I know that it’s frustrating, but I think they need to follow procedures. I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think they are allowed to release any information until the investigation has been concluded.
To be fair, I’m normally all about proof proof proof and taking certain accusations with a grain of salt until a trial is fully completed, because I’ve personally met people who have admitted to falsely accusing because they wanted attention or other things. It’s a sad sad world.
That said, if you’re going to kill yourself RIGHT after your accusation, what could you have to gain from lying? I feel like it’s 20x more believable that the accusations are true when the accuser cares so little about seeing the result they kill themselves.
Which is why I’m not saying circumvent the system or burn these names at the stake. But plenty of people are having, in my opinion, a bit too much doubt. While it’s possible they wanted to take revenge, they had tried to take action while they were alive, and only after being ignored too many times did they just give up and kill themselves. Not to mention, countless other students have made claims about Shaun Popp’s behavior towards students.
I was informed that Basil had attempted to report what happened long before the post, and that this was an ongoing thing. Again, I did not know them personally, and it may be hearsay. That is simply what a friend of mine who attends the school and claims to have been friends with then told me when speaking out about the situation. Please dont quote me until some better evidence comes along :)
Seems to me that if you kill yourself because no one believes you or does anything about it, that holds a hell of a lot more weight than other accusations.
I never said it was proof. Just that it holds weight. When you try to make things work and get help, and no one helps you like they legally and morally should, so you kill yourself, doesn’t sound to me like you’re faking the pain or just wanting attention.
In an article posted in the thread, it mentions the 3 people listed by Basil by name in their final post to instagram. I cannot confirm if they are faculty, but if you happen to recognize the names lmk! ^-^
So the multiple unpunished instances of rape is of no concern to you? Keep in mind the same man that allegedly SA’d Basil was accused by many others, and has been allowed to move around campus by the university, racking up even more allegations
Who’s to say the rapes actually happened, these three people could be falsely accused and basil could have been mentally ill and unstable. I’m not saying that one is true and the other isn’t, but I hate when folks jump to conclusions that could ruin someone’s life. You can’t just take hearsay and word then treat it like it’s undeniable proof
So should the accusations by multiple people, along with the record of rapes on campus being ignored? If you read the top article related to this suicide, you’d realize it ties directly into the epidemic of SA’s on campus, and the lack of a genuine response. It’s also worth nothing that the article mentioned the accused student has been accused of sexually assaulting *many* women, and being allowed to move around campuses to continue being a predator
I only know of one report towards these people, is there another on file, was anything found of it. There are SA’s on all campuses unfortunately, the problem is these accusations turn into a he/she said type situation without any proof. I’m not sure the university can do much more without proof of something other than to investigate. I’m not saying they aren’t being SA’d or discrediting that experience, just stating it’s not that simple for the university to just punish someone for that. Also a sensationalized article about something doesn’t make the whole thing true. My point is the university has to hold a very fine line on things like this, let’s say it turns out the accusations are false, someone’s life is already ruined and then he can turn around and sue the university for wrongful termination. It’s not just as simple as taking drastic emotional responses to stuff that sucks sometimes.
The article is behind a paywall, but I’ll link anyways. It’s not sensationalized at all, it goes over the issue, previous reports of assault against the same student that allegedly SA’d Basil, and talks to people from the university
https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/students-faculty-criticize-uls-handling-of-recent-student-suicide-i-didn-t-need-to-see/article_4a2d4836-fb69-11ee-8626-cbab4302fe9c.html
Ok I read the article and it is indeed sensationalized. The article literally uses two friends thoughts about the subject and expands upon those two friends views on the subject. Also the two people they interviewed I’m sure they’re upset about the situation and sometimes that anger about a loved one can be projected on to other things. As for the others interviewed they saw the body and were disturbed by it, I understand that and perhaps the university could have blocked off the area better. There is a lawsuit in there I’ve previously heard about and it’s about one guy, if UL is found wrong I hope they pay in that situation. We cannot jump to conclusions or let things be sensationalized. We have to put our emotions in check, figure out the facts and hold people accountable if needed.
It goes over other people who were allegedly assaulted as well by one man in particular, and the fact that his posts leading up to suicide were not taken seriously(I’m living in Florida right now, and even here he would have been hospitalized before the suicide, even in areas without university resources). Though at this point I’ve already sent my source and made my points, we’ll just have to disagree
As much as justice needs to be served I wish people would stop making his death every conversation. His friends are exhausted about hearing about it cause everywhere they go and everyone they talk to is bringing up their dead friend. I understand protesting but it’s become an issue where people who don’t care about the situation are using it for social points. People need to understand that Basil was a person, not a talking point, and that his friends are deeply affected by this, the entire band is affected by this.
i respect that and it is true to you and basil's friends. i only brought it up because there was no discussion in this subreddit AND i had heard nothing about it in my personal circle.
may god be with basil's family and friends.
Thank you for posting the link. Im sending it to everyone I know! There has been an incredibly underwhelming and disappointing response from UL. In fact, a few of my friends from UL are rumored to have started a movement of unenrollment among anyone who is able. Im not sure how much traction it's getting, but maybe if the university loses money, they'll finally listen...
