The Ithaca Journal has a detailed account of the prevented gorge suicide on May 24. The article attributes the successful rescue of the 31 year old man to quick thinking by an unidentified woman– who was already speaking to the man before police arrived– as well as the police officers who convinced the man to secure himself with a rope before they cut through the fence and took him to safety. But perhaps the most shocking detail of this story is how the man managed to negotiate the fence. Everyone has pointed out the weak points of the North Campus and Collegetown bridges where people can easily come around the fence and climb up onto the bridge, but apparently the fences themselves don’t serve as great barriers:
At 3:37 p.m. May 24, Ithaca and Cornell police officers responded to the Stewart Avenue Bridge and found a man sitting on the west railing, outside of the fence near the bridge’s north end, according to police reports. The fence and others were installed on gorge bridges in Ithaca this winter after suicides off bridges by students, but according to the reports, two witnesses said they saw the man “scale the fence, go over the top of the cables, and sit in the area where he was located by responding personnel.”
Unlike Oliver, I haven’t been an outspoken opponent of the fences. I’ve always argued that the administration had no choice to put them up, and I think there is evidence that these kinds of barriers can help prevent impulsive suicides. But I maintain that this incident– and in particular the manner in which the man negotiated the fence– might just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. I just don’t see how Cornell will be able to make a good case for these fences before the Common Council after the new 10-week extension is up, given the reluctance with which some members voted to approve the extension this time around.
