Suicidal Roommate/Straight A semester

by Tyler Shaffer

There are many urban legends around the country, some are more serious, and some are just so farfetched that all you can do is laugh at them. More than a few of these legends serve as warnings to kids and they are usually told by the elders in society. And then the kids go and spread the word. After that gossip does the rest. Some of these legends are very old, so old in fact that the time period in which they came to be is a mystery to most of us, then some are fairly new to the world and are still being passed around from mouth to mouth.

The legend that I picked was the Suicidal Roommate/Straight A Semester. This is fairly new legend that has only been around since the 1970’s. But nevertheless, it has made its way around the country and almost every college student knows of the suicidal roommate legend. The spread of this rumor seems to come from mainly other students and older graduated students who just want to keep the legend going. The first-place students hear it is before they go to college, either the parents say something to the child to warn them that its false and not to be fooled by some upperclassmen looking to pull a fast one on them. The second place it comes from is when the student is already in college. They will probably hear it from one of their fellow classmates. If it's not being told to them then the rumor is being told around them.

are many different variations of this rumor. All of the rumors have the same basis but when it comes to the fine details, that’s where the differences come into play. One of the rumors states that it has to be your roommate, and another says it can be a close family member or friend. Also, there is a stand-alone rumor that says if you witness your roommate kill themselves then you get a 4.0 but if you don’t see them do it, then you only get a 3.4. those are just some of the differences between these variations of the same rumor. The differences between these versions of the same rumor may have drastic or subtle differences. But the very interesting thing is that different versions of this rumor are passed around at the same school depending on how big the school is and the size of their student population.

Links for further research:
Woot:
https://www.woot.com/blog/post/the-debunker-will-you-get-straight-as-if-your-college-roommate-commits-suicide

Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/college/admin/suicide.asp

College bound:
http://www.collegebound.net/content/article/college-urban-legendslies-students-love-to-tell/19214/

Work Cited:
http://www.snopes.com/college/admin/suicide.asp

Williams, Andrea http://www.collegebound.net/content/article/college-urban-legendslies-students-love-to-tell/19214/

Jason http://list25.com/25-most-popular-urban-legends-still-being-told/

Jennings, Ken https://www.woot.com/blog/post/the-debunker-will-you-get-straight-as-if-your-college-roommate-commits-suicide

Lucier, Kelci Lynn https://www.thoughtco.com/if-roommate-dies-do-you-get-a-4-0-793692
Image: http://paragraphfilms.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/dead-man-on-campus.jpg?w=545

Urban Legends: Suicidal Roommate / Straight A’s

Author: Hal Pierre Livingston

An urban legend is a humorous or horrific story or piece of information circulated as though true. Usually the one purporting around, telling the story, has no clue or is vaguely related to the person who originally told the story. There are thousands of urban legends out in the public right now, some true some false. Some examples of urban legends are Bloody Mary, the belief that Walt Disney’s body isn’t dead and is frozen, and the myth that alligators inhabitant the sewers of New York City.
        According to the Bloody Mary myth, if you turn off the lights and say Bloody Mary three times in a mirror, you will summon the spirit of Mary Worth. Mary Worth was a woman who was said to be killed execution style, for being a witch. The myth about the sewer gators states that several alligators who were brought up from Florida to be kept as pets in New York City, grew too big and violent and escaped into the sewers where they now live freely. This myth dates back to the 1930’s, and has been proven false but is still being circulated around the United States.
The Urban Legend I chose was Suicidal Roommates/ Straight A’s. This myth says that if somehow your roommate or suitemate dies, you receive a 4.0. Prior to this research assignment, I would have argued to the end that this was absolutely true. Coincidentally my suitemates and I were talking about it at the beginning of the year and were making jokes about one another saying that we better watch our back. I personally thought this was a well-known rule. This Urban Legend have been proven false but different versions are still being told to this day. Depending on where you from, the stipulations may be different. Not all versions of the myth specify that the roommate has to die. Some versions actually say that the death of a parent, or other close relative, or anybody who is important in the student's life, also qualifies. Some say that if your roommate commits suicide in front you then you get a 4.0, but if you didn’t witness it then you only receive a 3.4. This just proves how easily things can be manipulated and taken seriously by society.