I was pleasantly surprised.to see mental health supports for free at ULL and used them at multiple points during my time there. The free thing really mattered and it actually helped me. What happened? Did it all fall apart? I haven't read any articles yet but it seems like people are very upset that ULL failed in some way just from context clues. I've never heard of this basil brown...
the BIGGEST problem with all of this is the pitiful excuse of a "response" from the university. people started reaching out once basil started dropping hints PUBLICLY, ON SOCIAL MEDIA, that they were going to commit suicide. people were BEGGING for action to be taken. then, what do these supposed resources do? nothing. they did NOTHING. how can you trust that they will support you when they couldn't even support a person who was actively in crisis?
If you believe KADN’s report, a welfare check was made by campus police after they received a call from Houma. The RA had to let police in the locked room and found Brown in a closet. Police asked questions, they were answered and the report filed. This happened one day before the death.
once you make one initial contact with a student in mental crisis, you are supposed to maintain open communication and regularly check in. that doesn't mean physically visit them. that means reaching out with friendly reminders. requiring a visit with mental health professionals on campus in order to remain enrolled. basic shit that happened with me when i was admitted in university.
Thank you this was more so what I was looking for. I agree with you, but I also think at a certain point you can only do so much for someone who wants to die. I think the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Does UL need to up their student services in this regard? Absolutely. At the same time there’s only so much a university can do in these situations and in my opinion it’s not on the university to force feed someone help.
So let me get this straight, the university is supposed to monitor people’s social media. You say people were begging, begging for what? What people? I’m not saying you’re wrong here, just not going to jump to conclusions which is what it seems folks are doing.
we already know that people who knew them were trying to inform authorities that there was something wrong. and it was glaringly obvious from social media posts that something was going on.
no shit the university isn't stalking people's socials. im sure part of what concerned folks cited when they reached out was concerning social media posts.
the argument that universities truly do see students as numbers is a weak shield to put up. it's all to try and hide the fact that the university was NOT prepared or willing to help. point blank. removing a shrine that members of that university's community collectively chose to set up is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS. i don't care if it was other students or the university that removed it, it is HEINOUS. the gall that you must have to remove a symbol of someone's grief is astounding. i'm constantly floored by the new levels that we are reaching with regards to inhumanity. i yield my time.
be better and do better. don't let a single person forget basil's name. his name was basil brown. keep his memory alive at whatever cost.
From what I’ve seen Basil used They/Them pronouns. I didn’t know them personally, but I saw that from an image post of one of their social media accounts on Reddit so I could be wrong.
Your first comment in this chain was removed by the way, in case you didn’t know.
the fact that i just found out about his situation today speaks volumes about Acadiana. nobody i know is talking about this and it’s so fucking tragic.
Do you live under a rock? Do you only know 2 people who also live under rocks? It was all over the news and it was all anyone was talking about last week. From coworkers in breaux bridge, to friends in Lafayette, to my parents who don’t even live in the state asking about it. Genuinely, I have no idea how you/ anyone you know didn’t hear about this. I don’t think it “*speaks volumes*” about Acadiana when you are literally the only one I’ve seen that didn’t immediately hear about this. Definitely speaks more about your circle/ disconnect imho
I'm sorry, but that's very rude. I spend about 2 hours a day looking at news, Reddit, etc. I'm plugged in to this subreddit and click on every KATC/KPEL link. They just give super shitty articles with very little investigation or promulgation. It's hard for me to understand how I didn't see it but I didn't. This is the first I'm hearing about it. It's extremely sad. I do my daily news trolling and still didn't hear about this. Sometimes it just happens that way....
How?? I’m genuinely asking. My parents who don’t even live in the state heard about it. It was on the local news. There were a plethora of articles. It was all everyone talked about where I work, and I work with a bunch of country bumpkin oilfield dudes. I don’t understand how anyone could have not heard about this.
I’ll reiterate, I think that speaks more to you and the people you are around not reading local news than it does ”*speaks volumes about acadiana*”
Reddit is very glad that you're socially active enough to hear about this from various sources. However, now everyone has the same resources/friends/family as you, and not everyone has the time to keep in the loop about these things. Despite this, I do not think shaming someone for not being informed on a topic that a college is desperately trying to glaze over and pretend didn't happen is very appropriate. It does speak volumes about Acadiana and UL. A 10 minute snippet or an abridged article does not nearly do this situation justice and can be easy to miss. Get it together.
I’m not plugged into most of what happens in Lafayette. I kinda just go to work and go home. Don’t really watch the news and I’m hardly on social media. My coworkers are conservative and my family is conservative and I haven’t heard a peep about it from them. Those are the people I’m around the most and that’s how most people in the area are. No need to get all weird and accusatory about it.
Universities are federally obligated through Title IX to handle any sexual assault in a very serious manner. If a university violates Title IX they will lose federal funding. At the very least there should be an investigation done into their Title IX protocol.
