This morning I awoke to see another tasteless Hullaballoo article spreading like wildfire across my newsfeed. An immediate sensation of sorrow and anger came over me as I thought, just as I had the last time The Hullabaloo reported on a suicide, “What if this had been my sister?”

I cannot imagine seeing her life minimized to a “share button.” Nor can I imagine watching students who didn’t know her posting on Yik Yak, asking morbid details about her death and clambering to find out a name. I am lucky enough to still have my sister, but last night some of our fellow students lost their best friend, their old roommate and someone lost their daughter.

There is no reason for The Hullaballoo to create gossip fodder with someone’s personal tragedy. Depression and suicide prevention are conversations that need to happen at Tulane, but not at the expense of trivializing someone’s life.

Tulane has taken steps to improve our prevention by making CAPS more accessible and putting Resident Advisors and professors through a professional suicide prevention program. The Tulane Administration make great efforts to respect the family’s wishes in these situations. The Hullaballoo tramples those wishes by reporting on the suicide.

The Hullabaloo’s job is not to beat the administration to releasing the information, or to make a family’s suffering worse. Her friends and family know and deserve their privacy during this difficult time.

Sincerely, 

Jessica Ellis 

Junior