The University of North Carolina and New York University recently have stepped up efforts to prevent suicide among their students.
Six students committed suicide at UNC within the past two years, and NYU has seen six suicides in the last year alone.
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college-age students and a huge public health issue, said Lenny Carter, a counselor at the University's Counseling and Psychological Services.
The University has seen two suicides in the last five years, according to CAPS Director Russ Federman.
Compared to the 34 suicides that occurred between 1975 and 1997 at the University, as well as suicide rates at other universities, Carter said he is "cautiously optimistic" about the progress the University is making in terms of suicide prevention.
"What is mildly disturbing is that it could change at any moment," he said. "And there's no way of knowing it or effectively predicting."
Whereas NYU and UNC have begun their prevention efforts in the last year, CAPS has been aggressively addressing suicide at the University since 1997, officials there said.
The program's outreach entails educating students about ways to identify and seek help for potentially suicidal friends. Students who go through Student Health departments are assessed for signs of suicide risk. CAPS tries to "funnel resources to work intensely" with at-risk students, Carter said.
The University has a much lower suicide rate than other universities of the same size, Federman said.Nevertheless, it is constantly looking to improve its program and help more students.
Last year's American College Health Association Survey, which included 917 University students, found that nine percent of students had seriously considered suicide and 40 percent felt "so depressed it was hard to function" in the previous 12 months.
The University screened more than 900 students for depression and anxiety on National Depression Screening Day last year. This year, the screening will take place Oct. 7 in Newcomb Hall.
"U.Va. students think everyone else has it all together and that they are the only ones having problems," Carter said. "It is important that students know that [depression and anxiety leading to suicide] are treatable problems."
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