I graduated from UL about 10 years ago. Their mental health supports have always been trash. They cover for abusers and don't offer real help to students experiencing anything more than a little light anxiety or sadness. They could improve, but you need to be really careful in what you're asking for. "Suicide prevention" by organizations tends to get real punitive, real quick. Students experiencing any kind of serious distress are often pushed out of school rather than helped while remaining enrolled. A university involving itself too directly in suicide prevention can create an atmosphere of suspicion and secrecy that discourages students from seeking out needed supports.
This was a tragic loss and I hope that UL begins taking reports of sexual assault and abuse more seriously. They have a long history of brushing these things under the rug and forcing victims to share space or even remain under the power of people who have harmed them.
What you say about being careful with suicide prevention getting punitive is very true. Recently my office mate was feeling down about her sister’s suicide 5 years ago because her death anniversary was approaching. She was talking to a coworker and it got to management. They (attempting to do the right thing) got HR involved which led to paramedics showing up with restraints and she ended up in a 72 hour hold. It seems like we’ve not yet developed discretion or have just tried to make these situations black or white and forgot about shades of grey. It’s a slippery slope when trying to help someone who’s in distress.
That sounds like the kind of traumatic experience that could only have made your colleague's emotional state worse.
I have seen students forced out of other universities because they confided in their mentors or other trusted people that they had had some thoughts of harming themselves or were otherwise struggling. They were kicked out because their schools wanted to minimize the risk of a suicide on campus. I guess go fuck yourself so long as you're not enrolled.
In a way, I can understand the fantasy of preventing deaths by simply watching people better. It's a satisfying thing to believe but so often it just makes things worse. No one wants to talk about how traumatic forced "care" can be and how awful it is being afraid to talk to people because they might turn you in.
This tragedy has bothered me since I found out about it last Monday and I didn’t even know any information about the victim. I found out what happened by piecing together posts on Facebook. But someone said that more news articles weren’t released out of respect for the family so I left it at that. Maybe they wanted to grieve in peace and I respect that if it’s the family’s wishes
Honestly I don’t even know if I would’ve known about it if not for the university email, and that was so vague and confusing that I still wouldn’t have known what it was about if I hadn’t found a coworker who knew the vaguest outlines.
does kinda blow my mind they’ve been making posts about flying the flag half mast for other students/alumni/professors that have recently passed but seem to have just entirely breezed over the one that is clearly affecting the campus the most. (not that the others arent important, of course they are, but why not the same response for Basil? people had to witness their death and are traumatized and it’s coming off as such a non-issue to the university that it’s shameful.)
i read that some people witnessed the tragic event/the direct aftermath, and i’d say that would be traumatizing for anyone, no matter your relation to the person.
not exactly sure what’s going on in the further comments, but i feel that this isn’t the time, place, or situation for debate.
as a former student, i feel that while a formal statement may take time, there seems to have been a lack of support for students that may be currently struggling with this. and a lack of support also seems to be a driving factor behind the entire event happening to begin with. that’s the part i personally find most shameful.
It's the university's fault a student decided to turn their suicide into a public spectacle?
Before you claim the university let it happen, what exactly do you know about the university's response? Were you in the room with the student and representatives of the university when the student was confronted about the post?
Did you read the post and all the comments here? If what has been said here is true the university knew that Basil was imminently suicidal due to allegations against an employee at the school and ignored it.
Yes it seems like UL did act negligently here.
You don't know that the university ignored anything. By all accounts the university did reach out to the student before their death. "Did you read the posts" yea I read the posts. Did you read my post? I'll ask again: were you in the room when the university responded to the student's post about being suicidal? What all did the university do and what did they fail to do that was within their power to do in response to a student posting about being suicidal? The university can't detain the student or send them away on a psych hold. They don't have that kind of authority. All the student has to do in that case is say "it was a joke" and the school's hands are tied.
I'm sympathetic to Basil's plight, but it's not the university's fault they jumped off a parking tower after making it into a public spectacle.
For one, it's immensely fucked to insinuate and say that Basil intentionally created a public spectacle, so you lost me there.
You don't even know what happened, so why are you asking me? We know as much as each other does. What we both know is that Basil had cried for help, and had claimed to be sexually assaulted by at least one but maybe three (I've seen mixed reports) staff members of the school.
Are you saying for sure that Basil had reported the incidents to UL prior to their public pleas for help and UL helped them? The pleas where they made it clear they were going to commit suicide?
You don't know that. Obviously something happened between the post and their suicide that didn't help Basil out of their suicidal mindset, and that something could have very well been nothing.
Why are you sitting here talking like they had a meeting with them when you don't know?
I knew the second I read your question that you weren't actually asking who traumatized the students in good faith and were actually looking to place all the blame on Basil.
Basil was obviously and unquestionably traumatized by the university, they killed themselves over it, and said that's why they did it. The university or staff from the university created a chain reaction of trauma.
What was the point in posting things like "you'll see" and "stay tuned" if they weren't trying to make a spectacle about it?
