Creepy UOttawa E-mails

UOttawa has been on a creepy e-mail spree this week.

By my own personal definition, a creepy e-mail is one in which the sender is trying to alert you of something that you should be concerned about, but is doing it in such a vague way that it leaves you questioning if you actually find this comforting or just plain creeped out by it.

Earlier this week, I was sent an e-mail about H1N1 (aka, Swine Flu). Now, I personally don't find H1N1 to be that scary, especially after talking to friends of mine who are professionals in the health fields. However, I was suppose to be comforted by the fact that UOttawa has create a campus response and planning team. Oh, and all of those signs all around campus reminding us to wash our hands, sneeze into our elbows, and getting a flu shot are also helping to downplay my feelings of creepiness.

However, the one that truly has me annoyed is the one that I was sent at 3:04 am today. According to the e-mail, an "incident" happened at Thompson Residence where a student died. The university is deeply sadden by this event and also told us that our safety and security were not at risk. They also suggested contacting the counselling service, who are open Monday to Friday from 9 to 5.

First off, I was apparently the last one to know. I believe this has to do with the fact that I am a graduate student and therefore, not living on campus, hence I wouldn't have seen any of the "excitement".

So, I called a friend of mine, S., who works for Foot Patrol at UOttawa and asked her if she knew anything about it. Apparently (this is just a rumor, so please don't take this to heart!!), a male first year student either fell or jumped from the 15Th floor of Thompson Residence early Saturday morning. And he died.

Now, as of Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm (EST), there is no additional information. I have checked out a number of news sites (CTV, CBC, and the Ottawa Citizen), with no mention whatsoever of this incident. The University hasn't posted anything on their website and the only thing I could find was on KJ360, in the comments section:

"I was at the library yesterday and there were emergency services, ambulances and police everywhere at around 10:15 am. I was in the library so I didn’t see what happened although there were a number of witnesses, but they had been told not to talk about it. I did see an ambulance taking someone away though. It is very sad to think that there was a suicide right at the beginning of the year when there is such a sense of new opportunity."

So this, my friends, is the most information I could find about what may or may not have happened at Thompson Residence. Does it still leave much to the imagination? Oh yeah.

Now for some counselling ranting...

In terms of having lots of witnesses, but asking them to not talk about it, you have a serious problem. These people should talk about it. They need to talk about it. Seeing something as traumatic as seeing someone fall 15 feet could serious damage someone mentally. My only hope is that the University recognized this and brought in mental health professionals to help deal with this tragedy.

And secondly, what does not telling people the truth going to do? Lead to a whole lot of rumors. Frankly, it would have almost been better to be in the dark than it is to have a little knowledge, but not enough. I'm interested to see if tomorrow, the University will step up and give people further information. Because you know what? This individual who died was a person and a valued one at that. And his story needs to be told.