WRAL news reported that NC State University reported five student deaths this semester. One was an off-campus car tragedy and four resulted from student suicides. The latest death took place in the Wolf Hall room and was a male sophomore. Parents, students and staff grieve and raise questions. According to WCNC, the 4th suicide happened one week from NC State’s official wellness day which was made for students to look at their health physically and mentally through various activities and stations.
“It is very concerning both as a parent and working in the education system that somewhere we are failing to get information to students and observe to possibly help those who really need it,” said Mike Sangiamco, a coach at Athens.
The CDC stated; in 2020, 45,979 people (about twice the seating capacity of Madison Square Garden) died by suicide in the United States. To put that in retrospect, that would be almost 23 times more than the whole student population of Athens, which consists of 2,082 students. Mental health problems can result from parental neglect, isolation, lack of financial stability, drug use, notable adult trauma and more.
KFF.org article on ‘The implications of COVID-19 for mental health and substance use’ states that the pandemic had caused a negative effect on people’s mental health. It has created new difficulties for people already suffering from mental health and drug abuse. 4 in 10 adults have reported symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders in the U.S (United States). The poor mental health caused by the pandemic is a consequence of isolation and job loss.
“We have not yet recovered from it [the pandemic],” said Christopher Remaley, teacher.
One in three students do not feel safe at their school, and researchers believe that students feel safer in a school when they have a safe relationship with a teacher. Bullying has been shown to decrease the sense of safety in schools.
“I feel like even if they receive enough resources, they will try to figure it out by themselves,” said Mihn Thai, senior.
According to NIH.gov Stress has been shown to increase the thinking of a person to commit suicide. The study surveyed direct and indirect effects on indicators of stress such as depressive symptoms and symptoms of suicide.
“It should have been something they should have probably expected because at this point of time there is a lot of stress that can happen to the students,” said Thai.
According to SAMHSA.org, 988 is the suicide & crisis lifeline, and in 2020, Congress designated the new 988 code to be used by the already existing suicide and crisis lifeline at that time. SAMHSA advocates the importance of the lifeline since data shows in 2020, every 11 minutes, there was a suicide. It is the leading cause of death for 10–34-year-olds. The hotline has professionals available 24/7 and are said to be completely confidential with any person who has a crisis or is thinking of committing suicide.