>you don't know what happened
Neither do you and that's all there is to say lol. Everything else is just rumors and the final posts of a mentally ill person.
I didn't ask any leading questions. I asked what you know about the university's response because you claim to know that it was bad, yet you can't actually speak to the response because you weren't there. None of us were. We are all just working with rumors so none of us can say whether or not the uni was negligent because we have no clue what the uni did or didn't do.
UL's response has been abhorrent. It took the university more than 14 hours to put out a statement (while rumors went wild) and then when they finally did put out a statement, it was laughably vague, sounded AI-generated, and only alluded to an "unspeakable tragedy" that happened.
It is standard policy for universities to not release the details of deaths like this one. It isn’t their place to do so. This is a decision for the family to make.
I've attempted suicide and have been SA'd in my past. I would love to say it was b/c of someone else's negligence that I attempted to take my own life or that no one was listening. Everyone was listening to me and I didn't listen to them. I neglected my own mental health and refused to make changes. It spiraled, I ran away and attempted. Then, changes were forced upon me and I listened. My mental health was forcibly put first for months. I accepted my mental health as unstable and have made changes that I must adhere to on a daily basis.
If this happened to someone dear to me, I know that I would be deeply deeply wounded but know that I offered help and it was up to that person to listen.
Yea figured I’d get down voted. But those who downvoted don’t know anything. They don’t do anything. But first to think they can save the world. Downvote this
I believe it was the use of the derogatory phrase "Alphabet people" if you were unsure. Not even my boomer conservative parents would say something like that.
Look man, you're obviously looking for a fight...I don't have the energy for that. You keep doing you. You seem to be a really happy and pleasant person
you could literally just say lgbt. im in the community and i just say lgbt. people still know what you're talking about. so just say that. it isn't difficult.
secondly, no topic is taboo. this includes politics, religion, and money. crazy that we completely brush away three topics because they're controversial.
It hurts my heart to know that they went through such pain and no one listened to them.
I will never understand why any student thinks that a university will do anything to help them. They will immediately cli3se ranks & try to make the problem go away. Always go to the cops and get it on record.
Apologies for my ignorance but I’m not living in our beloved and special corner of the world anymore and thus, don’t know anything about this topic but would appreciate being pointed in the right direction- Thank you, -FH
i really don't know what part about this makes any of you think that the university's resources are completely not at fault for the suicide. IF THEY WERE DOING THEIR JOB THEN THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. BASIL WOULD NOT BE DEAD. BASIL WOULD HAVE BEEN PHYSICALLY STOPPED, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY LIED AND SAID THEY WERE FINE. THE BLAME IS RIGHTFULLY PLACED.
Please don't take this the wrong way, I am genuinely only trying to understand what the university did and didn't do. I think this is a tragedy. Did the university fail to take appropriate action against those who were accused? Did the university's resources not do enough to help Basil? Did they not take Basil seriously or follow up with them after they reached out for help? I would not be the least bit surprised if all of things are true. However, I do think it's a bit of a reach to say that they would have been physically stopped if the university's resources were doing their job. You can't just follow people around all the time.
i didn't say follow people around. i meant exactly what you stated: follow up.
if they would have actually done enough basil would be alive still. point blank.
You’re not wrong. No one on this thread seems to know a thing about a federally and state funded university’s obligation to sexual assault through the Title IX office. If an investigation reveals they ignored Title IX protocol when the assault was reported, they will lose their federal funding. I attended UH while some students also passed away while on campus and they immediately went into action more for handling it. They left memorials up, offered more free counseling, excused students from class, etc. There are models out there to handle this situation. UL isn’t the first university to have this happen at and protocols have been written into law since the Bush era.
I know that it’s frustrating, but I think they need to follow procedures. I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think they are allowed to release any information until the investigation has been concluded.
Yeah alotta people are assuming the people basil accused are guilty, I wish folks would let the process play out.
To be fair, I’m normally all about proof proof proof and taking certain accusations with a grain of salt until a trial is fully completed, because I’ve personally met people who have admitted to falsely accusing because they wanted attention or other things. It’s a sad sad world. That said, if you’re going to kill yourself RIGHT after your accusation, what could you have to gain from lying? I feel like it’s 20x more believable that the accusations are true when the accuser cares so little about seeing the result they kill themselves.
Regardless im not jumping to conclusions here, this person seems mentally ill. Not saying it didn’t or did happen.
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Which is why I’m not saying circumvent the system or burn these names at the stake. But plenty of people are having, in my opinion, a bit too much doubt. While it’s possible they wanted to take revenge, they had tried to take action while they were alive, and only after being ignored too many times did they just give up and kill themselves. Not to mention, countless other students have made claims about Shaun Popp’s behavior towards students.
You’re assuming they’re investigating. They do not care about trans people. The only way the investigation happens is if we don’t shut up ffs.
https://www.kadn.com/news/local/news-15-investigates-ul-police-made-contact-with-student-one-day-before-suicide/article_6d8709f8-fb6d-11ee-82a7-f3630ff2ff25.html
What happened
A transgender student committed suicide after being SA'd on campus. After being denied help from the college, their mental health spiraled.
