THE COLUMBINE tragedy mayseem like the distant past to many University students, but it appears some high school students have used it as inspiration to vent their own frustrations. Last week saw the arrests of two separate groups of students, one in Kansas and one in Alaska, for planning a Columbine-like killing spree. While the aftermath of Columbine focused heavily on gun control and the impact of "brainwashing," violent media, the mental health of adolescent students has largely been ignored. Rather than labeling these children as isolated psychopaths, our schools need to recognize that these mental health disorders can be addressed.
The two planned attacks were to occur in Riverton, Kan. and Anchorage, Alaska. In both cases, weapons and ammunitions were found in the suspects' rooms and in both cases they seemed to have planned out their attack well in advance. The element of planning, reminiscent of the planning at Columbine, dismisses any possibility that these students were just having a bad day and snapped.
Like the Columbine killers, the arrested students likely have a mental health disorder. On April 20, 2004, exactly five years after the Columbine tragedy, the FBI's lead Columbine investigator and other top psychiatrists went public with information about the killers in astory on the online magazine, Slate. These individuals diagnosed one of the killers as a psychopath and the other as a depressive. Unfortunately, at that point, a mental health disorder diagnosis was just a matter of interest, rather that a matter of relevance. The damage of an undiagnosed mental health order had already been done.
While the accused students have already been labeled as outcasts among their peers by media outlets, these descriptions seem premature. The shooters at Columbine were initially painted as isolated, angsty,Marilyn Manson-loving teenagers by the media, but were later shown not to fit this profile. Instead, they had a solid circle of friends and acquaintances. Shootings and failed shootings at schools have revealed there is no simplistic profile for a student-turned-killer. Essentially, there is really no way to tell what is going on in a student's mind by just their appearance or daily interactions with adults. Without understanding a child's psyche, we are unable to diagnose mental health disorders, the true cause for school shootings.
Public schools need to ensure their students are mentally stable. Just as they require all students to get a series of shots to certify physical health, schools should extend those requirements to the mind. Studies by the Department of Health and Human Services show that 20 percent of children and adolescents may have a diagnosable mental disorder. While not an easy task, checking for mental health would not only ensure safer schools, but also diagnose mental health disorders for teenagers early to minimize the harm the disorder causes to the child or adolescent.
A series of measures could be used to check for mental health disorders. Among these could be a mental health written test or an appointment with psychologist or psychiatrist. Notably, the popular Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent test is made for children 14-18 years of age and can be administered in less than two hours. The test helps to diagnose a series of mental health disorders prevalent in adolescents. While standardized testing is far from perfect, the results of the test will only be used as a tool in diagnosis, and not to evaluate a student's mental health in general. A student at risk for certain mental illnesses could be then referred to a school or an outside psychologist.
There lie several hurdles to such a plan of action. For one, cost must be considered. Cost will vary depending on the size of the school, but should not be unreasonable since the test need only be given once to a student. Federal, state and local proportions should easily be able to cover the costs of the test. Second, the stigma of a potential mental health disorder could scar a student, even if it later revealed no disorder exists. However, as long as all results are kept confidential to the family, no other students will know the results of a given student. Even if a student feels singled out by being diagnosed, the negative impact will be far outweighed by the positive impact of treatment of the disorder.
Instead of looking to scapegoats such as Marilyn Manson or the makers of "Natural Born Killers," it is time to look towards solutions. Two planned killing sprees should wave red flags, but we are not at the mercy of a deranged youth. The mental health diagnosis of adolescents holds real value, one of which can improve the well-being of the nation's youth. In the process, we can ensure that confused adolescents will be in the psychologist's office, rather than at the city gun fair.
Rajesh Jain is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at rjain@cavalierdaily.com.
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