This year there has been a new addition to the alcohol-wise modules students are required to complete — a module about sexual violence that includes prevention techniques, risk factors and resources to assist survivors. This addition makes sense, and is necessary, in the midst of a nationwide furor over assault on college campuses. Our heightened awareness of its presence on Grounds and our own tumultuous year dealing with it has made action necessary if students are to feel safe.
While the University has made large steps in increasing awareness about sexual assault, it has not made similar strides in the arena of suicide prevention. In some ways, this makes sense; the number of people who will suffer a sexual assault dwarfs those who will take their own lives. Though suicide has received less national attention than sexual assault, it is still a major issue on Grounds. Last year, the University was dealt several severe emotional blows in quick succession as three University students took their own lives in a short span of time. These tragic events have made it disturbingly clear the secret pain our peers are hiding can cause great physical and mental harm to our community.
Sadly, suicide has become an issue not just at the University, but at all high-pressure college environments. One of the most infamous examples in recent memory comes from the University of Pennsylvania, where two students commited suicide in the space of a few months. Some factors unique to college campuses can put students at heightened risk. The loss of a social network, the new environment, academic and social pressure and others problems can drive students to desperate acts. The struggle to achieve perfection both academically and socially is one that probably sounds familiar to students in the University’s highly competitive environment.
This is not to say the University and its students have been unmindful of the need to protect this community. In fact, the University has a multitude of programs, services and student run groups that assist in the battle against suicide. This past week the student run organization To Write Love on Her Arms hosted the National Suicide Prevention Week at U.Va. Counseling and Psychological Services, Helpline, Active Minds and Peer Health Educators are all in some way providing help for those at risk or education about the precursors to suicide.
There is always more the University could do, but at this point changes are useless unless we can increase the awareness and availability of the resources we already possess. Programs meant to serve desperate students who have lost all hope cannot be effective if students don’t know they exist. A greater degree of emphasis should be placed on educating students about how they can utilize these resources. This is not just important for the small portion of the community struggling with suicidal thoughts, but for everyone. In the same way that preventing sexual assault relies on bystander intervention, educating the University community about warning signs for suicide can be critical in ensuring students at risk get the attention they deserve. CAPS has compiled a list of warning signs that might indicate an individual’s suicidal thoughts, as well as steps a friend can take to assist them. Making people aware of these signs, steps and services can help save someone’s life.
However, the sad fact of the matter is, if every student on every campus in the nation learned the warning signs by heart and memorized the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, suicide would still occur. Suicide has haunted college campuses despite all the measures taken because of one insurmountable problem — a belief that a chasm exists in society between “normal” people and suicidal ones. A belief there is something fundamentally wrong with those who took their own lives and that they are unique tragedies. But they are not. The National Center for Biotechnology Information found that 11.4 percent of college students have considered suicide, 7.9 percent have made a plan and 1.7 percent have made an attempt. Suicide is not only a problem on Grounds when we lose our peers to it, but also when it’s a specter in the minds of one tenth of our population. It will remain one until we become more comfortable approaching this painful topic; when students no longer think their friends can’t have suicidal thoughts because they are “normal” and students who struggle with them no longer feel obliged to remain quiet. Fixing these beliefs won’t be easy. To Write Love on Her Arms and many other groups have made a great start, but there is still a long way to go.
Alex Mink is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at a.mink@cavalierdaily.com.
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