On September 23, a crowd gathered at the clock tower in the middle of the SLU campus. A passerby asked a student, “What’s going on? The student responded quickly: “town hall of mental health”. The passerby nodded knowingly.
The town hall was organized in the administration’s emergency response to the deaths of two SLU students, a freshman and a senior student, nine days apart. Both deaths were suicide cases.
At the City Hall of Mental Health, many students shared their experiences dealing with different mental illnesses. Most felt that they were not supported by SLU faculty and staff. The most alarming reports were from students who had had bad experiences with the University Guidance Center on campus. Long wait times, insensitive comments and insufficient resources were reported.
Some of these testimonies date from the days after the two suicides, but many date back months or even years. Senior Alyssa Cook said she had not felt supported by her university in her mental health journey in years. In an interview with The University News, Cook revealed that starting in the fall of her freshman year, she was feeling depressed and anxious, so she decided to take advantage of the ten free counseling sessions at the University Counseling Center.
“Basically what I was told was that the counseling center didn’t have the tools to help me,” Cook said.
Suggesting that she seek psychiatric help, Cook attempted to make an appointment at the Student Health Center. She was told that the waiting list for the University psychiatrist was extremely long and that she could not get an appointment until December.
After the first tragic death at the University of Saint Louis, students received an email from Sarah Cunningham, Ph.D., vice president of student development, informing the SLU student body of a death on campus . However, many students criticized the administration for its lack of transparency and communication. Members of Active Minds, the mental health awareness group at the University of Saint Louis, felt the hurt community and demanded responses.
“I really feel like the way we got behind in communication was difficult,” said Julia Lansfreick, President of Active Minds. Administratively, Cunningham responded to the difficulty of offering the student body transparency and closure while respecting the wishes of the family. “It’s not uncommon for an institution to work very closely with a family and they are really going to determine how and when and what we share,” Cunningham said.
Administrators, however, say mental health has been and will continue to be at the top of their priority list. SLU President Fred Pestello, Ph.D. echoed this sentiment in a recent interview.
“Mental health is a huge concern, and there has been concern that this is increasingly an issue for our students and on our campuses,” Pestello said.
Cunningham corroborated this statement and shared several different avenues the University is pursuing. A new effort she recently announced was SLU’s partnership with Medical Family Therapy, hosted at SLU’s School of Medicine, to increase the capacity of the college counseling center. Cunningham also noted that she has been trying to assess student wellbeing on campus and allocate different mental wellness resources to the University since she started her job in February 2021.
After the second student suicide on September 20, a petition began circulating among students, family members and the community at large. Signed by more than eight thousand people, the petition called for fourteen free counseling sessions, more highly qualified counselors and an extension of the counseling center opening hours to allow additional accessibility for students.
SLU’s student body has also expressed through social media and emails the need to be absent from class to mourn the loss of the two Billikens. University provost Michael Lewis, Ph.D. canceled all undergraduate courses on Friday, September 24.
“I spoke with students and listened and changed my mind, to be frank,” Lewis said. “This is why you are listening. You don’t listen to hang on. You listen to evolve.
The decision to cancel the course was initially criticized by some members of the SLU community. According to Lewis, parents complained that a lack of structure would make students more isolated and anxious. To try and combat this, the SLU administration has been working to plan an all-day wellness programming, providing a space for students to mourn with each other.
Lewis said: “I would say the intention and the thought that went into continuing classes on Wednesday and Thursday was the idea of programming. And what could we do so that it is not just an empty day for the students. ”
Friday classes were canceled, students were given the opportunity to attend a variety of events including trauma-informed yoga and spend time with therapy dogs.
“It was clear from what we saw on Friday that a lot, a lot of students didn’t want an empty day and they enjoyed what happened. [the programming]”Lewis said.
Yet the SLU community is and will continue to mourn the devastating loss of two young students. Students and administrators focused on resources for those struggling to cope, both with these tragedies and in general.
“Now is the time to raise your hand and ask questions if you see your friends acting in a different way, or maybe presenting themselves in a different way,” Cunningham said. “This is the time to be intrusive, to occupy someone and ask them how they are doing. “
