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!