Campuses
battle suicide rates
By
Mike Sundberg
On-line Forty-Niner
Over
the past 50 years, colleges and universities
have seen a dramatic increase in the number
of student suicides. Faced with this increase,
many higher level learning facilities are
offering new methods of obtaining mental
health counseling.
A
Web site known as Ulifeline.org has started
to receive a great amount of attention from
many major universities. In fact, more than
80 universities have signed up to receive
a link to the Web site. The site provides
students with the ability to remain anonymous
while giving them specific information on
mental health issues.
According
to CNN, the suicide rate of people between
the ages of 15 and 24 has tripled since
the 1950s. Currently, out of every 100,000
deaths 9.9 are due to suicides. Martin Fiebert,
professor of clinical psychology at Cal
State Long Beach, believes that the rise
in suicides can be attributed to many factors,
but mostly is due to culturally sanctioned
identities. According to Fiebert, in today's
world there are many models on how to live
available to students, as well as a much
larger student population, and because of
these factors many people often struggle
with feelings of being hopeless or lost.
"A
Web site [such as Ulifeline.org] can serve
an important function, but the person must
be seeking help," explains Fiebert.
People
who are worried about a friend or family
member, as well as provide information to
students wanting to learn about mental health
issues can also utilize the Web site.
"I
used the Web site to look up information
on psychological research, and it was extremely
helpful," said Jeanette Chapleau, a
freshmen psychology and physiology double
major.
Ulifeline.org
is a program offered by the Jed Foundation,
which was created by Phil and Donna Satow.
The foundation was started after the Satow's
20-year-old son Jed took his life by hanging
himself. Many of the young man's friends
were not aware of the warning signs that
he was providing, and they pushed for the
Internet site to be created.
According
to Dr. Fiebert, suicidal thoughts are not
uncommon. They usually occur during
times of stress or illness. Suicide
is also more common in young adults because
many are separating themselves from their
families and learning to live alone.
This can cause feelings of worthlessness,
loneliness and hopelessness.
In
addition to the counseling available on
the Internet, the Counseling and Psychological
Services Center at CSULB can also provide
a number of options for students contemplating
suicide. The center also offers counseling
for students who may be struggling with
a variety of issues in their lives. The
office is located in Brotman Hall-226.
The center can also be reached by phone
at (562) 985-4001.
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