Schools close doors to Carry the Cure

Claiming the multi-media show glamorizes suicide, the Mat-Su school district has banned Carry the Cure from Valley high schools.

Last week, members of the Mat-Su school board watched an hour-long videotape of the nonprofit group's music and drama show that emphasizes a "commitment to life," and listened to two school psychologists who said while Carry the Cure may have a good message it could unintentionally be dangerous.

Following the report and videotape, the school board took no action and so let stand the district's recommendation to not allow the show into local high schools.

"That does not preclude Carry the Cure from coming back through the process," board president Mike Chmielewski said after the meeting. He said there had been positive dialogue between the group and the district, and now that Carry the Cure organizers understood the concerns, they could maybe work with the district to redesign their program to make it acceptable.

Pat Donelson, founder and president of Carry the Cure, indicated this may be a possibility when he addressed the board earlier in the meeting.

"Our hope would be to be viewed by the school district as an asset, not a liability," Donelson said. He said the assembly show is not set in stone, but evolves over time. The school psychologists' concerns, along with information about the district's own suicide-prevention program, could be implemented into the Carry the Cure assembly, he said.

"We will take all that into consideration … because we care about kids," he said.

The group had already modified its assembly program in response to district concerns last year, including removing references to Christian meetings Carry the Cure offers after school. Religion was not among the topics discussed last week, however, and instead the focus was on school psychologists' fears that Carry the Cure glamorized suicide.

According to a memo from Superintendent Bob Doyle to the board, a panel of all 12 of the district's school psychologists reviewed the videotape and unanimously agreed the show could be potentially harmful to depressed or suicidal teens.

"Personally, I have several concerns," said Glenn Ramos, school psychologist for the district. He said the large-scale assembly show, in which as many as 1,000 students attend, does not allow for the controlled, comprehensive approach used in the district's own suicide-prevention program, called "ACT Now!"

Ramos said the district is careful in its handling of the sensitive issue to make sure it is discussed only in smaller settings, with around 25 or 30 students led by as many as four school psychologists or counselors. He said "ACT Now!" also provides intensive follow-up, with teens screened for depression and directed to the right resources if necessary.

Ramos went on to say that Carry the Cure's drama skit in which a girl kills herself by taking pills and is then mourned at her grave by those who knew her could potentially make suicide seem appealing.

"The graveside conversation smacks of sensationalism," he said. " … You do not go out and put a monument up for someone who has committed suicide."

School psychologist Deborah Kroll agreed with Ramos and added that she has found suicidal teens often fantasize about this type of scene in which everyone is sorry because they are now dead.

"You do not want to glorify or sensationalize suicide in any way," she said.

Carry the Cure organizers, however, said the poor videotape quality was partially to blame. There is no sound on the tape during the graveside scene, but Amanda Pagaran, who helped write the scene, said in fact each person who is putting a flower on the grave is saying something that the girl missed by killing herself - a scholarship, a date, a surprise party.

"That was the message," Pagaran told the board.

Donelson said Carry the Cure began its efforts to stop teen suicide by visiting rural villages throughout the state, but when suicide increased here in the Valley to nearly one a month, the organizers decided to target this area as well.

"We thought to ourselves, 'Why are we traveling all over Alaska … when we've got this problem right here in our own backyard?'" Donelson said.

Donelson said the program aims to be relevant to teens by using the music and language they are familiar with. In addition to live rock-and-roll, the program features a slide show and interactive activities in which students from the audience play rhythms on various instruments.

Last year Carry the Cure performed shows at several local high schools, but so far this year have not been given access.