CA CA - Sydney “Syd” West, 19, University of CA student, San Francisco, 30 Sept 2020

[SouthAussie]

I wonder why they aren't talking more about that backpack. If she was separated from the backpack, which seems possible, finding it could be very meaningful. I wonder why they aren't posting pictures of a similar backpack, and what might have been in it (keys, wallet, clothes, etc.). Maybe so much time has passed they just assume she either still has it, it's been destroyed, or it was stolen.

If the backpack is still missing, I would think that they still might want to want to know where it is ... if it was found/stolen, where it was found/stolen, if it was just left somewhere. Because that might pin down a little more of Syd's movements. Perhaps give some clue of her intentions, or a clue about what was happening when/before Syd disappeared.

So if, say, someone's mother/brother/whoever saw that a friend had that backpack they might tell the PI and the PI could investigate further.

Unless they already have the backpack. They haven't said if it is missing, just that Syd had it, then she didn't have it.

 

[elisimo]

Missing: Sydney West - San Francisco News

Also, there’s a new video from her parents. Basically, Sydney’s dad talks about how much he loves being a dad & shares some memories of his daughter. It actually seemed like a message to Sydney: “I love you. Please come home.” At the end, more pleas for details, “no matter how small.”

I’m not sure what to make of the backpack. She was seen with it, seen without it. Maybe she was wearing glasses, maybe she wasn’t. Who knows???

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE:

Some posts that were removed earlier today have been reinstated as there was some confusion about Syd's posts on reddit when reddit is not normally allowed.

As previously stated, discussing Syd's reddit posts are allowed, but her posts only. (So, no discussion of any comments by others on her account.)

If further clarification is needed, please private message me or another Admin or Moderator and we'll try to help.

 

[Cryptic]

Was she Native American, but didn't know from which tribe (is that the correct term? I'm sorry if it isn't, I'm not educated on that matter), or did she lie about being Native American?

There is probably no way to tell as there is no legal definition of 'Native American'. It is, therefore, difficult to prove that one lied about a status that has no concrete definition.

But.... given that being Native American does help in the admissions process and that large numbers of people can claim distant Native American descent, or to have Native "feelings" etc., I have a strong suspicion that a lot of schools are restricting the definition of 'Native American' to "those with tribal ID cards".

 

[anneg]

Regarding depression, there was an interesting new report published online yesterday about a randomized clinical trial that found that psilocybin helped people with major depressive disorder.

Rigorous Study Backs A Psychedelic Treatment For Major Depression

A study of 27 people found that a treatment featuring the hallucinogen psilocybin worked better than the usual antidepressant medications, a team reported Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

"The effect was more than four times greater," says Alan Davis, an author of the study and a faculty member at both Johns Hopkins University and Ohio State University.

(more at link)

Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive DisorderA Randomized Clinical Trial
Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder

Key Points

Question Is psilocybin-assisted therapy efficacious among patients with major depressive disorder?

Findings In this randomized clinical trial of 24 participants with major depressive disorder, participants who received immediate psilocybin-assisted therapy compared with delayed treatment showed improvement in blinded clinician rater–assessed depression severity and in self-reported secondary outcomes through the 1-month follow-up.

Meaning This randomized clinical trial found that psilocybin-assisted therapy was efficacious in producing large, rapid, and sustained antidepressant effects in patients with major depressive disorder.

(more at link)

 

[NSamuelle]

If she’s voluntarily missing, I have trouble believing that she wouldn’t find a way to tell police after a month. Everyone talks about how compassionate she was; I don’t see her letting her parents and sister suffer in ambiguity. That would’ve quelled any media coverage if she had done it early on, which I assume she would want (who would want their name everywhere if they tried to re-enter society)?

The description of her at the bridge did NOT include the backpack. She apparently ditched it by the time she was seen there, and changed from shorts into pants. Someone planning to disappear wouldn’t leave their only means of getting around the city (her dad said that’s what she used the backpack for).

 

[Curious_in_NC]

In the Reddit A2C thread regarding "they did something horribly wrong on their apps" Sydney claimed to have said she was a Native American on her college applications and a descendant of the "wompanoag" tribe: "i put the tribe but didn't have any supporting info. alot of people told me that was bad but its ur truth, u gotta live it."
Even though it looks as though she was advised not to do it, she went ahead anyway claiming her ancestors were Native American if what she says on Reddit is true.
The UCs have to turn over to the State the applications so they can audit them, where they continually report on fraudulent admissions like this recent report Report 2019-113

That is interesting. I missed the "wompanoag" discussion. But it looks from the linked report that the UC system is far more concerned with fallout from the Varsity Blues investigation and parents using bribery or other schemes to get academically unqualified students admitted. It didn't seem like Syd was otherwise unqualified academically for admission to UCB.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

She apparently ditched it by the time she was seen there, and changed from shorts into pants.

Quote RSBM.
Have you seen the information regarding where she was seen by a camera with & without the backpack and in shorts or in pants?

 

[NSamuelle]

Quote RSBM.
Have you seen the information regarding where she was seen by a camera with & without the backpack and in shorts or in pants?

There’s no info about how she was last seen on the bridge, only that she was “seen.” Her dad said she had a backpack and shorts “at times” on the day she went missing. The description of her on the bridge is with black pants (she changed out of the shorts), possibly with glasses, and no backpack is mentioned. I don’t understand why police don’t release photos. They’re holding information very close to the vest. The attached photo (description) was released by her family shortly before they confirmed that she was on, not “near”, the bridge. You can listen to the short interview with her dad for information about the shorts and backpack, but I’ve repeated the relevant parts here.

