Suicide rate still too high
Alesha Hardwick
Issue date: 1/25/02 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Teens and young adults on college campuses constitute a large number of suicides nationwide.
According to the University Counseling Center, almost 5,000 young people between the ages of 15-24 kill themselves each year, with the majority of them being men.
Suicides have affected many college campuses, including WIU. In the past three years, the university has seen one on-campus suicide that occurred in 1999. Since then, there have been numerous reports of attempted suicides on and off campus.
The Office of Public Safety's Bob Baxter has also noticed that there have been more off-campus suicides than on-campus.
"Usually, off-campus suicides have been more common here than on university property. That could be because of all the university personnel here, such as resident assistants and also roommates," Baxter said.
WIU has provided outlets of counseling and support for those who seek help.
"Students are encouraged to have ongoing health counseling once they find help; physicians are here to help sort out issues and they can certainly help," said Mimi Prerost, Health Educator and Coordinator of Outreach Services at Beu Health Center.
UCC director Jim DiTulio explains some possible warning signs of suicidal behavior.
"There is no one type of student (they) can come in all types with different socioeconomic status. Many times people hide their suicidal thoughts and other feelings so well that it can be hard to detect, but they are the ones we need to be most concerned about and are hard to get to," DiTulio said.
For those having trouble coping, or suspect someone they know of having thoughts of hurting themselves or others, they can call the 24-hour Emergency Consultation Team, an OPS group, with issues such as domestic violence and suicide, at (309) 298-1949, or the UCC at (309) 298-2453 in Memorial Hall.
According to the University Counseling Center, almost 5,000 young people between the ages of 15-24 kill themselves each year, with the majority of them being men.
Suicides have affected many college campuses, including WIU. In the past three years, the university has seen one on-campus suicide that occurred in 1999. Since then, there have been numerous reports of attempted suicides on and off campus.
The Office of Public Safety's Bob Baxter has also noticed that there have been more off-campus suicides than on-campus.
"Usually, off-campus suicides have been more common here than on university property. That could be because of all the university personnel here, such as resident assistants and also roommates," Baxter said.
WIU has provided outlets of counseling and support for those who seek help.
"Students are encouraged to have ongoing health counseling once they find help; physicians are here to help sort out issues and they can certainly help," said Mimi Prerost, Health Educator and Coordinator of Outreach Services at Beu Health Center.
UCC director Jim DiTulio explains some possible warning signs of suicidal behavior.
"There is no one type of student (they) can come in all types with different socioeconomic status. Many times people hide their suicidal thoughts and other feelings so well that it can be hard to detect, but they are the ones we need to be most concerned about and are hard to get to," DiTulio said.
For those having trouble coping, or suspect someone they know of having thoughts of hurting themselves or others, they can call the 24-hour Emergency Consultation Team, an OPS group, with issues such as domestic violence and suicide, at (309) 298-1949, or the UCC at (309) 298-2453 in Memorial Hall.