24-Hour Rock-A-Thon Raises Suicide Awareness

From left to right, (soph) Alexis Andrew, (Senior) Rachael Robinette, (Fresh) Sabrina Sumner, (Junior) Dru sottnick, and (fresh) Nina Ciccoglio

By Brandon Smith, the Whetstone

Freshman Ny’jah Wilcox volunteered seven hours of her time to help Wesley College’s Rock-A-Thon in early February.

She did it for her friend, Alonzo Hall, whose death inspired the event.

In January, former Wesley student Alonzo Hall committed suicide. Rock-A-Thon, a 24-hour event for suicide awareness event hosted by Drug and Alcohol educators Edward Franklin and Cindy Montejo, took place in College Center lobby Feb. 4-5.

“The purpose for doing it 24 hours was to let students know that there is no such thing as business or office hours when it comes to possibly saving the life of someone who may be struggling with suicide,” Franklin said.

“This event wasn’t planned for April but Edward pushed the date up because of Alonzo,” Montejo said. “The idea is to keep the chair going and the movement of the rocking chair symbolizes someone being there.”

The 60 seconds in the chair represented the amount of time that could be used listening to someone, she said.

Franklin said he was delighted with the amount of student support for the event, which included 215 and 30 faculty and staff members.

There were a few students who came to the event and needed help, Franklin said.

“Some students were given professional, academic and personal advice while others were provided with someone to just simply just listen to their problems,” he said.

Some triggers to suicide include stress, especially about money.

Financial aid counselor Erneatka Webster represented the financial aid office at the Rock-A-Thon.

“I thought it was a good idea to let students know that we were here for them,” she said. “We had scholarships and other financial aid information.”

Wilcox said the event was personally important to her.

“It meant a lot to me that they acknowledged Alonzo and went the extra mile to give suicide awareness,” she said.

“I understand trust is something that is developed over time,” Franklin said. “I just want to make sure they know we care.”

“I found the event relatable,” said senior Tahir Carr, who said he lost a friend to suicide.

“It threw me off in the way she took her life away,” Carr said. “I wasn’t expecting her to commit suicide because she was always happy and social, but when I found out what she was going through then I understood. People wear masks everyday but we never see behind them.”

Carr said he wanted to pay respects to those who committed suicide.

“Rest in peace Tatyana Giddings (his hometown friend) and Charles Conley,” he said.

Charles Conley who was a Wesley student athlete was found hanging behind Roe Hall in 2011.