to someone, anyone. Don't leave your loved ones with the sadness of feeling like they could have done more to help or save you. It's a pain I can't even put into words. So many questions.. When they feel like they can't go on keep trying. It's only temporary things will get better. The best quote I've seen and I completely agree with is you're not getting rid of the pain you're just passing it to someone else aka friends and family when you're gone.” Amy knows the pain and intense emotions of losing a loved one and struggles through it everyday but she keeps pushing through it because she has a family of her own that need her love, care, and support. The absolute best way to reach a counselor or someone to speak with when in a crisis is to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number. The online chat is inefficient for reaching actual counselors. The average wait for an online meet would be close to 30 minutes to an hour because of the waiting line on the website. Two chats were attempted with no luck of actual contact with a representative. When reaching out for a counselor the wait in line is lengthy and not at all effective for people who need immediate conversations or questions. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline callers will be immediately directed to an assistant for care and management. The New Mexico Crisis Line is excellent in speaking to callers about any type of crisis and can try to answer questions to the best of their abilities. They keep their phone lines clear to speak with people that need assistance in whatever they need relating to a crisis or suicide. If you are in need and want to talk to someone please take that step. There are people out there who want to help you or listen to you if that's what you need. You can call: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 they also have lifeline chat New Mexico Crisis Line at 1-855-662-7474 https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/ https://nmhealth.org/publication/view/help/1832/ https://www.medicinenet.com/suicide/article.htm#what_is_the_treatment_for_suicidal_thoughts_and_behaviors_what_types_of_specialists_treat_people_who_are_suicidal Utah High School Will Stick With Problematic Mascotby Shawn McCraith '18 A new high school in the town of Farmington said that they will not change the name of their mascot name, “The Phoenix”. It could have been the Fascists or the Farts but “Phoenix” was chosen instead. The mayor of Farmington, Jim Talbot, joined some concerned parents about the disapproval of the new chosen mascot name. Talbot wrote in the city’s newsletter that “the plural name sounds like male anatomy.” He has been calling for the district to bypass student’s suggestion and to call the mascot “The Eagles” a numerous amount of the community members wanted to have that option in the survey. Jim Talbot also wrote that “it is their responsibility as leaders” to ensure that the students take pride in their everyday high school life and that a mascot is an immense part of a schools pride. A spokesperson for the David School District named Chris Williams said that submissions had “inappropriate” suggestions. Williams pointed out that obviously the Farts or Fascists was not a suitable mascot name for the Utah high school. Farmington High School’s principal ,Richard Swanson, is standing beside the students because it was a name that they chose and informed the parents that schools always find a way to create a new time cheer for opponents. Kyle Fraught, who is a Farmington resident, was the one to bring the attention of the mascot name, garnered more than 3,000 signatures. Fraught believes that the name will make the high school vulnerable to would-be hecklers or opposing schools. He said that he isn’t a “prude” and is only looking at the situation through a “non-prude lens” which makes the name a problem. Swanson hopes that the problem will be put to rest. Farmington High School is currently under construction and is scheduled to open this fall. https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2018/01/31/farts-and-fascists-top-student-picks-for-farmington-high-school-mascot-may-make-its-other-controversial-choice-seem-more-appropriate/ Women's Marchby Meche Williams '19 and Sage Addington '18 The women's march was on Sunday, January the twenty-first, in Santa Fe, New Mexico is the second annual. It started last year, the day after Trump's inauguration, in support for human rights because many felt threatened by Trump's administration about rights for women, abortion, LGBT community, access to healthcare and many more, it also helped jump start the #MeToo and #TimesUpNow campaigns. One of our editors/writers, Sage Addington, attended the women's March Sunday, so here is her experience: “I impulsively drove to Santa Fe Sunday morning when I got a Facebook invite for a Native Women's Walk. The invite said to come in traditional attire or contemporary clothing and that the event would be held at The New Mexico State Capitol. Unfortunately, I came about two hours in and by the time the 3 hour even was coming closer to an end, all the Natives had dipped. Earlier I heard talk of a group of Native women storming the stage and taking back the event I thought they had organized and the music of Pueblo drums. The only women I could see were, well, white women in bright pink pussy hats. I could have sworn this was going to be a Native event so I was bit disappointed, but a Women's Walk made sense. At the end of the rally, when the crowd had really thinned out and some women enjoyed dancing to music, all that was left of the Native women's impression was a sign, hanging on a snow covered pole. I'm all for women's rights, believe me, but... I felt really out of place with all the glances I kept getting, wrapped in my pendleton blanket because it was beginning to snow again. I’m not saying this to invalidate the struggles of other races, but some of the statistics are shocking. Data gathered by the U.S. Department of Justice says that Native American women are more than 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the USA in general. Additionally, more than one in three Native women will be raped during her lifetime, whereas, for women as a whole the risk is less than one in five. Native American victims of intimate and family violence are more likely than victims of all other races to be injured and need hospital care. It is described that the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is substantially higher among Indigenous people.” https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/userfiles/file/Violence%20Against%20AI%20AN%20Women%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3875613/ http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/santa-fe-women-s-march-turns-out-thousands-on-plaza/article_344d095e-fefc-11e7-86fa-47d760cefaf2.html http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/santa-fe-women-s-march-turns-out-thousands-on-plaza/article_344d095e-fefc-11e7-86fa-47d760cefaf2.html California House of Horrorby Meche Williams '19 On January 14th, 2018, the thirteen children of David, 56, and Louise Turpin, 49, were freed from their shackles, that were put on them by their parents. The children's ages ranged from 2-29 years old. Their home was filthy and was in horrible condition for kids to live in. On Sunday, one of the daughters, who was 17 years old, managed to escape from her home through a window and ran to call 911 from a deactivated phone she found in the house. She talked with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, telling them her parents, that were holding captive her and her other 12 siblings and had photos to corroborate her story. Six of her siblings were under the age of 18 and many of them were said to be “small” stated police officers including, Daniel Hoffman, a professional nutritional science professor. He had said “The problem is not having enough energy or micronutrients -- key nutrients like zinc, folate, iron -- for an extended period of time" he said. There had also been no sign of sexual abuse done to the children as far as they could tell."Kids can become 'stunted', meaning they're shorter than they should be for their age. If you lack micronutrients, you can meet energy to live everyday and even have a normal body weight, but growth can still be stunted.” The oldest son was a star college student; on his transcripts he had all A’s and was taking 15 credits per semester. He attended school from 2014-2016. The parents are being charged with torture and child endangerment and are scheduled for a hearing. Their bail was set at $9 million. The crazy part is that on social media or in public they seemed to be “the perfect family” but when you really analyze or look at them they look unusual; the boys having similar hair cuts and the girls as well. To add to that in their family pictures they had the children all dress alike. In a brief court appearance the parents we told not to contact the children unless they do so through the kids lawyer and so far no further action on their case has happened. https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/16/us/california-turpin-13-siblings-held-captive/index.html http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oldest-son-13-captive-children-star-college-student-52617648 http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/California-DA-says-couples-abuse-of-12-kids-became-torture-470118503.html Last Week's Poll Results!Last week we asked Ambush! Poll takers if they thought instances like the one with the fifth grader would increase as more states legalize marijuana: 50% said maybe and the other 50% said yes.
1 Comment
Sweetwyne
2/21/2018 03:44:39 pm
I actually LOLed at "non-prude lens".
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