Emma Skeels/Old Gold & Black
One in 10 college students has experienced suicidal thoughts, according to research from Emory University. Even more alarming, there are more than 1,000 suicides on college campuses per year. As Wake Forest University continues to be a school known for stressful academics and “de-stressful” parties, one might consider how students here are thinking when it comes to suicide.
James Raper, interim director of the University Counseling Center, has collected a significant amount of data regarding suicidal thoughts among Wake Forest students.
Based on the National Collegiate Health Assessment, in which Wake Forest students participate regularly, most of the measures of overall mental health have remained relatively stable.
Nevertheless, data from the spring 2015 semester showed that approximately 11 percent of Wake Forest students seriously considered suicide at least once within the previous 12 months, compared to a rate of approximately eight percent for the national reference group in 2014.
Within Wake Forest, the data from 2015 also represents an increase from 2012 when six percent of respondents reported seriously thinking about suicide.
This change from six to 11 percent represents an 83 percent increase over three years in the number of students who reported suicidal thoughts — the number almost doubled.
“For many, thinking about suicide is not as much about a desire to die, but about a wish to escape a current level of intense, and often transient, distress,” Raper said.
One student, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the topic, accredits the increase to some aspects of the campus culture.
“It’s probably a combination of increased pressure and drinking for underclassmen,” the student said.
Discussion of excessive drinking is prevalent at the university, especially in seminars during orientation weekend. Ten first-year students were hospitalized due to alcohol use during the first week of school this year, a record for the university.
When students face social pressures and drink until they black out, students’ judgment is impaired and their mental health deteriorates.
“[Suicidal] thoughts become even more high risk when combined with significant anxiety and/or depression, as well as alcohol and other drug use — all of which can impair our ability to engage in healthy problem solving.”
Adam Goldstein, dean of students, said that student safety is a concern for his office, and that a rise in suicidal thoughts among students should not be neglected.
“This is most definitely a concern for our community as a whole,” he said. “Student well-being is an institutional priority at Wake Forest and students, faculty and staff throughout the community are involved in programs designed to reduce likelihood of harm and support others.”
The University Counseling Center gives students access to counseling services and provides references to other mental health services throughout the Winston-Salem area.
Beyond this, two other preventative initiatives that have a direct impact on reducing suicide risk are the WFU CARE Team and the Thrive well-being initiative.
The Thrive initiative focuses on educating the community about well-being as well as assisting staff, faculty and students with ways in which they can practice well-being in their lives.
“It is this kind of practice that can help reduce the levels of anxiety, stress and perfectionistic approaches to life that can increase some individuals’ risk for suicide,” Raper said.
Wake Forest senior Sarah Repko pointed out the perfectionist stressors at Wake. “If you don’t fit into the ‘work hard, play hard’ category, you can feel left out or like you’re coming up short,” she said. “Being alone and feeling like you can’t measure up to your peers, in my opinion, can often foster suicidal thoughts.”
The University Counseling Center is the primary outlet on campus to assist students struggling with suicidal thoughts, depression or any other mental health or personal issues. The center allows students to schedule appointments during the week or just walk in, and also provides after-hours and weekend assistance during the academic year via telephone.
Although Goldstein and Raper said the university is fully committed to student health suicide prevention, the same anonymous student thinks otherwise after his own experience with the counseling center.
“The counseling center is not efficient,” the student said. “You can only get a limited number of appointments, and sometimes you cannot even go. There is no consistency with scheduling. You’re better going off campus.”