Scott Ritter, a philosophy senior, will never forget the day he almost lost his roommate.
His roommate, who wanted to remain anonymous, had been coping with the recent death of his mother and a difficult break-up with a girlfriend, and depression set in, Ritter said.
Ritter left his roommate in their room and headed to class, but he did not get far before he realized he had left his book-bag. He turned around and headed back.
“The door was locked and my roommate wouldn’t open it,” Ritter said.
When his roommate finally let him into the room, Ritter found him distraught and confused. Ritter saw his roommate’s pills and alcohol and realized he was attempting suicide.
Suicide rates on college campuses are rising, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In the face of what is already the second most common cause of death for college students, campus officials — including University health experts — are taking steps to improve the quality of their mental health programs.
In the 1998 to 1999 school year, 4,242 college-age students committed suicide in the United States. Three years later, in the 2001 to 2002 school year, that number was 4,390. The statistics may seem insignificant to some, but experts say the increase is cause for alarm.
Violet Robert, a licensed clinical social worker at the University Mental Health Clinic, said therapy can help reduce suicide risks in depressed students.
“There is a higher incidence of suicide among students who aren’t in therapy,” Robert said.
When the Mental Health Clinic identifies a University student as a suicide risk, Robert said, the staff assesses the threat to make sure that the patient truly intends to harm himself and is not making the claims to gain attention. The staff takes steps to determine whether the patient has a plan for suicide, as well as the means to carry it out.
If the patient is identified as a serious risk to himself or to other people, the staff encourages the student to voluntarily go to a hospital for assessment, Robert said.
If the patient will not go voluntarily, the staff has the ability to put him or her in a hospital for a 72-hour observation period in a psychiatric unit. But they can only do this if the student is considered a threat to himself.
“After they are admitted to the hospital, the situation is out of our hands,” Robert said.
Robert said a patient’s parents are not always notified if they are hospitalized or receiving therapy. The patients are legally considered adults and therefore the parents cannot be notified without their permission.
Robert said she is not certain if the dramatic increase in suicide patients — and mental health patients considered suicide risks — is actually an increase in numbers, or simply an increase in media attention.
“[Suicide] is talked about more because there have been some sensational cases with students who have overdosed and things like that,” Robert said. “Certain circumstances have certainly been sensationalized.”
Robert said this has increased awareness and enabled people to better recognize signs and encourage others to get help.
Ritter’s roommate almost became another sad statistic.
When Ritter discovered what was going on, he took the pills away and called the police, who came immediately, Ritter said.
His roommate did not need his stomach pumped and recovered without medical attention, but though his physical health returned, his mental state worsened every day.
“He went into a severe state of depression after that,” Ritter said. “Every once in a while, he would just lose it and go crazy.”
At first, his roommate refused to go to therapy, Ritter said.
Ritter said he and his friends continued to urge his roommate to get professional help.
“He hated me for what I was doing,” Ritter said, “but he eventually went to therapy and got on some medication.”
Ritter said his roommate is much happier and healthier today. Though he chose to withhold his identity, he told Ritter he wanted people to hear his story, especially if it would help someone in a similar situation.