Audio Story

By: Timothy Ryan

 

As what will be shown in the interview embedded directly below, this upcoming Sunday at 9AM on Alumni Grove, TCNJ will be hosting its first ever ‘Out of the Darkness’ walk with the goal to raise awareness and donations for those suffering with suicidal ideation and families that have been affected by suicide in any shape or form.

This recording took place this Thursday morning on TCNJ’s campus, just days before the event.

The transcript to the entire conversation is right below the embedded link.

 

Transcript:

 

Timothy:

This upcoming Sunday at 9AM, TCNJ’s community – students, parents and professors all like – are going to TCNJ’s first ever ‘Out of the Darkness’ walk in the aim to raise awareness of what individuals can do to support loved ones with suicidal ideation and support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s programs with the overall goal to lower United States’ suicide rate by twenty-percent over the next five to ten years.

Here we have fine-arts major Lucia Gardiner who will be attending the event this weekend.

Lucia, is there anything specific that you want to talk about?

 

Lucia:

Yes!

I couldn’t tell you how glad I was when I saw that TCNJ was finally taking action against something that I’d honestly call an epidemic.

There is ostensibly no reason why we should lose what I believe are four individual lives to suicide in only a single year. It’s frightening.

Yet I’m glad that as of right now according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s website, TCNJ has raised over eight-thousand-dollars out of more than three-hundred-forty unique participants.

This is over three-thousand-dollars more than TCNJ’s initial goal of five-thousand-dollars.

All I can say is that I’ll be there, and so should you.

 

Timothy:

There isn’t much more anyone can say about that.

Here we also have graphic design major and IMM minor Cecelia George, who we think also will have their unique say regarding Sunday’s walk.

 

Cecelia:

Well, what I thought specifically was cool is that when you get to the walk, you can take as many necklace beads as you want called ‘Honor Beads.’

You can take one of each color, and each color has a comprehensive definition to it.

For example, the blue beads simply mean that you support suicide prevention.

I expect everyone there is gonna go for that one.

Yet you also have gold beads which are symbolic for the loss of a parent and purple beads which symbolize the loss of a friend or a relative.

You have white beads for the loss of a child and the list just goes on and on.

It’s refreshing to see the TCNJ community come together and work against an issue as pressing as this one.

 

Timothy:

I agree with you.

Hopefully we can start seeing changes for the better starting from the ground up over the remainder of this semester and the following months to come.

Again, the event is taking place at 9AM this Sunday.

We sincerely hope that you can make it.