Stress takes toll on college students

Rose Pulido

The Signal

Colton J. Tooley, a University of Texas at Austin sophomore, opened fire with an AK-47 Sept. 28 before killing himself in the Perry-Castaneda Library.  Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students.  Leaving family, friends and the community stunned, Tooley’s death contributed to that statistic.

“It is believed that more than 1,100 college students die by suicide each and every year,” said Alison Malmon, founder and executive director of Active Minds, Inc, an organization dedicated to mental health on college campuses.  “Mental health issues are some of the toughest to acknowledge – it’s hard to know when we’re not feeling right, and often even harder to admit it when we are.”

The JED Foundation, which advocates reducing the suicide rate amongst college students and bringing awareness to mental health issues on campus, released several statistics concerning college students and stress on its website, www.jedfoundation.org, including that 53 percent of students felt stressed to the point where they refused to hang out with their friends on one or more occasions.

Social withdrawal is a symptom of the effects of stress some college students may experience.  Other symptoms may include, but are not limited to, anxiety, worrying, sleep problems, aggression, changes in eating habits and inability to concentrate.

If any student is suffering from one or more of these symptoms, there are licensed counselors and psychologists available in the UHCL Office of Career and Counseling Services who will work with students regarding their issues.

“Our ultimate goal is to try to help students succeed with their career goals or their academic goals and graduate,” said Betty Brown, counselor and testing coordinator.  “That’s kind of the idea that we’re trying to address, whatever’s interfering with a student’s success.”

Students who choose not to seek help when they begin to experience symptoms of stress run the risk of having those symptoms evolve into something more serious.

“As soon as you feel sad, or upset, or otherwise not yourself, talk to someone about it,” Malmon said.  “Seek counseling from the counseling center; let your friends know how you’re feeling.  Let others support you and know that there is always hope.”

Tooley’s family said they did not know he was depressed or have any indication that he may have been contemplating suicide.  No students were injured or killed during Tooley’s attack; however, other campus shooters have succeeded in taking multiple lives before killing themselves.

UHCL has a Crisis Awareness Response Emergency team that consists of staff from the University Police Department, Office of Student Life, Intercultural and International Student Services and Counseling Services.  This team was created as a source of contact for anyone on campus who has witnessed unusual behavior or is concerned for any individual.

“If you think there is a student in crisis, whether it is a student or staff member who thinks so, they can submit that [as a referral],” said UHCL Police Chief Paul Willingham.  “We will review the situation and, hopefully, talk to the people that are around that student, do some investigative work to see whether or not that student is indeed in some sort of crisis or if there is some other issue involved there.”

There is a link and a phone number on the UPD and office of the Dean of Students website for the CARE team, where an anonymous referral can be submitted.

“It’s not for creating problems for someone,” said Interim Dean of Students David Rachita.  “It’s about being concerned.”

UPD also offers an Active Shooter/Critical Incident survival class to faculty, staff and student groups who are interested.  The class consists of a training video, classroom instructions and discussions and concludes with a question and answer session.

There is also an active shooter incident survival video on the UPD website.  For scheduling information regarding the survival class, contact Detective Allen Hill at 281-283-2224 or e-mail him at HillJr@uhcl.edu.

“You are more likely to be assaulted in the parking lot of your local grocery store than you are on a university campus,” Willingham said.  “The likelihood of a gun assault on a student or anybody is still very minimal at this point, despite the media coverage.”