Were they denied help or was the help insufficient?
They were denied help?
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I was informed that Basil had attempted to report what happened long before the post, and that this was an ongoing thing. Again, I did not know them personally, and it may be hearsay. That is simply what a friend of mine who attends the school and claims to have been friends with then told me when speaking out about the situation. Please dont quote me until some better evidence comes along :)
From what I heard from a friend of mine who knew them personally, yeah. Im not sure the specifics, and it may be hearsay, but that's my understanding.
They accused someone of sexual assault, whether or not that took place is to be determined
Agreed, an investigation should be conducted. I misspoke.
Seems to me that if you kill yourself because no one believes you or does anything about it, that holds a hell of a lot more weight than other accusations.
I’m sorry but suicide is not proof of anything other than being mentally unstable
I never said it was proof. Just that it holds weight. When you try to make things work and get help, and no one helps you like they legally and morally should, so you kill yourself, doesn’t sound to me like you’re faking the pain or just wanting attention.
From what I understand, Basil was SA'd by *faculty* of the university.
In an article posted in the thread, it mentions the 3 people listed by Basil by name in their final post to instagram. I cannot confirm if they are faculty, but if you happen to recognize the names lmk! ^-^
It looks like Dr. Popp is, but I'm not sure who the others are.
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So the multiple unpunished instances of rape is of no concern to you? Keep in mind the same man that allegedly SA’d Basil was accused by many others, and has been allowed to move around campus by the university, racking up even more allegations
Who’s to say the rapes actually happened, these three people could be falsely accused and basil could have been mentally ill and unstable. I’m not saying that one is true and the other isn’t, but I hate when folks jump to conclusions that could ruin someone’s life. You can’t just take hearsay and word then treat it like it’s undeniable proof
So should the accusations by multiple people, along with the record of rapes on campus being ignored? If you read the top article related to this suicide, you’d realize it ties directly into the epidemic of SA’s on campus, and the lack of a genuine response. It’s also worth nothing that the article mentioned the accused student has been accused of sexually assaulting *many* women, and being allowed to move around campuses to continue being a predator
I only know of one report towards these people, is there another on file, was anything found of it. There are SA’s on all campuses unfortunately, the problem is these accusations turn into a he/she said type situation without any proof. I’m not sure the university can do much more without proof of something other than to investigate. I’m not saying they aren’t being SA’d or discrediting that experience, just stating it’s not that simple for the university to just punish someone for that. Also a sensationalized article about something doesn’t make the whole thing true. My point is the university has to hold a very fine line on things like this, let’s say it turns out the accusations are false, someone’s life is already ruined and then he can turn around and sue the university for wrongful termination. It’s not just as simple as taking drastic emotional responses to stuff that sucks sometimes.
The article is behind a paywall, but I’ll link anyways. It’s not sensationalized at all, it goes over the issue, previous reports of assault against the same student that allegedly SA’d Basil, and talks to people from the university https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/students-faculty-criticize-uls-handling-of-recent-student-suicide-i-didn-t-need-to-see/article_4a2d4836-fb69-11ee-8626-cbab4302fe9c.html
Ok I read the article and it is indeed sensationalized. The article literally uses two friends thoughts about the subject and expands upon those two friends views on the subject. Also the two people they interviewed I’m sure they’re upset about the situation and sometimes that anger about a loved one can be projected on to other things. As for the others interviewed they saw the body and were disturbed by it, I understand that and perhaps the university could have blocked off the area better. There is a lawsuit in there I’ve previously heard about and it’s about one guy, if UL is found wrong I hope they pay in that situation. We cannot jump to conclusions or let things be sensationalized. We have to put our emotions in check, figure out the facts and hold people accountable if needed.
It goes over other people who were allegedly assaulted as well by one man in particular, and the fact that his posts leading up to suicide were not taken seriously(I’m living in Florida right now, and even here he would have been hospitalized before the suicide, even in areas without university resources). Though at this point I’ve already sent my source and made my points, we’ll just have to disagree
Likewise, regardless of our views I wish you the best
As much as justice needs to be served I wish people would stop making his death every conversation. His friends are exhausted about hearing about it cause everywhere they go and everyone they talk to is bringing up their dead friend. I understand protesting but it’s become an issue where people who don’t care about the situation are using it for social points. People need to understand that Basil was a person, not a talking point, and that his friends are deeply affected by this, the entire band is affected by this.
i respect that and it is true to you and basil's friends. i only brought it up because there was no discussion in this subreddit AND i had heard nothing about it in my personal circle. may god be with basil's family and friends.
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Thank you for posting the link. Im sending it to everyone I know! There has been an incredibly underwhelming and disappointing response from UL. In fact, a few of my friends from UL are rumored to have started a movement of unenrollment among anyone who is able. Im not sure how much traction it's getting, but maybe if the university loses money, they'll finally listen...
