The Beacon Weekly
While walking up the hill towards towers late one night I caught sight of one of my old friends. Let’s call her Carol. It’s not her real name, of course, but it’ll do. She looked incredibly miserable, so I decided sleep was highly overrated and went to go see what was wrong. She told me her traumas, ranging from regular school difficulties to major male issues to a recent death in the family- generally a lousy few weeks. Carol then mentioned several activities she had engaged in which were not conducive to her well-being: she mentioned having taken half a bottle of Excedrin, having cut herself with a razor several times, trying to burn herself with her cigarette, and generally wishing to harm herself rather than focus on the catastrophe she saw her life becoming. She mentioned wishing she was brave enough to commit suicide, and commented that it was worse when she was alone, at which point I offered to spend the night, since she had, and still has, no roommate. She brightened slightly and stopped sobbing for a time at this suggestion, and I went to my room to get some clothes and my books for the next day.
Upon my return we talked for a short time longer, and she came upon a method for dealing with her mildly estranged boyfriend. Then we went to move inside. However, here’s where the timeline bit comes in. It seems that we were twenty-five minutes too late: my Hillside ID would not allow me access to Towers after 2 am.
Now, I’m sure there are reasons for this rule. And I’m sure they make sense to somebody. But can’t every rule be stretched sometimes? I was trying to keep my friend breathing for one more night, not start a riot. I’m a William Paterson student, I live in the dorms- should it really matter which dorm I sleep in? And of course, those extra 25 minutes of discussion, when Carol actually planned something of use to herself and pulled herself out of the doldrums a bit- those were our downfall. It figures, doesn’t it. Pull up a couch in the lounge, everyone, it’s time to visit the shrink. He obviously can’t come to you, he committed the deadly sin of having been assigned to a different building. We’ll just hope you’re not a bloody carcass in the morning.
The editor received several concerned comments as to "Carol"'s health, so I printed this:
LIFELINE RECEIVED
Two weeks ago I wrote an article, "Lifeline vs. Timeline," regarding my inability to gain access to Towers after two AM to spend the night with a greatly distressed friend of mine. For those who were concerned, I would like to let you know that 'Carol' is doing well. I received some concerned messages, and felt it was only right to assuage those fears. However, I would like to make two points here.
One: I still think that not letting me into Towers was ridiculous, and the rule about only being able to access your own dorm after two is absurd.
And Two: Please, PLEASE, if you are going to read and respond to articles, make sure you have the facts straight. 'Carol' was an assumed name, as I plainly stated. I apologize now if any truly named Carols were disturbed by well-meaning persons because of this article.