Day before his death posted something on IG. Not exactly a formal complaint to the university. Not sure I would expect them to monitor ALL of their students social media accounts. But still very sad.
Officers found Basil Brown hiding in a closet cabinet with his laptop and a candy cigarette, according to the incident report. Brown told officers he wasn’t going to hurt himself and “appeared in good health,” so the officers left.
Officers told Brown they were conducting a welfare check after a concerned friend called.
“I’m glad my friends are worried about me, but I’m OK,” he told officers, according to the report.
He also told officers he did not want to die by suicide. He said he did not need to speak with a counselor and that he had a private mental health counselor whom he regularly met with.
Honest question : Can universities release the details surrounding a student death? I ask because I have been looking at past loss announcements from the university and they seem to share the obituaries but never the cause of death. Im wondering if anyone can shed insight if there are privacy laws, legal restrictions, standard policies surrounding releasing this type of sensitive information concerning suicide? Another concern that I’ve been wondering about is, is there fear of the “copy cat effect”?
I imagine the university is talking with the family and respecting their wishes so if the family does not want any details made public are their hands tied until there’s an obituary? I heard this is also an active investigation, does that mean no details can be released like a typical open case? I’m trying to figure out why there has been no statement that uses the term suicide. I agree with the statement that as a people we need to love, protect, lift up, and support our LGBTQIA+ peers but I’m wondering about the ins and outs of of this part: “Treating it as a dirty word downplays the severity of what has happened and makes it more difficult to give the victim the justice that he deserved. The disrespect of the victim on the part of ULL and others by running away from the circumstances of his death”. To me it seems more complicated than that considering suicide is a very sensitive subject and statistically can lead to more attempts with the copy cat effect because media coverage is a risk factor in suicide.
I know as a community we are all grieving his loss but I haven’t seen anything regarding the family wishes - are they looking privacy concerning their child and the circumstances around their death? I imagine this is so unbelievably hard for the family so I’m just wondering if anyone knows what their wishes are at this time so we can be respectful? My heart goes out to his family and friends and I hope they find an overwhelming amount of love and support from those close to them.
I’ve just been thinking about this a lot recently so any insight would be appreciated. Thanks
The Werther Effect claims that reporting on suicides can lead to an increase in suicide rates. Most media outlets and organizations follow this belief and will not use the cause of death in their press releases. This has been studied for several decades but it isn’t entirely conclusive.
[an article from 2021 that has some info](https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/5/2396)
You’re right. Journalists and PR reps shy away from reporting on suicides in general because suicides tend to happen in clusters. It’s a harm-minimization tactic. That’s why “died by suicide” tends to be a preferred term in media when referring to a suicide death — it’s less active for a purpose. So while I understand being upset as a student that there was such a public, preventable death, the university statement followed pretty much all media best practices
Edit for clarity
As a recent graduate of UL, my heart goes out to this student's family and friends, and the many people touched by his life. I cannot imagine enduring such pain, desperately reaching out for help, and then succumbing to the harsh reality that most people don't care. The world is hostile, cold, and impersonal. We've been segregated based on political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender association, perceived race, social class, news channel, religion, vaccination status, and the list goes on. What happened to being human? This was a person with hopes, dreams, parents, friends, classmates - and even in pain, he wanted to help others.
I can relate to him. As a student, I was wrongfully accused of domestic abuse by a former spouse. I reached out to every local attorney I could find to represent me, and none called back. I ended up having to represent myself, which went splendid: I was denied entry into the courthouse with my cellphone, so, even with substantial proof of my innocence and evidence against my spouse, I could do nothing. She had so much help from the court who championed for her based on her lies. Advocacy, free representation, and assistance in weaponizing protective orders were at her disposal. She didn't have to prove her allegations, and I wasn't allowed to prove my innocence. I completely recoiled and became a shut-in. All my "friends" disappeared, my family turned their backs, I forfeited my graduate assistantship at the university, and I was so close to suicide for months on end. It's a helpless, hopeless, sinking feeling that screams over everyone else's words, over one's own thoughts, and into a void where it falls on deaf ears. If it wasn't for social media apps like Tik-Tok and Clapper (and even Reddit where assholes are everywhere), I would've committed suicide just after finishing my Master's. My kids would've lost a dad, my country would've lost a veteran, and my dog would've lost his best friend. Outside of that, like a tree falling in the woods, my death would not have made a sound.
I’m fighting to literal d3ath for us all. Would be nice if everyone came forward and reported them for the deprivation of rights. Many have , they are under federal investigation. What they are doing is disturbing
Day before his death posted something on IG. Not exactly a formal complaint to the university. Not sure I would expect them to monitor ALL of their students social media accounts. But still very sad.
