<p>I am beginning to plan the logistics for a tour of Northeast colleges for our daughter and so I consulted Google maps to help plot an itinerary that makes sense. If you type in "Ivy League Schools" a map with flags is provided. A click on each flag provides a blurb about that particular Ivy. I was taken aback when I clicked on the flag for Cornell. This is the only information provided, "Established in 1865, Cornell University enrolls 20,939 students. Often noted as a very depression filled school and after receiving media attention for the 6 suicide deaths, Cornell has added temporary fences around there bridges to prevent jumpers." The writer is most likely not Ivy League himself as he used "there" rather than the pronoun "their"--but nevertheless this is really off-putting for a parent whose child is considering applying to this school. I have never heard Cornell described in this way and would love to hear informed feedback about the vibe there and the general state of mind of the student body....</p>
<p>I’m sorry they described a school like that. Cornell is after all an Ivy League and people are bound to deal with social pressure, stress pressure, and of course academic pressure. Some people take it better than others. Just because the school has had some bad incidents doesn’t mean it should shape the school’s description. I, too, have never heard of Cornell described in that manner. It could honestly be someone writing that description without actual knowledge of the school. Anyways, don’t let that description sway your opinions. Good luck to your child!</p>
<p>that impression is very common of cornell, but then again, it happens everywhere</p>
<p>ya it’s terrible don’t even come here</p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>College, especially an Ivy league school, can be a lot of pressure. There have been suicides at many schools in recent years (probably most large and many smaller schools have documented suicides). It is unfortunate, but it does occur. A student who is depressed needs to seek support which is generally available at any campus health center (and by phone 24 hours a day). </p>
<p>Ithaca is a beautiful area. The school is excellent. Decide which school is the right fit. I don’t think a blurb from Google Maps will be the determining factor.</p>
<p>The university has long had that reputation, owing not to a particularly high rate of these events there, but the very public nature of them. There are bridges on and near campus spanning high above deep glacial gorges, and those so inclined found “gorging out” a more convenient path than a rope, or an overdose, or however else they might proceed elsewhere. If someone offs themselves in their college-owned dorm room it can be more readily hushed up than if they jump off a public city-owned bridge, in public, requiring city agencies to search for and recover the body.</p>
<p>There were no such events whatsoever for the four years preceding 2010, and probably such chatter was in deep hibernation. But in 2010 there was a “cluster” of six such events in a relatively short period. As a result the university took action to make this more difficult. And from what I can tell such discussion has largely gone back into hibernation.</p>
<p>The overall rate there is not higher than the national average, and was actually below it before the cluster. (eg,<a href=“https://web.archive.org/web/20110820025417/http://www.jhunewsletter.com/2.8148/hopkins-suicide-rate-in-line-with-national-college-trend-1.1135311[/url]”>https://web.archive.org/web/20110820025417/http://www.jhunewsletter.com/2.8148/hopkins-suicide-rate-in-line-with-national-college-trend-1.1135311</a>)
But the cluster that occurred there drew a lot of attention, at the time.</p>
<p>Why Google maps, of all places, should be highlighting this, among all other things they could be saying about the university, is rather inappropriate, obviously.</p>
<p>Personally I think a person with a tendency towards depression should think carefully before attending any academically demanding university. You will be tested at such places. All of them. IMO. </p>
<p>But it’s not like people are taking numbers to queue up to jump off a bridge there. I don’t think it’s a particularly valid reason to fear attending there, vs. other academically challenging schools. IMO.</p>
<p>Haha I was very shocked that out of everything Cornell is, that incident is what gets mentioned on Google Maps. The writer actually edited Dartmouth’s description too, claiming that ‘its isolation promotes its large Greek life’ or something dumb like that. Again, he posts not the greatest parent-friendly advice, but its quite apparent that whoever this writer is, he has little insight of these schools beyond what gets mentioned in the news.</p>
<p>Cornell Suicide rate is lower than the national average. It was only one year that it was crazy and since then we’ve had that reputation. In a discussion with a guy from Cambridge, he joked at how he loved the Gorges but could see people who probably failed their exams floating. So I’m not shocked some random guy on the internet would post the same, It’s what they think which isn’t true. Cornell’s hard (except for some Colleges that I wouldn’t mention) and can be annoying but there are several places on campus that handle depression. And you feel good about your hardwork and how much you’ve learned at the end of the semester. P.S. I only see one net fence at CollegeTown, which makes sense to put it there because some drunk or careless person can accidentally fall, they probably removed the rest though, cause all I see are nets.</p>
<p>“It was only one year that it was crazy and since then we’ve had that reputation.”</p>
<p>To be clear, the reputation is longstanding. It existed in the 70s when I attended.
Though then, as later and probably before, likely due to some highly publicized events, rather than any actual persistent elevated rate of such incidents there. The reputation re-emerged out of hibernation that one year, for obvious reasons. But it was not invented then.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the reassuring feedback. I imagined that the spat of incidents that were referred to were an anomaly, but it is still good to hear that there is not an unusually high rate of suicide at Cornell–which might signal a failure in responsiveness on the part of the administration. I graduated from Emory as a Chem major and understand the considerable pressures that these students face–what is important to me as a parent is that the institution has programs in place to help safeguard against unhealthy ways of responding to the pressure.</p>