University execs checking students’ mental health
SUICIDE CONCERNS
Top officials from an Ontario university took the unusual step of going door- to- door at campus residences three nights this week to check on the mental health of students.
It has been a trying time at the University of Guelph, where four students have killed themselves since the academic year began last fall, with the latest suicide occurring in January. Two of those deaths occurred in campus residences, where the majority of first-year students live.
In the aftermath of the suicides, the university’s Residence Life team, which runs the school’s on-campus housing, decided to dust off an old program in which faculty members join their staff, go door-to-door to check on students’ health and hand out information on various supports available.
“Any time there’s a tragic event, you sit back and you want to figure out how to provide more support and resources and whatever else can we do,” said Patrick Kelly, an associate director of Residence Life who helped organize the initiative that was last used about seven years ago.
The school’s president, Franco Vaccarino, and provost Charlotte Yates, were among the 80 people who knocked on doors this week. The group also included deans, senior faculty members, alumni and students who work at the residences.
“I think it was important for us to say to students we may seem far away, but we deeply care,” Yates said.
“I was j ust really tr ying to make sure they stay healthy — get enough sleep, go to the gym, eat well, that kind of thing. It was about their overall health, but we also want make sure they are keeping track of their mental health too, because it’s all tied together.”
The university had come under fire from students in wake of the suicides. A petition demanded the school do more to support the mental health of students — and saw nearly 3,000 people sign it.
Meghan Wing, who graduated from the school last year and now works with the student association, said students appreciated the visits.
“It’s proof that the university is trying and really wants to improve in any way they can and this is an example of that,” she said.