Memorandum

To: Pereta Rodriguez, Director of Wellness and Counseling Center

From: Shahadat Rahman, City College Student

Date: September 7, 2017

Subject: Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

Memorandum

We all have demons that haunt us, and college students are especially susceptible to give in to them. Students are some of the most stressed people in society, and this can lead to a host of mental health problems. Yet although an increasing number of students seek help with these issues, mental health is a topic rarely touched upon by college campuses. It’s time mental health is finally addressed and the proper resources are allocated for treatment for students.

           

 Over the past five years CCNY mental health clinics have reported an increase in students requiring mental health services. This is a common trend across the country as well, with studies from the Center for Collegiate Health at Penn State University claiming that while researching 139 institutions, 26% of students who went to their mental health clinics tried to hurt themselves and 33.2% had considered suicide alongside an overall 12% increase in the number of students going to clinics. At CCNY, students hail from a plethora of diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, making them more susceptible to fall victim to conditions such as anxiety and depression. At the same time, these socioeconomic and ethnic factors are also the reason these students are not able to be treated by professionals. In addition, mental health illnesses are considered taboo in several cultures, discouraging several students from getting the help that they need. Identifying and treating students with anxiety and depression is of utmost importance, as these conditions are precursors to suicide. With a campus that serves nearly 12,000 students, it’s the responsibility of City College to ensure that students feel safe and supported in their environment.

Although there are some resources available to students who need help, the issue of mental health is still rarely acknowledged. City College should allocate resources to train the people who are with students most — teachers. Teachers should be trained in identifying symptoms of mental illnesses as they would most easily notice which students are facing problems. Other members of the community, such as students, should also be trained.  Furthermore, instead of telling students that resources are available, the resources should be brought to them. Trained professionals should be brought in more frequently to raise awareness. Mental health issues don’t take place only during awareness week, affected students are haunted by them every moment of every day. The only way to tackle this problem is to place it under a spotlight and attack it directly, instead of behind the curtains.

Being a student who has faced anxiety and depression, and seen other people face the same issues as well, please don’t hesitate to contact me at srahman018@citymail.cuny.edu to discuss this issue further. Thank you for your time.