Clackamas Community College
Suicide:
Letter to the editor
Face the problem
Do you find that some days life is just too difficult to deal with?
Have you ever considered ending your life because you can’t seem to
find even the slimmest line of light at the end of the tunnel? Then
you’re not alone.
Certainly everyone feels depressed and down every once in awhile in
his/her life, but for some 30,000 people every year these feelings are so
overwhelming that these people are led to take their own lives to end
the pain and depression.
Suicide is certainly not a new phenomena that came with the 1980’s.
It’s been around as long as man has, but recently it has been
discovered that the number of deaths by suicide is rising, especially
among young adults.
It is difficult to deal with suicide at any age, but when someone has
his/her whole life ahead and decides that things are too difficult to
deal with and that life will only get worse instead of better, suicide
becomes an even greater tragedy.
The question of why people commit suicide is no longer an issue in
this picture of death - the issue now is how can these.tragic deaths be
prevented? Suicide is preventable and it is up to the public to realize
this and do something about it before things get out of hand.
Ignoring the problem will not make it go away - it can only get
worse without the knowledge that the public can make a difference in
the statistics. It’s up to the people of this country to look at the people
around them and help them get through the hard times. It’s not such a
difficult challenge if everyone would just remember a time when they,
too, felt hopeless in the face of a problem,
-SLV-
Drinking age illogical
The people of the state of Oregon have been passing judgement on
the people between the ages of 18 ¿nd 21. They have been saying that
these people are not mature enough to drink at the age of 18.
This is very illogical when these same people are old enough and
mature enough to die for their country, vote for the people who will
run our country or even get married, but they cannot drink alcohol if
they want to.
Why not?
Well the people who made this law say that it is to prevent people
from drinking and driving and that many eighteen-year-olds are still in
high school and may provide alcohol for minors. These are both bad
exuses. The people who drink and drive just lack common sense. Most
eighteen-year-olds have just as much common sense as people over 21.
As far as the people in high school go, those people are going to drink
alcohol whether it is legal or not.
The people in Oregon who are between the ages of 19 and 21 have
been starved of their rights long enough. Now is the time to change the
law-
-MKT-
Keyser
thanked
for lights
We would like to extend
this letter of appreciation to
Dr. Keyser, President of
Clackamas Community Col
lege. Earlier this year we ex
pressed concerns about the
lighting on campus during
evening classes. Neale Froth
ingham, ASG President, en
couraged us to speak directly
to Dr. Keyser to voice our
concerns. Dr. Keyser listen
ed, reviewed the situation,
and recognised that the pro
blem could be corrected. He
developed a plan of action
and had the lighting on the
campus altered to provide
more light in the darkened
areas that we were concerned
about.
Thanks Dr. Keyser, for
making our campus a
brighter place for night
students and instructors.
Jeanne L. Sinclair
Jerry Stephenson
"The Print” welcomes
readers to express their views
by writing letters to the
editor. All letters should be
typewritten and submitted to
Student Publications in
Trailer B by 5pm Friday
before publication.
/ know what you’re going through...
Climbing life’s fragile hill
Dear friend,
I’m writing you a letter to let
you know that you’re not alone. I
know where you are. I’ve been
there. I know the lonely days and
even lonelier nights. I’ve felt the
dampness and the darkness of
that long tunnel that stretches out
in front of you. I know the sink
ing feeling of discovering that
there’s no light, even around the
bend.
I’ve seen my dreams dashed to
pieces. I’ve watched my castles
tumble down. Sometimes I still
hear the endless banging of bricks
as one by one I tried to fit them
into a crazy pattern.
I thought that what I was do
ing was logical, but now I know,
that it had no rhyme or reason. I
kept building my walls until no
one could touch me. Behind the
wall I built a bed out of the shat
tered fragments of my life. But
you know as well as I do, that
there’s no comfort in a bed of
broken dreams.
I want you to know that I too
have heard life’s ugly sneer as it
coiled its way past my door. I
know what it feels like to cower
on a pile of ashes and long to be
able to get up and follow the
haunting call of that ugly creature
they call reality.
I know just how deep are the
fetters that bind your soul and
mind. I know how many tears
you’ve cried and how many
prayers you’ve prayed.
I’ve heard the roar of the water
as it laughingly swirled around
my head, daring me to make a
last attempt to save myself.
by Tammy
Swartzendruber
Columnist
I, like you, have wandered
through the dry land searching
for a drink. I’ve looked into the
vast emptiness of Time and felt
the fear, the loneliness, and the
dread.
I know depression and despair.
Now I’m asking you to just let
me help. Tear down your walls.