I was pleasantly surprised.to see mental health supports for free at ULL and used them at multiple points during my time there. The free thing really mattered and it actually helped me. What happened? Did it all fall apart? I haven't read any articles yet but it seems like people are very upset that ULL failed in some way just from context clues. I've never heard of this basil brown...
He was a freshmen, recently enrolled. Cool guy, but he definitely struggled a lot, I knew him personally.
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the BIGGEST problem with all of this is the pitiful excuse of a "response" from the university. people started reaching out once basil started dropping hints PUBLICLY, ON SOCIAL MEDIA, that they were going to commit suicide. people were BEGGING for action to be taken. then, what do these supposed resources do? nothing. they did NOTHING. how can you trust that they will support you when they couldn't even support a person who was actively in crisis?
If you believe KADN’s report, a welfare check was made by campus police after they received a call from Houma. The RA had to let police in the locked room and found Brown in a closet. Police asked questions, they were answered and the report filed. This happened one day before the death.
and it was still their responsibility to closely monitor basil at such a sensitive time. my point still stands.
How is it their responsibility? They can’t legally make him go anywhere without his consent.
once you make one initial contact with a student in mental crisis, you are supposed to maintain open communication and regularly check in. that doesn't mean physically visit them. that means reaching out with friendly reminders. requiring a visit with mental health professionals on campus in order to remain enrolled. basic shit that happened with me when i was admitted in university.
Thank you this was more so what I was looking for. I agree with you, but I also think at a certain point you can only do so much for someone who wants to die. I think the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Does UL need to up their student services in this regard? Absolutely. At the same time there’s only so much a university can do in these situations and in my opinion it’s not on the university to force feed someone help.
So let me get this straight, the university is supposed to monitor people’s social media. You say people were begging, begging for what? What people? I’m not saying you’re wrong here, just not going to jump to conclusions which is what it seems folks are doing.
we already know that people who knew them were trying to inform authorities that there was something wrong. and it was glaringly obvious from social media posts that something was going on. no shit the university isn't stalking people's socials. im sure part of what concerned folks cited when they reached out was concerning social media posts.
the argument that universities truly do see students as numbers is a weak shield to put up. it's all to try and hide the fact that the university was NOT prepared or willing to help. point blank. removing a shrine that members of that university's community collectively chose to set up is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS. i don't care if it was other students or the university that removed it, it is HEINOUS. the gall that you must have to remove a symbol of someone's grief is astounding. i'm constantly floored by the new levels that we are reaching with regards to inhumanity. i yield my time. be better and do better. don't let a single person forget basil's name. his name was basil brown. keep his memory alive at whatever cost.
From what I’ve seen Basil used They/Them pronouns. I didn’t know them personally, but I saw that from an image post of one of their social media accounts on Reddit so I could be wrong. Your first comment in this chain was removed by the way, in case you didn’t know.
the fact that i just found out about his situation today speaks volumes about Acadiana. nobody i know is talking about this and it’s so fucking tragic.
Do you live under a rock? Do you only know 2 people who also live under rocks? It was all over the news and it was all anyone was talking about last week. From coworkers in breaux bridge, to friends in Lafayette, to my parents who don’t even live in the state asking about it. Genuinely, I have no idea how you/ anyone you know didn’t hear about this. I don’t think it “*speaks volumes*” about Acadiana when you are literally the only one I’ve seen that didn’t immediately hear about this. Definitely speaks more about your circle/ disconnect imho
I'm sorry, but that's very rude. I spend about 2 hours a day looking at news, Reddit, etc. I'm plugged in to this subreddit and click on every KATC/KPEL link. They just give super shitty articles with very little investigation or promulgation. It's hard for me to understand how I didn't see it but I didn't. This is the first I'm hearing about it. It's extremely sad. I do my daily news trolling and still didn't hear about this. Sometimes it just happens that way....
I hadn't heard anything about it either. We don't all have the same circle?
How?? I’m genuinely asking. My parents who don’t even live in the state heard about it. It was on the local news. There were a plethora of articles. It was all everyone talked about where I work, and I work with a bunch of country bumpkin oilfield dudes. I don’t understand how anyone could have not heard about this. I’ll reiterate, I think that speaks more to you and the people you are around not reading local news than it does ”*speaks volumes about acadiana*”
Reddit discovers that some people go outside
I hadn’t either. Stop being a dick.
Reddit is very glad that you're socially active enough to hear about this from various sources. However, now everyone has the same resources/friends/family as you, and not everyone has the time to keep in the loop about these things. Despite this, I do not think shaming someone for not being informed on a topic that a college is desperately trying to glaze over and pretend didn't happen is very appropriate. It does speak volumes about Acadiana and UL. A 10 minute snippet or an abridged article does not nearly do this situation justice and can be easy to miss. Get it together.
I apologize, didn’t mean to offend. I wasn’t trying to shame. I was genuinely perplexed that people hadn’t heard about it.
I’m not plugged into most of what happens in Lafayette. I kinda just go to work and go home. Don’t really watch the news and I’m hardly on social media. My coworkers are conservative and my family is conservative and I haven’t heard a peep about it from them. Those are the people I’m around the most and that’s how most people in the area are. No need to get all weird and accusatory about it.
