Seven tragic suicides and likely drug overdoses have occurred at Columbia University so far this school year, The New York Post reports. Students blame a high-pressure, competitive academic environment coupled with inadequate mental health programs.
Four of the deaths were in the fall, while the other three occurred in January alone. An aspiring journalist, a Navy veteran, a Moroccan student and a Japanese exchange student were among the victims.
Columbia students have come forward to speak about the often stressful and competitive environment on campus. According to the Daily Mail, one freshman who died told his mom that he didn’t fit in at Columbia, because the other students were smarter and better than him. Student Jacqueline Basulto told The New York Post that “Columbia has a really hostile, competitive culture.”
When Basulto struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts, she reached out to the campus counseling service and was told they could schedule an appointment with her in two weeks. That was way too long, so Basulto started a petition demanding that Columbia improve their mental health services. The petition currently has nearly 700 signatures.
The university released a statement following the recent deaths on campus, which was published by the Daily Mail.
“Our students, in all their rich diversity, share in common the promise of bright futures not yet lived. In losing any one of them, we individually and collectively feel a deep sense of anguish,” the statement began.
“And even as we experience these feelings and redouble our efforts to prevent such losses, we know from difficult experience that universities and colleges cannot be made immune to the deaths of young people caused by addiction, depression, and other mental illnesses.
“We have been reexamining the practices and resources in place for identifying students in need and connecting them with the extensive counseling, support groups and other services available at Columbia. Clearly, our community must rely on the contributions of students, faculty and administrators, as well as our outstanding mental health professionals, to effectively address this persistent public health problem affecting students everywhere.
“As a University, we constantly look hard at what we are getting right and what we need to improve as we educate and support students through difficult times in their lives, and that is what we are doing now.”