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Thoughts of suicide haunted Anita Rutnam long before she arrived at Syracuse University. She had a historyof mental illness and had even attempted to kill herself. During her junior year of college, she tried again. On a February morning in 1998, just days after a campus counselor recommended she be hospitalized for her suicidal tendencies, Rutnam threw herself off the eighth floor of a Syracuse dormitory.
Miraculously, she survived. But three years later, Rutnam still feels the effects of that day. She has notbeen able to finish college and is suing her former school for malpractice. Her suit asserts that, given the campus counselor's advice, school officials should have done more to prevent her suicide attempt.
This incident and others have thrown a spotlight on an issue that is causing growing concern in dorm roomsand students center. Are colleges providing adequate care for students who may be struggling with a range of mental illnesses? In the Syracuse cases, a spokesman for the school contends, "The University tried repeatedly to help Anita, and we felt that they acted appropriately." But lawyers are busy there and elsewhere.
After accidents, suicide is the second biggest killer of kids in college. And while the number of studentswho kill themselves on campus is no higher than that of 18-to-24-year-olds in the general population, a series of sensational incidents has raised the question of whether troubled students are getting proper attention.
So what are the schools' responsibilities to at-risk students, particularly those who may be genetically predisposed (易患……病的)to mental illness? College can be a breeding ground for Psychiatric problems. Poor eating habits and irregular sleeping patterns-especially combined with the academic stress of college life -may all play roles in triggering mental problems. Additionally, many of the major psychiatric illnesses including depression often do not manifest themselves until the late teens or early 20s.
练习题：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1. Anita Rutnam couldn't finish college most probably because_____
A. she couldn't get enough concern from Syracuse University
B. she wasn't physically healthy enough to continue schooling
C. she still kept thinking about killing herself whenever at school
D. she has been troubled by the memory of the incident very often
2. What does the author want us to know through Anita Rutnam's story?
A. The universities are not responsible for their students.
B. Suicides are popular on college campus and should be handled properly.
C. Why Anita committed suicide is still a mystery.
D. Universities should get prepared in case their students sue them.
3. What does Anita accuse her former school of?
A. Ignorance of her abnormal behaviors.
B. Lack of safeguard against her suicidal intention.
C. Failure to give her proper academic instructions.
D. Indifference to her physical disease.
4. How does Syracuse University defend itself against Anita's suit?
A. It has given her due attention as well as help.
B. Adult students should be able to control their own behavior.
C. It is more than the school's responsibility to supervise the students.
D. Colleges can be a breeding ground for psychiatric problems.
5. All the following problems are implied as possible causes of campus suicide incidents EXCEPT _____.
A. poor academic results
B. failing to get proper sleep
C. lack of family concern
D. family history of mental illness
