<p>why does W&M have a high suicide rate? maybe i'm misinformed but i think it's one of the highest in the country?</p>
<p>here we go again…</p>
<p>unless you can provide a citation, you are misinformed. What you read randomly on the internet does not count as a citation. This if from the W&M alumni magazine in 2006 (the story was about campus rumors, including the crim dell bridge, ghosts, Steely Dan, catacombs, and playboy):</p>
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<p>I agree that the whole “highest suicide rate in the nation” line is fallacious, but I don’t think that questions about suicide and WM should be responded to with to such derision. Given the three suicides last year, I’d say it’s a pretty serious issue that deserves some attention, and it deserves to be addressed when posed to representatives of W&M. It also deserves a fair amount of introspection on the part of the WM community as a whole.</p>
<p>The oft-quoted link you posted also uses some iffy statistical reasoning–namely that of comparing the small community of William & Mary (a relatively homogenous group of kids primarily from NoVa and well-off schools from out of state) to 18-to-25 year olds across the country, regardless of academic achievement or socioeconomic factors (a comparatively diverse group). These groups are not one and the same.</p>
<p>this question has repeatedly appeared on this message board over the years… that’s why I responded the way I did.</p>
<p>Obviously suicide should be taken seriously. W&M provides a lot of services to students, including mental health counseling.</p>
<p>I agree that the text I quoted is not perfect, but whenever this question is posed, there are no statistics or anything offered. It is always “I heard that W&M has the highest suicide rate in the country.” I have never seen a better answer to the question, so that is why I posted the information I have.</p>
<p>The way I see it, some students at W&M are apt to place unreasonable pressure on themselves to excel, which is difficult at a competitive school like W&M. This tendency may lead to depression and suicide. However, the resources provided for the campus community are vast, including free counseling, RA’s, and professors. One of my professors openly discussed the suicide of one of her W&M students a couple years ago, and encouraged us to speak to her or any other mentor-type figure should we be feeling overwhelmed. Ultimately, if someone is determined to commit suicide, it is neither the school nor the community’s fault.</p>
<p>I believe Cornell University has a similar issue with this stigma.</p>