 

[SouthAussie]

There’s no info about how she was last seen on the bridge, only that she was “seen.” Her dad said she had a backpack and shorts “at times” on the day she went missing. The description of her on the bridge is with black pants (she changed out of the shorts), possibly with glasses, and no backpack is mentioned. I don’t understand why police don’t release photos. They’re holding information very close to the vest. The attached photo (description) was released by her family shortly before they confirmed that she was on, not “near”, the bridge. You can listen to the short interview with her dad for information about the shorts and backpack, but I’ve repeated the relevant parts here.

Totally not relevant to anything, but what is the purpose of the 'scan me' qr code on the missing poster? Does anyone know?

 

[Kaligirl]

Was she Native American, but didn't know from which tribe (is that the correct term? I'm sorry if it isn't, I'm not educated on that matter), or did she lie about being Native American? B

UC System doesn't care about race so it wouldn't have helped her in admission.

"The University of California has clear guidelines around how gender and ethnicity can and cannot be used. • California state constitution, Proposition 209 prohibits the use of gender and/or ethnicity in admission to a UC campus. UC may choose to advance goals like diversity and equal opportunity using a broad range of admissions that are not based on an individual’s race or gender. For example, holistic review in admissions considers income level, first-generation status, neighborhood circumstances, disadvantages overcome, low-performing secondary school attended, and the impact of an applicant’s background on academic achievement."

 

[ElizabethAnne]

There is probably no way to tell as there is no legal definition of 'Native American'. It is, therefore, difficult to prove that one lied about a status that has no concrete definition.

But.... given that being Native American does help in the admissions process and that large numbers of people can claim distant Native American descent, or to have Native "feelings" etc., I have a strong suspicion that a lot of schools are restricting the definition of 'Native American' to "those with tribal ID cards".

The CSU/UC representatives that visit high schools to deliver training to help students fill out the CSU and UC applicant portals indicate that the consequences of lying about race/ethnicity on a college application to claim you are a Under-Represented Minority (URM is the term they use) when you are not will most likely get your conditional acceptance admission offer revoked in the UC and CSU system. The UC/CSU admissions office has full authority and acts as judge, jury, and executioner.

 

[ElizabethAnne]

UC System doesn't care about race so it wouldn't have helped her in admission.

The UCs carefully track under-represented minorities (URM) and and report on it often UC Berkeley Fall Enrollment Data | Office of Planning and Analysis (there are 17 Native Americans if you take a look) and Diversity Data Dashboard | Diversity and many reports on the internet involve the effort to accept URM status applicants into their program.
Sydney in her Reddit postings indicate that she was rejected by colleges she wanted to get in that she applied to in 12th grade. She took a gap year as indicated in the Reddit postings, her parents hired a $15,000 admissions consultant as she states in her postings, and as her insyderator postings indicate, she applied/re-applied to colleges claiming she was associated with a Native American tribe called the "wompanoag."

 

[ElizabethAnne]

That is interesting. I missed the "wompanoag" discussion.

It is under the thread Does anyone else have an irrational fear that they did something horribly wrong on their apps? : ApplyingToCollege under the heading Does anyone else have an irrational fear that they did something horribly wrong on their apps?
Then there are insyderator postings back in forth if you click on the detailed discussions where there are claims that she submitted college applications claiming Native American ancestry with no supporting documentation. This ends with "wompanoag, from my dad's side who is from mass." She has mispelled the actual name of the tribe which is Wampanoag.

 

[elisimo]

The description of her at the bridge did NOT include the backpack. She apparently ditched it by the time she was seen there, and changed from shorts into pants. Someone planning to disappear wouldn’t leave their only means of getting around the city (her dad said that’s what she used the backpack for)

Why change clothes? I guess I could see ditching the backpack if she intended to jump, but changing from shorts to pants seems weird.

 

[kelsie]

Why change clothes? I guess I could see ditching the backpack if she intended to jump, but changing from shorts to pants seems weird.

It does, but I would have to say that we do know that people intending to kill themselves often do things beforehand that don't make a ton of sense.

 

[SouthAussie]

Why change clothes? I guess I could see ditching the backpack if she intended to jump, but changing from shorts to pants seems weird.

It depends on how long Syd was out and about. If she was seen in shorts earlier in the day/evening, and seen in long pants late at night when it was cooler. We have no idea when Syd left where she was staying. We have no idea what she did that day or night.

 

[SouthAussie]

Totally not relevant to anything, but what is the purpose of the 'scan me' qr code on the missing poster? Does anyone know?

Just answering my own question ..... the qr code is to share Syd's information online. You scan the code with your device, then you can share the information that way. The qr code can contain more information than the missing poster does, more photos etc.

QR codes used to help find children who have gone missing

 

[NSamuelle]

Why change clothes? I guess I could see ditching the backpack if she intended to jump, but changing from shorts to pants seems weird.

Could be trying to trick surveillance.

 

[elisimo]

It depends on how long Syd was out and about. If she was seen in shorts earlier in the day/evening, and seen in long pants late at night when it was cooler. We have no idea when Syd left where she was staying. We have no idea what she did that day or night.

The most recent information places her on the GGB early in the morning. 6:45? 7:45? Before that, it was Crissy Field near sunrise. I think the timeline is unclear/vague/confusing, which is another strange thing about this case.