Life on a college campus can be hard. Students have a short amount of time to figure out their life and be all that they can be.
This can either be encouraging or discouraging to students. Student Health and Counseling Services’ (SHCS) Can You See How I Feel, an interactive theatre, displayed the different pressures that a college student may face and how those pressures can affect a student if he or she does not reach out, speak up and get the proper help. The event was hosted through the Garrett Lee Smith SAMHSA Grant they were awarded in 2012.
“It focused on issues that we sometimes forget to talk about, in my opinion. Pressure is real in college, it’s not one big party,” said Alexandria Miller, a sophomore Communications major.
SHCS partnered with several organizations to make the event possible. They included PSEPP, PARR (Peers Advocating Respectful Relationships), SSWA (Student Social Work Association) and Allies.
“The motivation behind this event was to make the topic of suicide and depression easier to talk about among college students. Since suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, we recognize that there are issues that contribute to the final decision to die by suicide,and we wanted to help students learn to cope during those difficult times,” said Suicide Prevention Grant Coordinator John’na Webster.
“It is important to talk about it,” Webster said.
Peers Advocating Respectful Relationships and the Students Social Work Association presented a “Depression, Suicide” skit where a student faced social, academic and economic pressure.
The skit displayed how life and the pressures that come with it play a role in the life of a college student.
After the skit, students in the audience and other participating audience members were given the opportunity to actively participate in the event by making comments and asking questions.
When the event was over, students had many things to say.
“I strongly believe that a lot of students deal with all three of those pressures. The percentage of how deeply the pressure affects you will depend on the student. Those who are more social may feel the social pressure a little stronger than the students who are struggling to pay their way through college. Academic pressure is always present. I would assume everyone wants to make good grades, and in college you really have to put forth the effort and some people may not be used to doing so,” said Tranequa Harrell, a sophomore Integrated Studies major.
One of the characters, the president of PARR, Tavoris Foster shared how he came to be a part of the event.
“John’Na Webster, asked me to be a part of the interactive theatre, and I immediately said yes. Partially because I have attended the program “Can You See How I Feel” last year. Also I’m currently the president of an organization that strives to educate students, faculty, and surrounding community members about domestic violence, child abuse, and alcoholism,” Foster said.
Can You See How I Feel also touched on another strong topic – domestic violence.
Another character, junior Sociology major Joseph Nelson, thinks that learning about domestic violence is an important part of combating it.
“Students who deal with domestic violence are the ones who have entered into a relationship with another person without getting to know them very well or both of the students don’t have any kind of knowledge on how to deal with their situation in a sensible way,” Nelson said.
“It is very important to learn about these topics and take them seriously.”
When it comes to the lives of others, not only are faculty and staff concerned, but also students are concerned about the lives of their peers.
“Any one of [the people at the event could have] friends or family [that] could be going through one of these similar topics that were being talked about, and can actually share with them on how to get out of a domestic relationship or focus on getting out of a depressed state of mind. I encourage all of my fellow students to recognize these problems that’s going on here on campus or off campus. Students should be able to hear and know about these things,” said Nelson.
Students and faculty are encouraged to speak up when someone seems to be a danger to themselves and to others.
Speaking up can not only save someone’s life but can prevent others from being hurt by such a loss.
Suicide, depression and domestic violence can be touchy subjects, but are very important subjects to discuss.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that at least 1,350 college students commit suicide each year. Even one student’s voice can help anyone in need.
For more information on how to receive help or help someone else, contact Student Health and Counseling Services at 731-881-7750.
