No one listens until it is too late. This thought has run through my mind and the minds of thousands of my peers as we observed back-to-back suicides at our neighboring university. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) experienced unimaginable grief this week as two students attempted to take their lives on the same day; marking 4 attempted suicides since the beginning of the semester, two of them resulted in death. Students need help, now.
October 10 was a day in which World Mental Health Day was meant to be observed but instead, students in central North Carolina felt shockwaves as a result of the UNC mental health crisis. Covid-19 was a hard time for everyone and many students are pleading with their universities to provide them with resources as they recover from the mental impacts of the pandemic and the transition to in-person schooling for the first time in a year and a half.
Central North Carolina is home to several prestigious universities: UNC, Duke, North Carolina State University. These schools are often seen as the ideal institutions to be equipped for success but success will not be possible without mental health resources for students.
As a student at North Carolina State University, I observed my peers put aside our rivalry with UNC and plead for resources as we felt the devastating effects of lives lost at our neighboring university. On October 12, I received an email from NCSU with the subject line “Prioritizing Mental Health.” While I appreciated the gesture from my university I did feel a slight sense of disappointment as it should not take students’ deaths to receive an email with information about resources.
The email from my own university prompted me to reach out to my peers at UNC to see how they were and to ask how UNC responded to the suicides. I was informed that they received a message from their Chancellor stating that he was aware of the mental health crisis at UNC as well as the increased risk college students carry. Students called for class to be canceled the Monday and Tuesday following the attempts but instead, the University instructed students to take the day off only Tuesday as it was World Mental Health Day; this made many students angry as they felt the grieving for their peers deserved more than one “wellness day.”
Students deserve access to resources at the beginning of the semester as well as throughout the year rather than crisis responses. College is a time of self-discovery and growth; many students are left feeling unheard and not understood instead. Most individuals agree that students are worth more than their grades but as a student, it does not feel that way. Attendance policies at most universities do not excuse mental health-related absences unless the student sought professional help; allowing students two to three mental health excused absences or more wellness days would be a step in the right direction.
Universities often have counseling centers at their health centers, take advantage of this resource whether you feel the need or not. Prioritize your mental health before it decreases. Telehealth therapists are also available if students feel uncomfortable seeking help in person. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 800-273-8255 as well as https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/.
Mental Health is not taboo. Universities must provide their students with resources as healthy mental states are imperative to success. You are seen, you are heard, you are loved.