Trigger warning: This article may be disturbing to some as it mentions death and suicide.
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RALEIGH, N.C. — Since the start of the academic year, eight students have died at North Carolina State University.
Five of the eight deaths were suicides, and two of the eight occurred in the past two weeks.
Senior Leo Coronado said that he feels ashamed of how NCSU is handling the situation.
“I don’t see any change in our current system,” he said. “And clearly things aren’t changing, because of the cases we’ve seen this past year.”
The recent deaths have raised questions about the university’s support of students’ mental health. In a 2021 report, UNC System leaders found that its campuses faced challenges like insufficient funding and being understaffed on the mental health front.
The report established solutions to address these kinds of problems. Following the report, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper gave the school system five million dollars in state funding to address its shortcomings.
But some students feel that—two years out from the report—that there still isn’t enough support.
“We can’t just simply take another wellness day, or just an email saying, ‘we’re sorry that this happened,’ Coronado said. “This is not what’s supposed to happen. It’s just super unfortunate, and it’s very angering, to say the least. I don’t think enough is being done.”
The problem extends beyond NCSU. Appalachian State University sophomore and residential advisor Izzy Rivera said that she doesn’t feel like the school adequately informs students of the services that are available to them.
“During freshman year, they make you go through this thing where you actually learn about the services we have, but they do not go in depth,” she said. “I feel like they’re very broad. So then it just feels like all of our money is wasted, or they’re not doing the best.”
Last week, Cooper’s office announced an additional 7.7 million dollars in federal funding towards new mental health initiatives and strengthening past ones, like a 24/7 crisis line, grants for off-campus referrals for mental health treatment, and peer support programs.
Rivera said that she would like to see the money go towards more free counseling sessions.
“I feel like now is the time in our lives where we need more support,” she said.
Coronado said he would like to see real action taken beyond wellness days.
“How the Chancellor and the school officials responded to these deaths is abysmal,” he said. “Having an extra wellness day does nothing but remind us that a young student’s death has only resulted in a free day to reflect on how poorly academic institutions are handling this mental health crisis.”