by Deona Hooper, MSW
Jonathan Fast, Clinical Social Worker, is an associate professor at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, at Yeshiva University. He has provided valuable insight and scholarly research focusing on adolescents, aggression, and violence. His latest book, Ceremonial Violence: Understanding Columbine and Other School Shootings, is now available on Amazon for purchase.
This morning, he appeared on MSNBC’s Weekends with Alex Witt to analyze the recent school shooting in Newton, Connecticut at Sandy Brook Elementary. Mr. Fast is also a blogger for the Huffington Post, and you can view his latest article entitled Why the Gay Teen Suicide Rate in the Anoke-Hennepin School District is the Highest in the US.
Here is an excerpt:
This summer two lawsuits were filed on behalf of six students in Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin school district. The students had endured “slurs, were stabbed with pencils, shoved into walls and lockers, punched, called names and urinated on by classmates because of real or perceived sexual orientation,” according to the Star Tribune.
Eight students in that district have committed suicide in the last two years. (Many school districts go for decades without any suicides.) Classmates of the deceased believe that half the students were gay or questioning. The number may be more. LGBQT students attempt suicide two to four times as frequently as other teens, according to the CDC. Read More
Photo credit: Yeshiva University
