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Student life lost
LT’s crisis team reacts, offers help to grieving students
April 17, 2015
Dylan Buginas ‘16 died of an alleged suicide, suggested by his last post on his Facebook page, on April 7.
“He was enthusiastic, fun and had a positive attitude,” Buginas’s LTTV teacher Bill Allan said. “I want to remember Dylan for all of the good things that he brought to the world and I hope other people do too. He was a good kid, he had a good heart and I will miss him tremendously.”
Buginas posted a video on YouTube on Feb. 22, 2014, titled “My Life and my self-harm story.” In this video, he explained his family situation, and said that he had severe depression since the third grade and has had non-fatal attempts at suicide.
“In junior high I was abandoned by everybody, treated as though I was an outcast for no reason,” Buginas said in the video. “That was when I got into drugs and self-harm and depression.”
Buginas talked about the problems he was having in the April Facebook post, and also apologized for things he had done. People commented on the status, hoping to stop Buginas.
“I’ve known him for a long time, and knowing that something this tragic and heart breaking happened to a good person is horrible,” friend Destiny Hurd ‘15 said. “I want people to know him as more than just another statistic, but a guy who would put others before himself.”
Buginas was involved in LTTV once he started the TV Production class this semester. He did more truck shoots than the class required, he worked more crew shifts during Rock-a-thon and he worked really hard on his first film project, Allan said.
When a tragedy occurs, LT has a crisis response team, consisting of around 30 people, including the principal, assistant and associate principals, guidance counselors, social workers and psychologists, that meets as soon as they can to come up with a plan of action based on research that asks all of the necessary questions to address the problem, and then has follow up meetings to see how the situation has been dealt with.
“With this situation, we wanted to make sure we reached out to as many individual students as we could to make sure that they were safe and help them through the process,” Principal Dr. Brian Waterman said.
The crisis team determines which students have been impacted by it, and in the case of a student death, they find which students were friends with the student. A counselor also follows the student’s schedule to explain the situation to the classes, and lets students know that if they need to come down to the counseling office, they can.
“Every life is valuable, and that’s one of the things that I tried to say in the classroom when I visited,” social worker Mary Palacios said. “This was a valuable life, please respect it. This is a loss in our family, in our LT community, and it should be respected as such.”
There are many ways for students who are struggling to get help. Guidance counselors and social workers are available, and they can get a student further help if needed. There are also links on www.lths.net regarding topics such as eating disorders, suicide and depression.
Anyone who has a concern that does not need immediate action can also call the Speak-up Line.
“What I’m hearing from students is that the perception is that it’s kind of a joke,” Waterman said. “Unfortunately there are some kids that view it as a joke. There are a lot of cases, though, where students have provided really good information about students that needed help, and we were able to get those students help. That’s the reality of the Speak-up Line.”
Cynthia jones • Oct 2, 2016 at 2:22 pm
I know it has been more than a year. But he has been like a bigger brother to me. We used to always hang out before I moved to Arizona. I did love him more than a brother. But I was blinded by the fact that he was my best friend. I couldn’t explain my feeling toward him and I never let anyone know. He helped me through my rough times and I helped him. I told him a week before he committed suicide that I was always here for him and don’t be afraid to call. I was hurt when he didn’t call me the night that he did it. I don’t blame Dylan for what he did. I don’t even blame myself. I blame all the people that bullied him to the point where he felt he had no choice but to do what he did. Fly high Dylan. Rest in paradise! I love you.
Lucy Jay • Jun 5, 2015 at 8:45 am
Sometimes I feel as though it was my fault. I knew Dylan for roughly a year and I had come to think of him more than a lover, but as my best friend. And at first, I thought this was some sick joke. He’s given me suicide scares before. Sometimes if he wouldn’t answer his phone, I got worried. And he told me “If I don’t answer the phone within 72 hours, assume something is wrong”. I hate myself for waiting two weeks with no response after he messaged me saying “Please help, it’s an emergency.” My phone was dead. I had not bothered to charge it. Nor to even look at it. People tell me “There’s nothing you could have done.” But they’re wrong. I could have tried. I could have called the police. I could have done something. And if all of my plans had failed, it would help me sleep at night to know that I tried. Without this news article, I would have never known what happened to Dylan. I would’ve gone days and night, awaiting his return. He’s my everything and he will continue being my everything, even if he is just a mere shadow that I feel follows me. I’d give anything and everything for that boy. Fly high, Dyl.