UIS Students Raise Awareness About College Mental Health

Dozens of backpacks hung on display in the quad at the University of Illinois Springfield on Monday, September 25.

Each backpack had pieces of paper attached to it, which shared the story of someone's experience with suicide. Some of them were written by family members after they lost a loved one to suicide, others were written by those who attempted to take their own life. 

"It just really speaks to how impactful and how relatable mental health issues are on college campuses," said Professor Frances Shem, who is also the faculty advisor for the Active Minds chapter on campus, who organized the event. "Oftentimes you don't necessarily realize that people are struggling with mental health issues. They may seem like they're doing very well and very put together on the outside."

The backpacks came from a national campaign run by the national non-profit Active Minds. Student organizers say this exhibit is worthwhile to help their classmates feel more comfortable addressing their mental health concerns. 

"The hope is just to get more people involved in speaking up about the mental health issues we deal with on a daily basis," said TJ Fields, the Coordinator for the Send Silence Packing Tour. "If you affect one person that's affecting the whole community, you can touch a lot of people."

While UIS students hosted a different version of Sending Silence Packing last year, a new addition this year was a Hope Wall, which asked students to write encouragement for their fellow students. The goal was to help students leave the event feel supported and positive about the future.

"If somebody goes through the entire exhibit and gets absolutely nothing out of it, but they go to the Hope Wall and see encouragement written out and say that to a friend who is struggling, then I see that as a success because it’s a stepping stone for that one person," said Pavani Unnam the Co-president of the Active Minds chapter at UIS. 

Student volunteers and members of the on-campus counseling team were present to talk to students about mental health, and offer resources for future issues.

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