Active Minds set up close to 1,100 purple flags in the quad to honor those college students who take their life each year.
National Suicide Prevention Week started Sept. 6 and lasts until Sept. 12; however, September is National Suicide Prevention month.
Kelly Carver, a junior psychology and gender studies and diversity double major, is vice president of Active Minds.
Since Carver’s freshman year, she said that Active Minds has been putting up the flags on display to remember those students, although she is not sure how long the tradition started before she arrived.
Active Minds is an organization meant to educate and advocate for mental health. Carver said that they want to create a safe space for people to talk to and to educate on the resources available for students.
“Our goal is the solidarity of it and feeling that we aren’t alone in this,” Carver said.
Remembering those who have taken their life is something that Carver said is important to understand.
“We continue to think how this is a problem bigger than ourselves,” Carver said.
Although the problem may be bigger than oneself, Carver reiterated that nobody should go through the feeling alone.
Carver encouraged students to reach out to the counseling center, if they are feeling any type of way.
If a student is not comfortable talking face-to-face with a counselor, they can engage in Therapy Assist Online (TAO); the service is free to all SRU students and they can create an account with their student email.
“If you’re feeling any sort of way, especially with being isolated right now in quarantine, reach out to anyone you can,” Carver said. “Don’t try to hide it because of your pride.”
For freshman, Carver said that it can be especially difficult to transition from moving away from home and starting a new school system.
“We want to make sure that people have and know the resources, those are posted next to the flags,” Carver said. “It helps people know that they aren’t the only ones experiencing this or have experienced this.”
Active Minds will hold their first meeting Thursday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. on Zoom. All students are welcome to join the meeting.
