Mississippi State University counseling services is collecting backpacks in hopes of accumulating at least 1,100 bags to promote suicide prevention. The MSU Student Counseling Services has partnered with Active Minds and The Center For America’s Veterans for the “Send Silence Packing” campaign. The drive is a project that originated with the national Active Minds organization, which, according to Dr. Beatrice Tatem of MSU’s Counseling Services, was founded by a student who tragically lost her brother.
“The founder’s brother committed suicide while in college, so in reaction to his death, she formed Active Minds,” Tatem said. “Our goal is to empower students to talk about a subject that is often controversial, people are split on and may be a little uncomfortable to discuss.”
That subject is mental health – a word which Tatem said has had a negative stigma attached to it for too long.
“Sometimes students think that you have to be really, really troubled or off base and crazy and that’s not the case at all,” she said. “The good thing is that [the stigma] seems to be decreasing somewhat.”
Active Minds treasurer Willie Sullivan said, most often, when people think of mental health, they associate it with mentally unstable people who must be committed to institutions, as opposed to seeing a therapist to handle stress and traumatic events.
“There needs to be more focus on the rehabilitation side of it and the positive aspects instead of the negative connotations behind it,” he said. “There needs to be more awareness on campus and there hasn’t been a great enough effort in the past.”
Infanta White, Active Minds vice president, said one of the group’s main purposes is to act as an advocate to start discussions on mental health that might not happen otherwise.
“We’re trying to get the campus to understand just how serious suicide is across this country, especially among college students, as well as mental health disorders in general,” she said.
According to Tatem, approximately 1,100 college students commit suicide each year, including some students from MSU.
The “Send Silence Packing” campaign uses backpacks adorned with pictures and the stories of those who ended their lives all too soon, with the hopes that where silence once resided, a new voice will rise up.
“We’ve had suicides on campus this year, but out of respect I can’t say a whole lot about that, but it’s something that’s definitely close to home,” Tatem said. “Stress and depression are also close to home – I see it all the time.”
Tatem said in society today there is a lot of stress on young people, and each person’s perception of how things are going in their life is different. She said one person may perceive something to be absolutely horrible and unbearable, whereas another person may not think the same situation is that bad. She said a potential victim can be the student sitting next to you in class or in the Union.
“We want to be proactive and bring some health discussion to this topic,” she said. “[Students] don’t always know how to cope or find the resources that they can use to address some of the stress.”
White said the backpack drive is intended to help save students who are suffering.
“I really hope ‘Send Silence Packing’ here at MSU sheds new light on how common suicide is so students can be aware and help lower the number of suicides each year,” White said. “Educating students about suicide can possibly help save a life.”
Sullivan said students often have a hard time approaching the subject of suicide.
“People just want to move on and forget about it sometimes,” he said, “but this program will help spread awareness and the opportunity to start a new conversation.”