LATIMES.COM WSCE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019A
tadt, a Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity psychiatry professor.
Officials are probably acting
with an abundance of cau-
tion so as not to prompt a su-
icide contagion, he said. The
effect is defined by the fed-
eral Department of Health
and Human Services as an
increase in suicidal behavior
following exposure to such a
death within a family or peer
group.
“They are in a bind, for
sure,” Nestadt said.
Student body President
Trenton Stone, a junior orig-
inally from Salt Lake City,
said all eight members of his
executive board, including
himself, knew at least one of
the people who had died
over the last three months.
The first death, of an 18-year-
old freshman, was reported
in late August, two days be-
fore classes began.
“It’s definitely been a
really tough semester for
us,” Stone said. “There’s a
lot going on, and everyone’s
asking the same question:
What can we be doing?”
University officials have
sent at least five emails to
students about the deaths.
Emails shared with The
Times showed the entire
student body received notic-
es on Sept. 4 and Nov. 9.
Three were also sent to stu-
dents in the same school as
the deceased.
Winston Crisp, the uni-
versity’s vice president for
student affairs, said he and
other administrators de-
cided to move quickly, with
as much transparency as
possible, to quell rumors
about the deaths, as well as
to remind students that re-
sources are available if they
need help. But the lack of
specifics about the deaths
has prompted speculation
among parents and stu-
dents alike.
Crisp said that some stu-
dents who had not known
about the deaths said recent
information and uncer-
tainty on details have been
emotionally triggering.
Some families have ex-
pressed gratitude after re-
ceiving the emails, while oth-
ers think that the details
provided have made matters
worse.
“Each time something
happens, I get an email from
the office of the president of-
fering empty condolences,”
said Morgan Spencer, a USC
junior. “I would like to see
more response from the new
president’s office, figuring
out why there have been at
least three student suicid-
es.”
Suicide is the second
leading cause of death
among people ages 10 to 24,
according to the U.S. Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention. The suicide rate
among this age group in-
creased 56% between 2007
and 2017, according to a CDC
study published in October.
“We as a nation are in the
midst of a suicide problem,”
said Nestadt, who said the
number of suicides at USC
this semester was in line
with national statistics.
On Tuesday afternoon, 13
students were in the waiting
area at the university’s coun-
seling and mental health
center. Approximately 30
counselors and two psychia-
trists were on hand. The cen-
ter works by appointment
unless a student has an ur-
gent need. Non-urgent ap-
pointments take place
within 48 hours, the staff
member said.
A staff member at the
center said there are 45counselors and four psychia-
trists on staff. He said
there’s been an increase in
students seeking services
since USC’s email address-
ing the recent deaths.
Jonathan Singer, an as-
sociate professor at Loyola
University Chicago and the
president of the Washing-
ton-based American Assn.
of Suicidology, said that
when officials notify stu-
dents of deaths, they must
ensure that there are
enough resources on cam-
pus to meet the demand for
mental health services.
Unlike high schoolers
who may be covered under
their parents’ health insur-
ance, college students often
receive health services
through the university. Even
a small fraction of USC stu-
dents seeking mental health
care would probably over-
whelm the counselors and
other resources available, he
said.
“You have to have the in-
frastructure in place, and
they probably don’t,” Singer
said. “What campus would?”
Sunday Smith, a student
in the School of Cinematic
Arts, said she and others
have had trouble sleeping
and focusing, unable to
catch a break with school
work and other demands. In
the last two weeks, students
have been notified of two
deaths in the cinema school,
she said.
At the end of a class last
week, one teacher allowed
students to talk about how
they were coping with the
deaths. Smith said sharing
her feelings was a welcome
release.
“Obviously you can’t
move on if you can’t take the
time to grieve,” Smith said.