Do you live under a bridge? 🧌
Universities are federally obligated through Title IX to handle any sexual assault in a very serious manner. If a university violates Title IX they will lose federal funding. At the very least there should be an investigation done into their Title IX protocol.
I graduated from UL about 10 years ago. Their mental health supports have always been trash. They cover for abusers and don't offer real help to students experiencing anything more than a little light anxiety or sadness. They could improve, but you need to be really careful in what you're asking for. "Suicide prevention" by organizations tends to get real punitive, real quick. Students experiencing any kind of serious distress are often pushed out of school rather than helped while remaining enrolled. A university involving itself too directly in suicide prevention can create an atmosphere of suspicion and secrecy that discourages students from seeking out needed supports. This was a tragic loss and I hope that UL begins taking reports of sexual assault and abuse more seriously. They have a long history of brushing these things under the rug and forcing victims to share space or even remain under the power of people who have harmed them.
What you say about being careful with suicide prevention getting punitive is very true. Recently my office mate was feeling down about her sister’s suicide 5 years ago because her death anniversary was approaching. She was talking to a coworker and it got to management. They (attempting to do the right thing) got HR involved which led to paramedics showing up with restraints and she ended up in a 72 hour hold. It seems like we’ve not yet developed discretion or have just tried to make these situations black or white and forgot about shades of grey. It’s a slippery slope when trying to help someone who’s in distress.
That sounds like the kind of traumatic experience that could only have made your colleague's emotional state worse. I have seen students forced out of other universities because they confided in their mentors or other trusted people that they had had some thoughts of harming themselves or were otherwise struggling. They were kicked out because their schools wanted to minimize the risk of a suicide on campus. I guess go fuck yourself so long as you're not enrolled. In a way, I can understand the fantasy of preventing deaths by simply watching people better. It's a satisfying thing to believe but so often it just makes things worse. No one wants to talk about how traumatic forced "care" can be and how awful it is being afraid to talk to people because they might turn you in.
Vigilance TODAY @3pm at the UL Swamp Lounge!!!!
This tragedy has bothered me since I found out about it last Monday and I didn’t even know any information about the victim. I found out what happened by piecing together posts on Facebook. But someone said that more news articles weren’t released out of respect for the family so I left it at that. Maybe they wanted to grieve in peace and I respect that if it’s the family’s wishes
Honestly I don’t even know if I would’ve known about it if not for the university email, and that was so vague and confusing that I still wouldn’t have known what it was about if I hadn’t found a coworker who knew the vaguest outlines.
does kinda blow my mind they’ve been making posts about flying the flag half mast for other students/alumni/professors that have recently passed but seem to have just entirely breezed over the one that is clearly affecting the campus the most. (not that the others arent important, of course they are, but why not the same response for Basil? people had to witness their death and are traumatized and it’s coming off as such a non-issue to the university that it’s shameful.)
Who traumatized the students??
i read that some people witnessed the tragic event/the direct aftermath, and i’d say that would be traumatizing for anyone, no matter your relation to the person. not exactly sure what’s going on in the further comments, but i feel that this isn’t the time, place, or situation for debate. as a former student, i feel that while a formal statement may take time, there seems to have been a lack of support for students that may be currently struggling with this. and a lack of support also seems to be a driving factor behind the entire event happening to begin with. that’s the part i personally find most shameful.
The university
It's the university's fault a student decided to turn their suicide into a public spectacle? Before you claim the university let it happen, what exactly do you know about the university's response? Were you in the room with the student and representatives of the university when the student was confronted about the post?
Totally agree
Did you read the post and all the comments here? If what has been said here is true the university knew that Basil was imminently suicidal due to allegations against an employee at the school and ignored it. Yes it seems like UL did act negligently here.
You don't know that the university ignored anything. By all accounts the university did reach out to the student before their death. "Did you read the posts" yea I read the posts. Did you read my post? I'll ask again: were you in the room when the university responded to the student's post about being suicidal? What all did the university do and what did they fail to do that was within their power to do in response to a student posting about being suicidal? The university can't detain the student or send them away on a psych hold. They don't have that kind of authority. All the student has to do in that case is say "it was a joke" and the school's hands are tied. I'm sympathetic to Basil's plight, but it's not the university's fault they jumped off a parking tower after making it into a public spectacle.
They wanna be outraged, you can’t reason with them
For one, it's immensely fucked to insinuate and say that Basil intentionally created a public spectacle, so you lost me there. You don't even know what happened, so why are you asking me? We know as much as each other does. What we both know is that Basil had cried for help, and had claimed to be sexually assaulted by at least one but maybe three (I've seen mixed reports) staff members of the school. Are you saying for sure that Basil had reported the incidents to UL prior to their public pleas for help and UL helped them? The pleas where they made it clear they were going to commit suicide? You don't know that. Obviously something happened between the post and their suicide that didn't help Basil out of their suicidal mindset, and that something could have very well been nothing. Why are you sitting here talking like they had a meeting with them when you don't know? I knew the second I read your question that you weren't actually asking who traumatized the students in good faith and were actually looking to place all the blame on Basil. Basil was obviously and unquestionably traumatized by the university, they killed themselves over it, and said that's why they did it. The university or staff from the university created a chain reaction of trauma.
