I have been concerned about my friend’s daughter, not so much because her hometown is very different from NYC (which it is) but because when she did have emotional health issues during her first year at Columbia, it wasn’t easy to get help from the school. But it’s hard to access mental health services in many places, not just at Columbia or in NYC. So I wouldn’t single out Columbia for this criticism.
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Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families. So sad.
Very sad, but this is nothing new, Cornell has its infamous “suicide bridge” where students have killed themselves, MIT went through a rash of suicides at times, it happens. You put a group of high achieving students into a pressure cooker and things like this happen. I remember reading a book talking about the growth of the ‘hacker culture’ at MIT in the mid 1960’s, and how at their orientation lecture/meeting, the freshman were told to look to the left, look to the right, and be mindful that one of those people around them wouldn’t be there when they graduated, and this was said quite proudly according to the book…while I doubt they do that any more, that is a reality at many schools like that.
The really hard part is you get a kid who for many years has put their nose to the grindstone, their parents expected high achievement out of them, they likely were near the top at their school, might have been the valedictorian/salutorian, and suddenly here they are at a place where not only are there others there as bright, they might not even be in the top percentiles at the school, they though likely at the top at many other schools, might only be ‘average’ there. I was talking to one of our managers here, who went to MIT as an engineering student, and he said that the bottom 25% often shifted into other majors other than STEM when they got there and found that.
Add to the expectations of family and the pressure of feeling like they had to hold up a high standard, shameful to have trouble, etc, and it isn’t all that surprising some go this route. I feel for the family and loved ones and fellow students, went through that when I went to school including witnessing a suicide, it is aweful all around.
@romanigypsyeyes – I think I finally have my D18 going in this direction.
She’s still thinking about a different, more “rigorous” major (Computational Neuroscience vs. CogSci). I ask her if she wants to be buried in books for four years -or- have the freedom to look around and take advantage of all the opportunities while at college.
@droppedit I hope she finds the best fit for her! I am happy to answer any questions or offer support if you want to PM me.
I used to volunteer as a counselor at my (more-stress) uni and I see a lot of students struggle. Unfortunately, we- like most universities- just don’t have the resources to properly help all students who need it. 
Do college students commit suicide more than their age cohorts not in college?
http://www.nndc.org/perspectives-on-college-student-suicide/
Rates are lower for college students actually.
Gives me chills looking at those photos of gorgeous healthy smart young people who took their lives. So sad.
Interestly, there was an incident of threat/attempt of a student in my daughter’s dorm just last week. She arrived at her dorm after her band rehearsal to find an ambulance outside and the lobby full of police. After, RAs and people who work at the counseling center went door to door in the entire dorm checking for anyone unduly affected, giving out suicide prevention information, offering support. Later that evening they got an email alert that there had been an incident on campus, the student was receiving medical care, and again what the resources are for support. When my daughter told us about this response, I was really impressed. It also gave us the chance to remind her that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and if she ever feels that desperate that she promises to seek help even if it isn’t from us.
Unfortunately, suicides happen at every college in the country. Mental illness begins to surface at this age. Too often , people want to dismiss or minimize tell tale signs and symptoms of depression . Until this stops , suicides will continue.
Four of these deaths happened at home, it seems, and three in the dorms. Two involved drug paraphernalia: it is rarely possible to determine if an overdose is intentional. I kind of agree that the headline is exaggerated, though more than one suicide is certainly concerning, these things can indeed be contagious, and the multiple deaths is very sad and probably upsetting to all on campus.
Depression is a clinical condition, different from situational depression or unhappiness, as most people here know. Often medication works quite well, even without counseling. I wonder if any of these students were on antidepressants.
If campus services are not adequate, every student is required to have insurance that enables him or her to go to a provider off campus. Parents can research for them if they are depressed. More effective still, parents can travel to the campus and take their child to a psychiatrist or the ER. A suicidal kid will be pink-slipped and involuntarily hospitalized for at least 3 days. It is hard to do these things oneself when depressed.
Any college counseling or mental health or health center should immediately call an ambulance for a suicidal student. They will avoid a law suit that way, not that that is the only motivation. I cannot believe that any center would say “wait for an appointment” (let alone for two weeks) if the severity of the depression is expressed.
I strongly feel that these elite schools can be wonderful for some students who do indeed suffer depression, health issues and various other challenges. Registering with the disabilities office can help but there is a lot of informal support through housing and deans and such. I hope that those who read this thread don’t panic and limit their kids’ choices for fear of this kind of thing. Suicide happens at all schools and outside of college too, as the previous post said.
ps the most poignant one is the young woman who had been dead for days: no one noticed her absence? no friends or professors looking for her?
