Ohio University Counseling and Psychological Services will have a backpack display on College Green in memory of college students who have died by suicide Tuesday. The display is part of Ohio University’s goal to spread awareness of suicide prevention.
CPS will be hosting the Send Silence Packing exhibit for the first time at OU. The exhibit has traveled to many colleges across the country to spread awareness and end the silence that surrounds suicide and the number of college students who die by suicide.
Send Silence Packing began in 2008 in an inaugural display on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Since then, approximately 946,710 visitors have visited the site.
Active Minds, a student organization supporting mental health awareness, was founded in 2003 by University of Pennsylvania student Alison Malmon after losing her brother, Brian Malmon, to suicide. Several colleges have formed their own Active Minds organizations since then, including OU.
“Each backpack represents a student who has died from suicide,” Justin Wheeler, Bobcats Who Care coordinator, said. “Families of students who have died submit a backpack along with a story about their lost loved one.”
Wheeler said student organization volunteers and people from CPS will be at the exhibit throughout the day. A counselor is required to be there at every moment because suicide is a heavy topic and may elicit response from people, such as triggering those who have lost someone to suicide, Wheeler said.
“There will be resources right there if students need support,” Wheeler said. “We want to reach as many students as we can to reduce the stigma that (suicide) is something we can’t talk about.”
In February 2018, an OU student died by suicide, and his family created the Ross Griffin Memorial Foundation to honor his legacy. His family reached out to OU about spreading more awareness about suicide prevention, and OU chose to hold Send Silence Packing.
“The whole idea is to have it in an area where the most students pass by it,” Wheeler said. “They will be compelled to stop and see what’s going on, get mental health resources and gain suicide prevention awareness.”
Suicide tends to affect college students more than any other age demographic due to stress levels.
Hudson Health Center has drop-in hours for students struggling with mental health on the third floor from 9:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Living Learning Center hosts “Let’s Talk” with counselors from 5 to 10 p.m., Sunday through Friday. The after-hours hotline is 740-593-1616.
“I think that the amount of work and the stress of doing good in college puts a large burden on a lot of the students,” Kyleigh McGee, a freshman studying pre-nursing, said. “The pressure to do good and being away from home for some, along with not really having time to spend with your friends, really puts a burden on a person’s mental health.”
If you’re feeling suicidal, please talk to somebody. You can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255; the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860; or the Trevor Project at 866-488-7386. Text “START” to Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or in Ohio, text “4HOPE”. If you don’t like the phone, consider using the Lifeline Crisis Chat at www.crisischat.org.