Work Cited
• http://www.snopes.com/college/admin/suicide.asp  
• http://www.collegebound.net/content/article/college-urban-legendslies-students-love-to-tell/19214/. 
• www.Akorra.com 
• Brunvand, Jan. “The Truth Never Stands In The Way Of A Good Story”. Chicago, Illinois. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data. Year 2000. Web.13 Oct. 2013.
• http://list25.com/25-most-popular-urban-legends-still-being-told/ 

Further Research
http://www.snopes.com/college/admin/suicide.asp - the website gives the most information about the urban legend of getting a 4.0 if your roommate commits suicide specifically.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_legend - Wikipedia gives the initial origin behind urban legends in general.
http://akorra.com/2010/03/04/top-20-urban-legends - This websites gives a variety of urban legends to read and look into.

The Forest of Suicide

Author: Julia Stuart

The Forest of Suicide

            Near the base of Mount Fuji lays the Aokigahara forest, which according to John on Tofugu.com, is “also known as the Sea of Trees, Suicide Forest, and Japan’s Demon Forest...”  John also mentions that “Aokigahara is the world’s second most popular place for suicide.”  Why would people come to this forest just to commit suicide?  Well, after researching Aokigahara, I have found that the forest became a suicide hot-spot soon after a novel called Kuroi Kaiju by Seicho Matsumoto was published.  In the novel Kuroi Kaiju, which means Black Sea of Trees, two lovers commit suicide in the forest of Aokigahara.  Many believe that this book sparked the suicide frenzy because according to Lauren Sesana this book along with The Complete Manual of Suicide   has been found with the remains of the bodies. However, there were also suicides that predated the novel.  During times of famine in Japan, people would leave family members in the Sea of Trees so they would have fewer mouths to feed (Sesana).  It sounds gruesome, but Aokigahara has the perfect topography if you want to get rid of someone. 

            Aokigahara is known to be very still and quiet. Sesana notes, “The vegetation is extremely dense; the numerous trees block out most of the light, even in the middle of the day.  The trees also block the wind, and there is little wildlife to be seen or heard.”  She continues, “Perhaps for this reason Aokigahara has been thought to be the realm of demons.”  The name “Japan’s Demon Forest” has been given to Aokigahara because according to John the spiritualists of Japan believe that the ground and vegetation have been infused by the suicides, which then causes paranormal activity.  It is said that spirits can be spotted by visitors shifting between trees (John) as seen in the picture below.

Aokigahara is a beautiful forest which has somewhat been corrupted by the mass suicides that occur in it.  The fact that demons are believed to live in the forest also makes the forest less appealing.  If someone doesn’t believe in demons, doesn’t mind seeing corpses, and has a good sense of direction, Aokigahara is a lovely place for sightseeing.

Works Cited:

John. “Aokigahara: Japan’s Haunted Forest of Death.” Tofugu.com. Tofugu. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2012.

Sesana, Laura. “Aokigahara, Japan’s Suicide Forest.”TheWashingtonTimes.com. The Washington Times, LLC. 19 Aug. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.

Image MILL. “Forest Butoh crawl.” Photograph. Flickriver. Image MILL, 18 June, 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.

Links for Further Research:

The Washington Times Communities. 

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/world-our-backyard/2012/aug/19/aokigahara-japans-suicide-forest/

This site contains information from what people write since it’s a social journalism site.

Tofogu.

http://www.tofugu.com/2012/07/23/aokigahara-japans-haunted-forest-of-death/

This website provides allot of information that was taken from other websites.

Environmental graffiti.

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-aokigahara-forest-death

This website gives a somewhat broad summary about Aokigahara.