An incident recently took place on the University at Buffalo North Campus, in Clemens Hall, in which a cherished member of our UB community passed away due to an apparent suicide. This event has broken the hearts of people within the University at Buffalo community.

First and foremost, I'd like to send my most heartfelt condolences to the victim, as well as his family, friends, loved ones, and anybody that knew him. Anyone that is struggling to cope with this tragedy, please understand that you are NOT alone, and that there are people who love and support you, ALWAYS. If you are in need of assistance of any kind, and would like to reach out, please refer to the resources offered on UB's website:

https://www.buffalo.edu/studentlife/help/emergency.html

People are willing and able to help you through this. 

It has come to my attention that the specific stairwell within Clemens Hall in which this incident took place, has been discussed in the past as a location for other possible attempts of suicide. This is an overhead view of the stairwell in question:

**PLEASE NOTE: This image may be disturbing for some viewers. While the image itself is not graphic, it has come to my attention that it is very difficult to view for some individuals, especially those who personally knew the victim.**

https://i.redd.it/ij103qa1irn31.jpg

I am calling on University at Buffalo staff to implement a safety barrier of some kind in this stairwell AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Whether it be physical barriers, or a safety net, some type of barrier should be placed here out of concern for students safety. A somewhat unsettling post on the UB Reddit page has further intensified my concern for my fellow students' safety regarding this particular stairwell:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UBreddit/comments/e7o5d4/student_suicide_ratesdeath_database/

Note that the above post was made before the incident which took place on December 11th, 2019. 

Considering that this particular stairwell has garnished notoriety amongst University students in the past as a dangerous location, I believe that it is in the best interest of the University at Buffalo to incorporate safety to barriers to guarantee that nothing like the recent tragedy ever happens again. It is simply unacceptable to inadvertently put students at risk. 

Please assist me in asking the University at Buffalo President, Mr. Satish K. Tripathy, to coordinate with the University's Crisis Prevention Team a method to implement safety barriers at this location, as well as other potentially dangerous spots around campus. We must do everything in our power to take these kinds of preventative measures. Everybody in our University community deserves to feel safe no matter where they are on our campus. 

What this petition calls for is not merely an "extra step" to ensure safety at the University at Buffalo campus, but rather, it is a moral obligation.

It is beyond unfortunate that our community must mourn the death of another student; a student who was only 20 years old... Someone who had their whole life ahead of them; someone who attended this University with goals to chase, dreams to fulfill, and positivity to spread into the world. It is with deep sadness and regret that we can not repair the damage that has already been done. But if we even have the ability to take preventative measures in the hopes of stopping anything like this from occurring in the future, it is no longer something we "should" do, but rather something we absolutely MUST do.

 

Sincerely yours,

A concerned University a Buffalo student