“There’s been a lot of death
around me.”If you or someone you know
is having thoughts of
suicide, you can call the
National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline at (800) 273-8255. A
caller is connected to a
certified crisis center near
where the call is placed. The
call is free and confidential.USC response to nine
deaths is balancing act
[USC, from A1]
‘It’s definitely
been a really
tough semester
for us. There’s a
lot going on, and
everyone’s asking
the same
question: What
can we be doing?’
— Trenton Stone,
USC student body presidentBUFFALO, N.Y. — Snow
and cold records fell from
the Plains to the Great
Lakes and beyond as an arc-
tic air mass that started in
Siberia spilled over a big
chunk of the eastern half of
the U.S., including the nor-
mally mild South, on Tues-
day.
The mid-autumn taste of
winter brought record sin-
gle-digit temperatures to
Chicago and environs; set
snowfall records in Buffalo,
N.Y., and Detroit; dusted
cars with snow in Memphis,
Tenn.; and froze lakes in
Minnesota weeks earlier
than usual.
“This is an air mass that’s
more typical for the middle
of January than mid-
November,” National Wea-
ther Service meteorologist
Kevin Birk said in Chicago,
where Tuesday morning’s
low of 7 degrees broke the
previous record of 8, set in
- “It is pretty much about
the coldest we can be this
time of year [and] it could
break records all over the re-
gion.”
The roughly 10 inches of
snow in Buffalo and Detroit
by Tuesday morning were
record depths for the time of
year, weather service re-
cords show. Areas of Ver-
mont and Maine prepared
for similar totals as a wintry
mix also closed or delayed
hundreds of schools in
northern New England.
In St. Louis, the mercury
dipped to 11 degrees Tues-
day, breaking a record for
the date that had stood
since 1911.
Warming shelters in
Memphis offered relief from
temperatures in the low 20s.
Schools and businesses
as far south as the Gulf
Coast states opened late or
closed Tuesday because of
the unusual cold.
About 20 school systems
delayed opening across
northern Alabama under
the threat of wintry precipi-
tation, including all the pub-
lic schools around Hunts-
ville.
Even more opened late or
closed in Tennessee, and a
handful of businesses and
schools opened late in Geor-
gia.
Freeze warnings reached
from eastern Texas to coast-
al South Carolina, with
overnight lows predicted in
the 20s.
The dip to 8 degrees in In-
dianapolis gave the city its
earliest recorded fall tem-
perature in the single digits.
The closest similar reading
was 11 degrees recorded on
Nov. 3, 1951. Farther north,
heavy lake-effect snow piled
more than 10 inches high
near Goshen.Seven passengers on a
New York City-bound bus
escaped serious injury when
it turned on its side on a
snow-slicked highway south
of Syracuse early Tuesday in
one of many traffic acci-
dents.
A section of Interstate 90
in Pennsylvania was back
open Tuesday after being
closed overnight because
of jackknifed tractor-trail-
ers.
The Eaton County Sher-
iff ’s Office in Michigan said
two women, ages 81 and 64,
and a 57-year-old man were
killed Monday in a two-vehi-
cle crash caused by poor
road conditions. And in
Kansas, the Highway Patrol
said an 8-year-old girl died in
a three-vehicle wreck.
Officials in central Wyo-
ming searched for a 16-year-
old boy with autism who dis-
appeared Sunday wearing
only his pajamas.
In Chicago, a plane land-
ing Monday at O’Hare Inter-
national Airport slid across
the runway. No one was in-
jured. More than 1,000 flights
at O’Hare and Midway In-
ternational Airport were
canceled after more than 3
inches of snow fell.
In some areas, the mer-
cury fell quickly. Tempera-
tures in Denver had climbed
past 70 degrees over the
weekend only to fall to 14 de-
grees early Monday.EMMA HART,5, wipes out while sledding in Flint, Mich., with father Ryan Hart.
In nearby Eaton County, a car crash caused by poor conditions killed three people.
Jake MayFlint JournalArctic air mass grips much
of the U.S., breaking records
associated press
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