Suicide: Number One Killer of College Students

Suicide recently ranked as the leading cause of death among the university population, topping alcohol-related traffic deaths.

According to University of Virginia researchers, the leading cause of student deaths is suicide. James C. Turner, director of the Department of Student Health at the University of Virginia, asked more than 1,150 schools to share their student mortality rates.

Given this information, what does this say about the way major universities handle depression and mental illness?

According to the article:

It is becoming very difficult for colleges to push mental illness awareness and prevention to the forefront as economic times are getting tougher and endowments are taking hits, some schools don’t have the luxury to keep up with counseling and psychological services.

It claims that counseling and psychological services are a luxury. If the topic was concerning preventing alcohol-related traffic deaths, nobody would call traffic-safety education a luxury. Mental health services are not a luxury, but indispensable necessities and the responsibility of the university. Luxuries are the Universities' sports programs, new projectors, and remodeled buildings. The complacent tone the article's author conveys concerning the status quo is outrageous. For every suicide, there are twenty attempts, and 10% of America's college students have diagnosed depression. Does nobody care about the suffering going on before our eyes? 

SOURCE:
http://www.michiganreview.com/archives/3623