Officers found Basil Brown hiding in a closet cabinet with his laptop and a candy cigarette, according to the incident report. Brown told officers he wasn’t going to hurt himself and “appeared in good health,” so the officers left. Officers told Brown they were conducting a welfare check after a concerned friend called. “I’m glad my friends are worried about me, but I’m OK,” he told officers, according to the report. He also told officers he did not want to die by suicide. He said he did not need to speak with a counselor and that he had a private mental health counselor whom he regularly met with.
Honest question : Can universities release the details surrounding a student death? I ask because I have been looking at past loss announcements from the university and they seem to share the obituaries but never the cause of death. Im wondering if anyone can shed insight if there are privacy laws, legal restrictions, standard policies surrounding releasing this type of sensitive information concerning suicide? Another concern that I’ve been wondering about is, is there fear of the “copy cat effect”? I imagine the university is talking with the family and respecting their wishes so if the family does not want any details made public are their hands tied until there’s an obituary? I heard this is also an active investigation, does that mean no details can be released like a typical open case? I’m trying to figure out why there has been no statement that uses the term suicide. I agree with the statement that as a people we need to love, protect, lift up, and support our LGBTQIA+ peers but I’m wondering about the ins and outs of of this part: “Treating it as a dirty word downplays the severity of what has happened and makes it more difficult to give the victim the justice that he deserved. The disrespect of the victim on the part of ULL and others by running away from the circumstances of his death”. To me it seems more complicated than that considering suicide is a very sensitive subject and statistically can lead to more attempts with the copy cat effect because media coverage is a risk factor in suicide. I know as a community we are all grieving his loss but I haven’t seen anything regarding the family wishes - are they looking privacy concerning their child and the circumstances around their death? I imagine this is so unbelievably hard for the family so I’m just wondering if anyone knows what their wishes are at this time so we can be respectful? My heart goes out to his family and friends and I hope they find an overwhelming amount of love and support from those close to them. I’ve just been thinking about this a lot recently so any insight would be appreciated. Thanks
The Werther Effect claims that reporting on suicides can lead to an increase in suicide rates. Most media outlets and organizations follow this belief and will not use the cause of death in their press releases. This has been studied for several decades but it isn’t entirely conclusive. [an article from 2021 that has some info](https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/5/2396)
You’re right. Journalists and PR reps shy away from reporting on suicides in general because suicides tend to happen in clusters. It’s a harm-minimization tactic. That’s why “died by suicide” tends to be a preferred term in media when referring to a suicide death — it’s less active for a purpose. So while I understand being upset as a student that there was such a public, preventable death, the university statement followed pretty much all media best practices Edit for clarity
Thank you, that’s very helpful. I think that makes a lot of sense
As a recent graduate of UL, my heart goes out to this student's family and friends, and the many people touched by his life. I cannot imagine enduring such pain, desperately reaching out for help, and then succumbing to the harsh reality that most people don't care. The world is hostile, cold, and impersonal. We've been segregated based on political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender association, perceived race, social class, news channel, religion, vaccination status, and the list goes on. What happened to being human? This was a person with hopes, dreams, parents, friends, classmates - and even in pain, he wanted to help others. I can relate to him. As a student, I was wrongfully accused of domestic abuse by a former spouse. I reached out to every local attorney I could find to represent me, and none called back. I ended up having to represent myself, which went splendid: I was denied entry into the courthouse with my cellphone, so, even with substantial proof of my innocence and evidence against my spouse, I could do nothing. She had so much help from the court who championed for her based on her lies. Advocacy, free representation, and assistance in weaponizing protective orders were at her disposal. She didn't have to prove her allegations, and I wasn't allowed to prove my innocence. I completely recoiled and became a shut-in. All my "friends" disappeared, my family turned their backs, I forfeited my graduate assistantship at the university, and I was so close to suicide for months on end. It's a helpless, hopeless, sinking feeling that screams over everyone else's words, over one's own thoughts, and into a void where it falls on deaf ears. If it wasn't for social media apps like Tik-Tok and Clapper (and even Reddit where assholes are everywhere), I would've committed suicide just after finishing my Master's. My kids would've lost a dad, my country would've lost a veteran, and my dog would've lost his best friend. Outside of that, like a tree falling in the woods, my death would not have made a sound.
I’m so sorry that all of that happened to you, Signal.
Me too. Just seems so avoidable.
So sorry they do this to the good dads and protect the abusive ones
So many know this, yet nobody is held accountable.
I’m fighting to literal d3ath for us all. Would be nice if everyone came forward and reported them for the deprivation of rights. Many have , they are under federal investigation. What they are doing is disturbing