Recently, I was watching an old rerun of Walker, Texas Ranger. At the beginning of the show, a boy, who had been teased and bullied by a much larger boy and his girlfriend, was standing on the roof of his school, mentally preparing to jump. The boy was a young teenager, probably around 14 or 15 years of age.

Of course, Norris spotted the boy and, realizing the dilemma, raced to the roof to save him and despite Norris’ best efforts, the boy jumped to his death. And all because of a bully.

In recent years, teenage suicide has more than doubled in the United States in children from 10 to 14 years of age and ranks as the third leading cause of death for people under age 25, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. We must ask ourselves, why?

In the Walker episode, it was due to a bully. Even though this was a television show, in reality, it happens every day. And it happens right here at UTM when students speak badly of others. Wouldn’t it be great if we as UTM students could learn to embrace the diversity of others instead of chastising them for being different? After all, if we were all the same, it would be a pretty boring world.

Encouragement is the answer. It is just as easy to encourage as it is to discourage. It is just as easy to help as to hurt.

As fellow UTM students, we must encourage one another. After all, we are a family here at UTM as well.

A random act of kindness can go a long way. After all, there is a reason why suicide rates are up among teenagers. Although this is just one of the reasons why, let’s work together to stop it right here at home. Let’s accept the diversity of others, encourage one another and start this new semester off right.