‘Suicide note’ an empty threat
Early Thursday afternoon CUPD officers questioned junior psychology major Max Karson outside of the UMC regarding Karson’s potential suicide.
In Thursday’s edition of Karson’s bi-monthly newsletter “The Yeti,” Karson said he had ingested rat poison and would be dead by 2 p.m.
“Well, it’s two and I’m not dead,” Karson said. “I wanted to write something about death, and what better format to use than a suicide note?”
CUPD spokesman Brad Wiesley said officers had a conversation with him and then they were done.
“They talked to him to verify that he wasn’t really thinking about what he put in the newsletter,” Wiesley said. “When he printed a document that talks about committing suicide we just want to make sure that he’s okay and that’s not going to happen.”
Karson said his intentions were to ignite thought in students about the quality of living at CU.
“(The students) aren’t going to live forever,” Karson said.
Karson said that police received a number of calls from teachers and some students saying that he might kill himself and officers contacted him to ask if he was indeed going to commit suicide.
“After I said no, they asked me about 10 different ways,” Karson said. “I was afraid they were going to haul me off to psychological testing, which would have been boring.”
Psychological testing is exactly what Karson experienced after the last time CUPD contacted him.
Last April 18, Karson allegedly said that there were aspects of CU that “made him angry enough to kill people” in response to the Virginia Tech shootings last spring. See the full story.
After Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Ron Stump suspended Karson, he was arrested and spent the night in Boulder County Jail.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening,” Karson said. “Most people who meet me can tell I’m a good guy right away. The idea that somebody could know me for a whole semester then think I could threaten to kill someone is terrifying.”
Karson was not afraid of being arrested this time around, though he thought there was a good chance he would be detained for psychological testing.
“They already have a copy of my psych evaluation. It’s better than suicidal,” Karson said.
Some students feel negatively toward Karson’s newsletters.
“We try not to read it because all he’s looking for is a reaction and to make us mad,” freshman open-option major Evilia Valencia said.
Valencia didn’t read this edition, but in the past after reading “The Yeti” she said she was very upset.
“I sat and argued (with Karson), and realized that’s all he wanted,” Valencia said. “Is it his honest opinion or is he just trying to stir up controversy?”
Karson said the response he gets for his newsletters isn’t worth it, but he’ll do it anyway.
“Other people go skiing, or get wasted, so this is what I do,” Karson said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Alyssa Shapiro at alyssa.shapiro@thecampuspress.com
