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The area just south of the East Meadow Drive crossing in Palo Alto has turned into something of a destination spot for depressed teenagers looking to end it all. Since May of this year, there have been three teen suicides at the spot. Last night, at around 10:50 pm, it played host to its fourth.
Last night's victim, a male killed by an oncoming train, has yet to be identified. No word yet if he attended nearby Gunn High School, like two of the other suicide victims.
Hey, kids, are you looking to take your life? Don't. Instead, go here to get some help. Who knows. You could just be clinically depressed or suffer from some sort treatable mental condition, and your parents are too stupid to get you help. There are folks out there who can help you.
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I heard sirens last night, as I live about a mile from that intersection. If anything positive comes from this recent spate of railway suicides it is a strong argument for an elevated, grade-separated, High Speed Rail line.
Parents, how about taking a sec and talking to your kid for once.
Better than visiting them at the morgue.
It's sad how Palo Altans don't care if their children throw themselves in front of trains.
But if you suggest a safe, elevated railway they shit their pants and yell like a pack of angry monkeys.
Seriously.
I say fence the whole thing and close all the cross streets.
Dead teens are less important than their property values apparently.
dont you see? they're using their children to protest the High-speed-rail
didn't get into princeton.
I like the idea of elevating trains, but I don't think the train system is really at fault here. If someone's going to commit suicide, they'll find a way to do it.
Yes they'll still do it but not at the detriment of the train engineer and the passengers of the train. Makes it a little bit harder to do and maybe give that suicidal teen some time to think twice about doing it.
Maybe you can help them find new ways.
These kids need a healthy dose of Big Fun's "Teenage Suicide (Don't Do It)".
I'm sure Caltrain would love to secure their RoW if someone were to magically cause $1 or $2 billion to appear in their inbox. Except for Page Mill and Embarcadero, the 20 or 30 intersections between Santa Clara and San Mateo are at-grade.
Does anyone else think it's weird that all these kids who recently committed suicide went to the same high school? It has been reported elsewhere that this guy also attended Gunn High School.
"Come on, Jenny, everyone's doing it."
"Like, it's just so, like, awesome to kill yourself, omygod!"
It's because everyone keeps talking about it. =P If they just "disappeared" it never would've caught on.
Well, that, and if you gave them lives aside from stupid high school drama.
(paraphrasing an earlier post here)
City high schools have a higher percentage of young adults. The city gives them more freedom to do what they want, and they have to take on more responsibility in the process. Prom is not as important when you can easily go dance at a club in soma with a wink and a fake ID. You get to do reckless things that are learning experiences, instead of reckless things that are pointless. You also get a friend base that does not entirely consist of people who go to the same school as you. You probably have friends who are older who can give advice and share life experience, and in the process make you more mature.
Suburban high schools are more like Lord of the Flies. You're trapped in an isolated place, lacking any real socialization with anyone besides other students. In fact, you're encouraged to avoid people outside of school. What -- in the eyes of a sane person -- would be silly social trifles, become instead matters of paramount importance. The school environment becomes a glass bottle, meant to confine an organism's growth, and you're the bonsai kitten stuffed inside it. You're not allowed to grow up, so you still do stupid kid things, except now they're driven by adult emotions.
(Can you tell I went to a high school like that? >.>; So yeah, I sort of have a chip on my shoulder about it. xD )
The day we give them something better to do with their lives, the less they'll do crap like this. My vote is to eliminate high school and just send everyone to junior college or technical school/apprenticeships. The education would be better and the social environments would be healthier and more diverse.
And they might stop fucking up Caltrain. =P
I guess all those two income boomer parents are doing a bang up job at NOT parenting.
I wonder how many of them took a day off to console their kid(s). Close to zero.
I wonder how many of them find their kids more of a chore than a life to nurture.
Expect more of the same because the last thing baby boomer parents need is to have their lives and schedules inconvenienced by some overly dramatic kid.
Wow. This article AND these posts are just incredibly judgemental. You should all take a step back and remember that this is a horrible tragedy for families and people that you know absolutely nothing about.
You are showing the small side of humanity.