Throw aside your masks. Be
fearless and strong. Reach out
and let someone hold your hand.
The world isn’t waiting to hurt
you. It wants to be your friend.
Please come out of that awful
tunnel. There’s nothing there for
you but haunting echoes from
your past. Come out. I’ll be
waiting for you.
Why are you just letting the
water swirl around you while you
sink deeper? If you look you cam
see a friendly beam in that ola
lighthouse yonder. Reach for it
and pull yourself out.
Why wander through that
sun-baked desert where nothing
moves except the sand? I know
your throat is parched. I also
know that when you get to your
destination you will find it was
only a mirage. But that’s okay.
I’m not condemning you. If the
wind hadn’t blown away my
footprints, you’d see that I’ve
already been there. I know what
you’re going through, so please
come with me and together we
will climb life’s fragile hill.
When you feel the wind in your
hair and see the light above the
clouds, you will know your long
journey is ended and life has
just begun.
Signed, a fellow traveler
April 27,1988
Page 2
Defaced photos an
act of immaturity
Freedom of the press! Something so basic but yet complicated.
Freedom of the press gives writers the opportunity to write about
events. But freedom of the press may also cause people to get upset
about articles that according to them should not have been written.
What is freedom of the press exactly? It is those laws which give us
the opportunity to report the news and events of our time, fairly and
accurately. In case of news, sports, and features, the stories need to be
written fair and objectively; however, in the case of editorials and col
umns, the writer’s own opinion is expressed. Since the writer’s views
are expressed, he or she has every right to say whatever he or she
wants as long as it is done in good taste.
When someone does not agree with a certain article, the proper way
to handle such a disagreement is to write a signed letter to the editor.
Some people here on campus do not seem to understand that and have
taken a rather distasteful approach to respond to certain articles. Col
umn pictures and even some parts of the paper have been posted
around campus with swastikas and obscenties written on them.
What’s the case? Is this certain person, or persons afraid to write a
letter to the editor? Are they scared to get their name published and get
their identity known? Isn’t this just an easy way out, to put things up
without anybody knowing it, instead of submitting a letter?
When a letter to the editor is submitted, the writer is given a fair
chance to respond and work out the disagreement. However, posting
articles that are written on in a very immature manner is not going to
solve any problems, and only makes the situation worse.
Whoever put up those pictures and articles, why don’t you just set
tle this disagreement in a mature way. Write a letter to the editor if you
are upset, and otherwise just stop with what you are doing. If you still
don’t, maybe it is better for you to go back to grade school. You are in
college now, and it is expected from you that you handle things like
this as an adult would.
- CHAV -
FOREVER YOUNG.
'lost <>f us don't think about dying.
It seems like we'll stay-voting forever.
And some of us do: drinking and
driving is tile number one killer of
people under 25.
But if the thought of dying doesn't
stop you from drinking and driving,
think about losing your license
instead. Because you will.
Oregon has tough drinking and
driving laws. And they ins! keep ■
getting tougher. Voti’il lose your
license for at!<asi ‘todays,
Automatically Inimediately. :
It will seem like forever.
If you drink and drive, the least you 'll lose is your license. Guaranteed.
Oregon Traffic Sa fety Commission
The
Print
•as“ CtACKAMAf
The Print aims to be a fair and impartial newspaper covering the college communi
ty. Opinions expressed in The Print do not necessarily reflect those of the College
administration, faculty, Associated Student Government or other members of The
Print staff. Articles and information published in The Print can be reprinted only
with permission from the Student Publications Office. The Print is a weekly
publication distributed each Wednesday except for Finals Week. Clackamas Com
munity C"",ege, 19600 S. Molalla Ave., Oregon City, Oregon 97045. Office :
Trailer B. Telephone: 657-8400, ext. 309.
Editor-In-Chief: Heleen Veenstra
Design/Sports Editor: Christopher Curran
Opinion/Copy Editor: Stephani Veff
Assistant Opinions Editor: Michelle Taylor
Co-News Editors: Lisa Graham, Michael Walker
Feature Editor: Caree Hussey
Photo Editor: Beth Coffey
Staff Writers: Mark Borrelli, Tom Golden,
Sherri Michaels Jerry Ulmer,
Michelle Walch, Steven Ziolkowski
Columnist: Joseph Patrick Lee,
Tammy Swartzendruber
Paste-up: Victoria Böttcher, Pat Eamon,
Jodie Martini, Maggie Rhodes, Sam Taylor
Cartoonist: Jim Adams
Photographers: Julie Church,
Heidi Klein, Tim Zivney
Business Manager: Jim Brown
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Advisor: Linda Vogt