Cause identified in School of Arts death
The News desk has learned that Tara Riesner, the School of the Arts student who died Wednesday, took her own life.
In the aftermath of such a tragic event, we’d like to remind you that help is always available.
Columbia Psychological Services is open to all students and has offices open from 8 a.m. to at least 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays.
To speak to someone after hours, CPS always has a clinician on call who can be reached at 212-854-9797, and Nightline, a separate Barnard-Columbia peer counseling group, is also available at 212-854-7777.
Barnard’s Furman Counseling Services can be reached at 212-854-2092 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
New York’s “Nine Line” hotline is always available at 1-800-999-9999, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.
“Has learned?” Come on. If you can’t cite the source on something so important you have no business running it. You hack student journalists are trading in rumor and innuendo.
I’m confused about what you mean—the “has learned” is a link to our news brief, which cites sources close to the situation. It’s obviously better to have someone on the record than not, but with a story like this one, there are serious privacy issues at stake. That sometimes means we have to present information on background that—while confirmed as accurate—can’t be attached to a specific name. That’s fairly standard practice.
Serious privacy issue at stake? Are you kidding? You’ve violated the family’s privacy by posting the cause of death, which you only present in the vaguest possible terms. You’ve clearly demonstrated zero concern for the deceased or her loved ones. Newspapers, as a rule, do not report suicides unless it is a celebrity or news-maker case or if it was a public event. This is the standard at AP papers across the country. Clearly you do not know that. You’ve violated a reportorial standard and did so with a gossipy, poorly defined anonymous source. (Even anonymous sources require some at context–see The Times policy-i.e. “a family member” or “a government source.”) This is inconsiderate hack work. You should be ashamed of yourself, for your ignorance and your lack of tact.