OCU Training Staff and Students on Suicide Prevention

By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Research shows suicide is the second-leading cause of death nationwide when it comes to college students. Oklahoma City University leaders are trying to take a proactive step by offering training on suicide prevention using a system called QPR. 

"It stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer," said OCU Director of Counseling Brandi Gibson.

She and OCU Intramural and Recreational Sports Director Jonathan Triplett have become certified to teach QPR. 

"We want everyone to get educated about recognizing the signs and how to help," Gibson said.

Triplett, who works with students on a daily basis, has personal experience when it comes to young people and suicide. 

"Just last year, it was about one in the morning, a student came up to me and said her friend was threatening suicide. I knew I had to do something. I was very cautious, but I wasn't confident. The training has made me confident. I don't want to see anybody especially a young person hurt themselves," Triplett said. 

Triplett and Gibson will hold a training session on October 22, 2010, for OCU staff, and the session has already filled up with those wanting to get educated.

They said recent national news making suicides emphasize how important it is to get people trained.

"When I saw what happened in Austin, and the situation at Rutgers, I just thought, I wish I could've been there to reach out to those kids. Maybe I could've gotten to them and helped them," Triplett said.

Triplett referred to a student at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas who shot himself in a campus library, and a recent Rutgers student who jumped off a bridge after his roommate broadcast a secretly recorded sexual video of the student on the Internet.

QPR training is also available online