In the first 3 months of 1927, 26 college students completed suicide. The public began to believe that an epidemic of self-destruction was occurring among college students. However, some observers questioned if a suicide “wave” was truly happening or if, in fact, it was a media creation. Using statistics from the United States Census Bureau, Beeley shows that there was no increase in the proportion of suicides among 15-24-year-olds in 1927.