Nobody promised a rose garden. But I still want one.

I’m not much of a litigation expert.  Hell, I hardly know anything about lawsuits.  But that doesn’t mean that I’m not entitled to feel a certain way when a friend of mine is kicked out of college for “expressing suicidal ideation.” 

The way I’ve had it explained to me, colleges are practically forced to kick out suicidal students, because they could receive lawsuits if that student actually commits suicide.  Also, colleges are worried about “looking bad” when a student goes through with their suicidal plans.  And we all know what happens when colleges look bad–less funding, and less donantions from alumni. 

I’m not stupid.  I know that colleges need money.  They need a good reputation to attract more students.  Instances of suicide also have a negative effect on current students.  But when people are forcibly removed from the only place they’ve ever felt truly happy in, the place where their best friends are, the place where their job and life is, it just seems wrong to me.  It’s not like she was a danger to others, or even a danger to herself.  She was responsible enough to be around people at all times, in case she were to do something.  She was getting professional help, too. 

Anybody who knows ANYTHING about depression should know that big life changes aren’t good for a suicidal person.  So thanks to the college, she has to worry about health insurance (now that she’s not a fulltime student, she has none), finding a place to life, leaving her best friends, paying for prescriptions, paying bills…all on top of her mental health.  Life isn’t fair.