Northern Illinois University became the fourth university or school within a week to witness such an incident when Kazmierczak went on a shooting spree. Our schools are now one of the most dangerous places on earth. On Feb. 8, a woman shot two fellow students to death before committing suicide at Louisiana Technical College in Baton Rouge. In Memphis, a 17-year-old is accused of shooting and critically wounding a fellow student Monday during a high school gym class. The 15-year-old victim of a shooting at an Oxnard, Calif., junior high school has been declared brain dead.
Do we blame it on sun spots, Television, negative ions, full moon, or just a symptom of our violent culture? How many violent video games did he play?
Kazmierczak, 27 shot 21 people before shooting and killing himself, was an award-winning sociology student and a leader of a campus criminal justice group, according to school Web sites. Kazmierczak was a student about 175 miles away at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. As far as anyone knew, there were no red flags- no warnings of any violent behavior. Police have found no notes that would explain the attack, and authorities have no known motive in the case.
Barack Obama said Friday that the country must do “whatever it takes” to eradicate gun violence following a campus shooting in his home state, but he believes in an individual’s right to bear arms. Can you beleive that? A Democrat believes in the 2nd Amendment. And wins a grammy award too!
On the serious and traumatic side, some are still battling for their life in the hospital, while five familes are struck with the horror of preparing for a funeral. DeKalb County Coroner Dennis J. Miller identified the five victims who died as Daniel Parmenter, 20, of Westchester, Ill.; Catalina Garcia, 20, of Cicero, Ill.; Ryanne Mace, 19, of Carpentersville, Ill.; Julianna Gehant, 32, of Mendota, Ill.; and Gale Dubowski, 20, of Carol Stream, Ill.
There are many experiences to the journey of life, but death is simply unexplainable. It matters not whether it comes suddenly and unexpectedly as in this case, or if it is drawn out over a 2-3 incurable illness. Each path has it’s good and difficult aspects.
We are here for a short season and some are shorter than others. I lost a wife at age 18, a son who was 17, and both parents. From a fatal car wreck, to a plane crash, to deaths by cancer, the results are the same. There’s always a void, and more victims than one initially considers. Some deaths though are more symptomatic of imbalances within our society and culture and I believe that Steven P. Kazmierczak is one of those.
College football fans have plenty to be excited about in Week Five, as the schedules are getting tougher and the conference rivals are starting to battle. NCAA football tickets for any one of these games would be a great idea, so make sure you you’re either at one of these games, or you have them all TiVo’d.
1. Georgia – Alabama: Saturday night you get the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs facing off against the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide. Considering the fact that UCS lost to Oregon State this week, there’s a distinct possibility that both of these teams could move up if they win. For Georgia, a No. 1 spot isn’t out of the question. Alabama might sneak into the top five. The game’s going down at Georgia’s Sanford Stadium, so we hope you have your Georgia Bulldogs football tickets. Most of the experts say that Georgia has the clear edge because they’re at home, but last year Georgia only won the game 26-23. We expect a close one.
2. Ohio State-Minnesota: Ohio State (No. 14) might enter the game with the high ranking, but they’ve already got a bad loss to a good team (their 35-3 drubbing at the hands of USC). The Trojans lost this week already, so that might not bode well for the Buckeyes if they’re trying to get placed based on strength of schedule. The Golden Gophers are 4-0, but the best team they’ve played was Northern Illinois in Week One. Still, Minny’s offense has been humming right along, so don’t expect them to just lay down and die when they face a team with a ranking.
3. Illinois-Penn State: You’ve got two ranked Big Ten teams in No. 22 Illinois and No. 12 Penn State, so how can you deny this game is the best in the NCAA? Fair question. However, since the game is in Happy Valley and Penn State owns the all-time record between these two teams by an incredible 11-0 (that’s right- Jo Pa has never been beaten by an Illini) we’re thinking that the Nittany Lions will cruise to an easy win.
4. Arkansas – Texas: Big 12 powerhouse Texas will come out swinging when they face Arkansas, a regional and cross-conference rival at their home in Austin. Texas comes into the game with an undefeated record, and they face Arkansas after their game was postponed the week previous to last because of the hurricane. Texas has a No. 7 ranking, and with USC already losing, and Georgia facing a tough challenge, they could vie for a top five spot if they can beat Arkansas, a team that lost badly to Alabama last week 14-49.
5. Purdue-Notre Dame: Here’s a rivalry game that might be interesting. Perdue is the second most common Notre Dame opponent all-time behind Navy, so there’s lots of history here. Purdue beat up on the lowly Irish last season, but so far Coach Charlie Weis has proven that ND isn’t the same 3-9 team like in 2007. Don’t fall asleep on this one, Boilermakers.
If you’re looking for NCAA football tickets, try http://www.stubhub.com/ncaa-football-tickets/.
Depression is a prevalent health care problem in other places besides northern Illinois, as it affects more than 19 million Americans, nationwide, every year, regardless of age, race, or gender. While depression is not a normal part of the aging process, there is a strong likelihood of it occurring when other physical health conditions are present.
For example, nearly a quarter of the 600,000 people who experience a stroke in a given year will experience clinical depression.
Unfortunately, symptoms of depression are often overlooked and untreated when they coincide with other medical illnesses or life events that commonly occur as people age (e.g., loss of loved ones). However, clinical depression is never a normal response; it is a serious medical illness that should be treated at any age.
Prevalence
More than two million of the 34 million Americans age 65 and older suffer from some form of depression.
Co-occurring Illnesses
Health care is a complex interactive process because symptoms of clinical depression can be triggered by other chronic illnesses common in later life, such as Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, heart disease, cancer and arthritis.
Widowhood
One-third of widows/widowers meet criteria for depression in the first month after the death of their spouse, and half of these individuals remain clinically depressed after one year.
Healthcare Costs
Older patients with symptoms of depression have roughly 50% higher healthcare costs than non-depressed seniors.
Suicide
Depression is a significant predictor of suicide in elderly Americans.
Comprising only 13% of the U.S. population, individuals aged 65 and older account for 20% of all suicide deaths, with white males being particularly vulnerable.
Suicide among white males aged 85 and older (65.3 deaths per 100,000 persons) is nearly six times the suicide rate (10.8 per 100,000) in the U.S.
Treatment
More than 55% of older persons treated for mental health services received care from primary care physicians. Less than 3% aged 65 and older received treatment from mental health professionals.
Health care problem: Primary care physicians accurately recognize less than one half of patients with depression, resulting in potentially decreased function and increased length of hospitalization.
Fortunately, clinical depression is a very treatable illness. More than 80% of all people with depression can be successfully treated with medication, psychotherapy or a combination of both.
Health Care: Older Adult Attitudes toward Depression:
According to a National Mental Health Association survey on attitudes and beliefs about clinical depression:
Approximately 68% of adults aged 65 and over know little or almost nothing about depression.
Only 38% of adults aged 65 and over believe that depression is a health problem.
Important health care fact: If suffering from depression, older adults are more likely than any other group to handle it themselves. Only 42% would seek help from a health professional.
Signs of depression are mentioned more frequently by people under age 64 than people aged 65 and over. These include a change in eating habits (29% vs. 15%), a change in sleeping habits (33% vs. 16%) and sadness (28% vs. 15%).
About 58% of people aged 65 and older believe that it is normal for people to get depressed as they grow older.