The iSchool's Informatics program has lost one of its finest students. Casey Tran, UW sophomore and an officer in the iSchool’s Undergraduate Association, was a victim of cyber bullying, and took his own life. We'll remember him later today in INFO415 and there is a special iSchool/Hall Health session later this afternoon. He was not one of my students, and I know him only through his resume and a paper he wrote on Kant for a philosophy class. My heart goes out to all those who knew him, and who worked with him.
It is very difficult to wrap one’s mind around a level of pain such that suicide seems the only answer. Yet Casey is my second example in little over a year when a highly intelligent and sensitive university colleague chose this option. I was poleaxed by the earlier suicide because I thought I knew the person fairly well and had no idea he was in such pain. Like Casey, he left a grieving family behind.
We know that “Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior.” [ Source = https://www.StopBullying.gov/]
It’s particularly challenging right now for our students, many of whom are self-isolating in their apartments during the spring quarter, unsure of what lies ahead. It’s harder to have conversations or simply to run into people you care about. The coronavirus stress and anxiety permeates all our waking moments, no matter what activity we’ve engaged.
I won’t forget Casey Tran any more than I’ve been able to forget Professor Vikram Jandhyala. Each reminds us to reach out when we need help, above all to look for the light.