06-04-2022, 07:20 AM
The issue of what the University "owes" to the student because they are attending Stanford is a complex one. There is also the issue of what Stanford "ought" to do vs. what Stanford must do to meet their legal obligations vs what Stanford can't do because of legal strictures/civil liability. I am not sure there is an "answer".
I knew fairly well two people at Stanford who attempted suicide. One succeeded, the other did not. I had no idea at all they were having such problems. The "administration" had even less of an idea. I am not sure Stanford is doing any better in this area now than it was 50 years ago, although there is much more ink being spilled regarding the issues. One problem is that there are many fewer social norms that used to restrain behavior "back in the day". Today, you are expected to mind your own business even when you see somebody behaving in a manner you think very ill advised. There is also nobody you can report the issue to that is actually going to do anything, as University policy forbids most unilateral, immediate actions. There is a "process". The University is also constrained in what they can do (or believe they can do). If somebody has an obvious drug problem and refuses medical help, the University can do little about it, apparently.
Even if there were a designated contact that would be contacted for certain defined situations, the University couldn't report obvious problems that didn't "clearly" fit the definitions. Further, we all know of people whose parents and peers knew had "issues". Knowing those issues didn't mean they could actually help. Sometimes the parents and peers were big contributing factors to the problems. The issue of protecting people from themselves has always been a tough one. It isn't getting easier.
I knew fairly well two people at Stanford who attempted suicide. One succeeded, the other did not. I had no idea at all they were having such problems. The "administration" had even less of an idea. I am not sure Stanford is doing any better in this area now than it was 50 years ago, although there is much more ink being spilled regarding the issues. One problem is that there are many fewer social norms that used to restrain behavior "back in the day". Today, you are expected to mind your own business even when you see somebody behaving in a manner you think very ill advised. There is also nobody you can report the issue to that is actually going to do anything, as University policy forbids most unilateral, immediate actions. There is a "process". The University is also constrained in what they can do (or believe they can do). If somebody has an obvious drug problem and refuses medical help, the University can do little about it, apparently.
Even if there were a designated contact that would be contacted for certain defined situations, the University couldn't report obvious problems that didn't "clearly" fit the definitions. Further, we all know of people whose parents and peers knew had "issues". Knowing those issues didn't mean they could actually help. Sometimes the parents and peers were big contributing factors to the problems. The issue of protecting people from themselves has always been a tough one. It isn't getting easier.