This is HIGHLY individualistic between schools. Many schools’ mental health clinics are simply not prepared to deal with major issues like clinical depression or other mental illnesses. It’s not their fault- they’re underfunded, understaffed, and over-burdened. Many will just refer people to other therapists in the area but students often can’t access these for a whole host of reasons.
Plus, if people are put on meds, it can be very difficult to adjust to them and there are often adjustments that need to be made especially early on. It is in this time that people are more likely to commit suicide.
I do not believe it is the school’s responsibility to handhold students through mental health crises. They’re not equipped to do it and it would be (and is) way too easy to fall through the cracks.
I am not saying that no student with depression should go to these schools. I am saying that it is something that should be very seriously considered. Take into account how bad the depression is, how the student is adjusting to therapy, how reliable the student is at taking meds (I was horrendous at this until my early 20s and paid the price for it more than once), etc.
This is highly individualistic from person to person, not just from school to school. Access to elite schools is an important civil and human right regardless of disability. (Once in at a school like an Ivy, students find they can be wonderfully supportive places.)
I would not, as a parent, rely on campus services for a mental health issue. And if I knew about a mental health crisis, I would be there as fast as a plane can fly or a car can drive. Psychiatry should be the first stop for suicidality, not a counselor, anyway.
Sometimes a medical leave is in order, but since some of these suicides happened at home, including one who had left school, that leave should include hospital if the student is suicidal.
Depression can be a lifelong problem but it can fluctuate and for some, meds act fairly quickly.
Should a student with epilepsy or asthma or diabetes seek a less challenging environment? For some, yes, but if Columbia or Harvard or wherever is a congenial choice with exciting things going on in the major and interesting peers, any health or mental health challenge should not be in the way. Including depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia (read Elyn Saks or Lynn Redfield Jamison).
Many sufferers of mental health issues are gifted and have a lot to contribute to any environment.
When my S was a senior, at Columbia, he basically stopped going to classes. In his EIGHTH semester, when we realized he’d barely passed anything the semester before, and was not functioning well, I asked him if he needed to leave. He withdrew from classes and came home “for a semester.”
People through the years asked me why I’d let that happen when he was so close to graduating. It wasn’t the academics; he was Dean’s List the first two years. But it didn’t matter why–keeping him healthy and alive was more important than ANY degree.
PS–Six years later he went back; redid the last semester (commuting three hours a day from home to finish the 20 credits he needed with a 3.8). That was nice–no, that was great! But I remain most proud and happy that he got his mind and heart back on track–he’s a beautiful young man–the kindest person I know.
My heart goes out to those parents–trying to do what’s right; bringing the kids home. It might have been us. I know this is true at other schools–a good friend of my D’s at Wes killed himself over a break many years ago. I sort of wish these articles didn’t get written as school-specific. Life is really hard on our young people, across the board.
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On a separate note-- I will also say that Columbia can be fantastically competition free. You do not have to graduate with a major, any major. My S finished with a “concentration” in Psychology–I think he just needed six psych courses to get that. When he went back, the advisor said-forget Psych if you don’t want to take it anymore–just get in 20 credits of SOMETHING. So I like that in college.
Edit: But I think the problem is that students get into a school like that and feel like they HAVE to be ambitious.
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Many colleges and some high schools have chapters of Active Minds, a student support and advocacy group for mental health. It was started after the suicide of a Columbia senior, by his sister. There are helpful resources on its website and it can be useful to college students to check out their local chapter.
You made the right call @garland. It seems obvious to many of us that this is the right thing to do, and we are puzzled at those that would think differently.
Is Columbia worse than others?
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Not if one keeps in mind that suicides have happened at many other colleges…whether academic peers like Cornell and MIT or stereotypically more laid back academic environments such as Oberlin College, my undergrad.
There was a rash of suicides at Oberlin sometime in the 80’s with 2 hangings occurring in one dorm. Supposedly, it was one of the reasons why Oberlin instituted fall break in addition to spring break.
Medical and other leaves are essential in handling this, though safety measures need to be set up at home as well, and hospitals should be used more often via ER. The specific colleges involved may not be all that relevant. But there is a contagion element.
It might be worth looking at schools that have hospitals on campus. Even better- a psychiatric ER on campus.