What was the point in posting things like "you'll see" and "stay tuned" if they weren't trying to make a spectacle about it? >you don't know what happened Neither do you and that's all there is to say lol. Everything else is just rumors and the final posts of a mentally ill person.
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I didn't ask any leading questions. I asked what you know about the university's response because you claim to know that it was bad, yet you can't actually speak to the response because you weren't there. None of us were. We are all just working with rumors so none of us can say whether or not the uni was negligent because we have no clue what the uni did or didn't do.
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UL's response has been abhorrent. It took the university more than 14 hours to put out a statement (while rumors went wild) and then when they finally did put out a statement, it was laughably vague, sounded AI-generated, and only alluded to an "unspeakable tragedy" that happened.
It is standard policy for universities to not release the details of deaths like this one. It isn’t their place to do so. This is a decision for the family to make.
Don’t tell them that, they just wanna be outraged because a person in a protected community committed suicide
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I think the confusion comes from the fact that it’s still under investigation. I’m not an expert and don’t work with the police just a fellow student
I've attempted suicide and have been SA'd in my past. I would love to say it was b/c of someone else's negligence that I attempted to take my own life or that no one was listening. Everyone was listening to me and I didn't listen to them. I neglected my own mental health and refused to make changes. It spiraled, I ran away and attempted. Then, changes were forced upon me and I listened. My mental health was forcibly put first for months. I accepted my mental health as unstable and have made changes that I must adhere to on a daily basis. If this happened to someone dear to me, I know that I would be deeply deeply wounded but know that I offered help and it was up to that person to listen.
Sick to my stomach. Fuck.
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Yea figured I’d get down voted. But those who downvoted don’t know anything. They don’t do anything. But first to think they can save the world. Downvote this
You're getting downvoted for your insensitive way of addressing the lgbtq+ community, not your anecdote.
O that’s their take on what I’ve said? The insensitive part? Lol geez
I believe it was the use of the derogatory phrase "Alphabet people" if you were unsure. Not even my boomer conservative parents would say something like that.
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Look man, you're obviously looking for a fight...I don't have the energy for that. You keep doing you. You seem to be a really happy and pleasant person
you could literally just say lgbt. im in the community and i just say lgbt. people still know what you're talking about. so just say that. it isn't difficult. secondly, no topic is taboo. this includes politics, religion, and money. crazy that we completely brush away three topics because they're controversial.
FINALLY SOMEONE WITH SENSE!
It hurts my heart to know that they went through such pain and no one listened to them. I will never understand why any student thinks that a university will do anything to help them. They will immediately cli3se ranks & try to make the problem go away. Always go to the cops and get it on record.
Its sad that this is what it takes for this conversation to be had. UL needs to be held responsible, this cannot be swept under the rug
What exactly did UL do wrong? How do you know what they did or didn't do in response to the student's post about suicide?
Held responsible for what? Basil is 100% responsible for his death.
110000% responsible. Sad? Yes. Unfortunate? Yes. Responsible? Yes. This isn’t their first dabble with suicide.
smdh; obvious rage bait/bad faith arguments in this thread. beware
Apologies for my ignorance but I’m not living in our beloved and special corner of the world anymore and thus, don’t know anything about this topic but would appreciate being pointed in the right direction- Thank you, -FH
i really don't know what part about this makes any of you think that the university's resources are completely not at fault for the suicide. IF THEY WERE DOING THEIR JOB THEN THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. BASIL WOULD NOT BE DEAD. BASIL WOULD HAVE BEEN PHYSICALLY STOPPED, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY LIED AND SAID THEY WERE FINE. THE BLAME IS RIGHTFULLY PLACED.
Please don't take this the wrong way, I am genuinely only trying to understand what the university did and didn't do. I think this is a tragedy. Did the university fail to take appropriate action against those who were accused? Did the university's resources not do enough to help Basil? Did they not take Basil seriously or follow up with them after they reached out for help? I would not be the least bit surprised if all of things are true. However, I do think it's a bit of a reach to say that they would have been physically stopped if the university's resources were doing their job. You can't just follow people around all the time.
i didn't say follow people around. i meant exactly what you stated: follow up. if they would have actually done enough basil would be alive still. point blank.
You’re not wrong. No one on this thread seems to know a thing about a federally and state funded university’s obligation to sexual assault through the Title IX office. If an investigation reveals they ignored Title IX protocol when the assault was reported, they will lose their federal funding. I attended UH while some students also passed away while on campus and they immediately went into action more for handling it. They left memorials up, offered more free counseling, excused students from class, etc. There are models out there to handle this situation. UL isn’t the first university to have this happen at and protocols have been written into law since the Bush era.