I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the following tweet last week: ‘first we lose at b-ball, now these awful headliners! no wonder b*tches be killin themselves n sh*t.’ The tweet has since been deleted by the owner.

A joke is a joke. But when a joke involves the death of another human being, it’s no longer considered a joke. It is no longer funny. I will be the first to agree that we are all entitled to our own opinions, but there are certain things that are just unacceptable when it comes to showing disappointment. 

We lost a member of our community on March 23. A freshman girl, an economics major, a friend to many and someone’s daughter. Let’s show some compassion here, people. The cause of death is still unknown. The cause of death was also uncertain when the tweet was sent.

Comments like this are one of the many reasons why people who are depressed and thinking about taking their own lives don’t feel comfortable talking about it. They worry that just one person will judge them or make their feelings seem insignificant. When a comment is made after someone’s death, it not only looks ignorant and insensitive, but to those who see the comment and are in more pain than you can imagine, they may wonder if anyone will ever care or if their pain is worth someone else’s time. 

So before you go cracking a joke involving the death of one of your peers or anyone for that matter, please reconsider what someone’s life really means. Consider what your life really means. Consider all of the different things each person brings to our society and how awful it is when we lose someone before he or she can show the world who he or she really is.

Rest in Peace, Courtenay. 

Katherine Desy

Class of 2015 

Published on April 1, 2012 at 12:00 pm