Sad News

Over the past year, students have taken to The Crimson, email chains, websites, and the campus’ grounds to discuss what can be done to address Harvard’s suicide rate and to improve the state of our community’s mental health more broadly. As we close this academic year—one in which students received three "Sad News" emails from administrators about the deaths of undergraduates, including one that said the death was a suicide—it is important to look back on our conversations and think about how we can formulate goals for the future of mental health at Harvard.

In our discussions, there is agreement that feelings of isolation and inadequacy among undergraduates must be addressed, as these sentiments are causes not only of suicide, but also of eating disorders, anxiety, self-injury, and other seemingly insurmountable obstacles. While acknowledgement of the issue is an important first step, the real question remains: How do we better shape our community to confront these underlying sentiments? There are two avenues through which we can approach the problem: institutional changes and cultural changes.

Much of the debate over the past two semesters has focused on institutional changes. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that Harvard already has an incredible array of mental health resources available to students. With Harvard Mental Health Services, the Bureau of Study Counsel, The Center for Wellness, five peer counseling groups, 35 chaplains, the Office of BGLTQ Student Life, proctors, PAFs, tutors, and numerous other mental health resources, it is difficult to argue that Harvard has not made efforts to support its students. However, Harvard can continue to improve.

There are important fixes that can be made to Harvard’s mental health system to facilitate the recovery of struggling students. Harvard should improve the continuity of care for students after they have been seen for mental health emergencies and increase the dialogue with students taking mental health-related leaves of absence. Additionally, it is imperative to acknowledge that students’ sophomore, junior, and senior years can be just as challenging as freshman year. Systemic changes can then be made to provide upperclassmen with resources similar to the Freshman Dean’s Office, proctors, and PAF system.

In a college environment where the student body experiences a complete turnover every four years, it is easy to believe that institutional reforms are the only changes necessary. Nevertheless, in order to improve mental health at Harvard, institutional changes are not the only avenue we must pursue.

Reshaping the way that Harvard students talk (or rather, do not talk) about mental health is a task that is too often overlooked. Admitting that one is not fine and is struggling goes against everything that has been engrained in the Harvard student. While cultural changes take time and are not as readily implemented as institutional initiatives, they are just as important.

Throughout the semester, in The Crimson and on HarvardSpeaksUp.com, we have seen powerful stories of individuals who have struggled with mental health obstacles. The stories have been published as a movement to create more open conversations and to demonstrate that the Harvard façade of perfection is not a reality. These messages are encouraging signs that openness is possible.

Façades have been constructed and mental health has become a stigmatized topic partly because of an assumption that mental health issues originate when one’s brain—the organ that gives us identity—is permanently malfunctioning. But, by creating a community where students and faculty are willing to say, “I struggled with a mental health concern, but I took steps to work through it, and I’m gradually getting better,” our community begins to break down the aura of permanence and build hope. For some students, recovery is slow and may include relapses. To aid in the process, students may prefer to speak with a mental health counselor rather than a friend, or with a parent rather than a proctor. Regardless of the path, by normalizing mental health concerns and saying that “it does get better,” we build an understanding that individuals throughout our community—from freshmen to tenured professors— struggle.

It is a sobering reality that suicide will always be a part of our society, but this fact should not hinder our efforts to shape a college community that looks to address the root of suicide and other mental health concerns. Conversations between administrators and students during the past year have highlighted the need to foster both an institution that is more attentive to the needs of its students and a student body that encourages an open dialogue about mental health and views struggling as conquerable. By focusing on these two goals, we can continue to build a community that cares for its members as they inevitably encounter mental health challenges during their college experiences.

Seth H. Cassel ’13, former co-president of Harvard’s Student Mental Health Liaisons, lives in Leverett House.