Jose Orozco
The Paw Print
To the general reading audience and other interested individuals, I would first like to offer my apology for the controversy surrounding my previous article.
With that said, I still stand 100 percent behind my piece. First off, I must say that I am honored to know that I was able to elicit a response from my reading audience. As an artist, with words being my medium, it is important to know that I am able to get people to respond. Mr. Elliot, I would like to say thank you for responding with your article. The fact that there are guidelines toward publishing articles in regard to such a controversial topic is something that needed to be brought into awareness, not only for myself but also for other members of the press. I’m sure you had to do your research and found the information to be quite valuable.
One of the major issues surround the PRIZM club is the idea of anonymity, which is partially why I did not disclose the information of my cabinet position. It was a safety precaution. Thank you for your introduction. Luckily I am proud to say I am lead Coordinator for this organization.
Fortunately for all, my previous article has brought into light the issue of suicide. If my article was read thoroughly without the initial bias of the title, one would be sure to note that the article explicitly stated that I do not “glorify suicide” and surely did not give “directions on how to kill yourself,” as Mr. Elliot expressed in his initial paragraph. They were just a statement of facts, not advocating suicidal behaviors. In paragraph six, sentence number three of my previous writing, I stated, “This is by no means approval of the idea that people should kill themselves.”
I truly do feel as though suicide intervention programs are necessary and vital to the well-being of any community, be it a school campus or otherwise. The training referenced in my previous article was not just for the PRIZM club, ASC’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA), but also for the Military Veterans club, and the Spanish club. I stand behind Mr. Elliot’s statement in which I request that the training be cancelled, which is a great interlude to my fourth paragraph as to why it was cancelled. Notice though, it was Elliot who made this response and was not the prevention specialist with whom the conversation was held. Elliot’s statement, “Mr. Orozco felt that no PRIZM members would register for the training unless it was provided free of cost” was not as much of an issue as made out to be. Yes, I was working to get the training offered to the at risk populations at no cost. To be very clear, the training was to be offered to PRIZM club members, Military Veteran Club members, and the Spanish club members, not just PRIZM club. This was specifically due to the fact that interest and participation from just the PRIZM club would not have been substantial enough to use the “$1000 of staff time for each ASIST training.” This is why it was a collaboration of ASC campus clubs and organizations were taking the training. In support of the ASIST training, it is offered, to those willing to pay, on the 24 and 25 of April. Just to be clear for the student population though, these trainings are held during the weekday, which will require an absentee of two days. They are not designated as school excused by the Office of Student Affairs and cost $35.
It is no surprise that Elliot would response as strongly to such commentary as he had. In a similar article written in the fall semester on the same topic, Elliot was quoted in an interview as having to deal with the event of not being able to prevent the suicide of a past ASC student. I must say, I do feel his pain, as a survivor of suicide myself and someone who is constantly dealing with feelings of suicide. I hope that my reading audience will see that, though this series of commentary has been quite controversial and stirred a lot of emotion, it has been done with purpose. The fact that I, as a common lay person, have published some general ideas about suicide that the general public may or may not agree or disagree with, only to have it responded to by a professional who is trained and specializes in the area of interest, has brought a lot of really good dialog around this controversial issue. It is my hope that no hard feelings will remain, but that the dialog continues.
What’s Been Said…