Adam Harvey writes:
One UK student dies by suicide every four days and UEA has seen several student deaths this year, all of which have affected UEA as a community, and all of which are unacceptable. Each time the university releases an identically robotic statement, but nothing practical is being done to change the inadequate mental health provisions available for students. There are too few counsellors and ridiculous waiting times, sometimes over a month long – which is unacceptable for students having a crisis.
The Uni needs to do better.
Student suicide rates have increased by 52% since 2000/01.
One half of students who have experienced mental health difficulties during their time at university do not receive any therapeutic support, adjustments to course assessment, or other forms of academic/mental health support.
Suicide is the most common cause of death for men aged 20-49 in England and wales – a bigger killer than cancer.
The Uni needs to do better.
Better education on warning signs and self-care. Better counselling provisions. Better wait times. Better awareness campaigns. Better removal of stigma.
There have been enough tragedies this year. The Uni needs to finally start taking more active measures to prevent even more.
Hiring additional counsellors is, at this point, essential to begin making progress towards a mentally healthier student body at UEA; however this won’t solve everything. Awareness of mental health issues is still low, and many students are unaware of how they can manifest themselves.
Increasing awareness through things like posters around campus and “awareness lectures” given to students at the beginning of the year would increase education of the topic at UEA, as well as reducing the stigma around mental health. This is essential as some students aren’t even comfortable enough to bring up the topic of their mental health, let alone seek help for it.
The Uni needs to do better.
Please sign the petition for UEA to directly address the mental health crisis.
Click on the image below to sign the petition:
