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There are roughly eight suicides per 100,000 college students ormore than 1,000 suicides of college students in the U.S. annually,a study by the American College Health Association (ACHA)estimates. Another study co-sponsored by the National Mental HealthAssociation and the Jed Foundation said suicide is thesecond-leading cause of death among 20 to 24-year-olds. It alsoshows more teenagers and young adults die from suicide than fromall medical illnesses combined. With suicide rates as elevated as they are in the range ofcollege-aged students, colleges and universities are trying theirbest to diminish this increasing trend. Right now a lot of what we re doing is awareness building, said Ted Winkworth, the AOD Coordinator for the Lifestyle sCenter. On the Oswego State campus, students needing someone to talk to canfind refuge in many places including Mary Walker Health Center, theLifestyle s Center, the Counseling Services Center, UniversityPolice, Resident Assistants, or attend one of the programs andevents on campus that deal with awareness. While (the Lifestyle s Center) does not offer direct services,we feel that our job is to help students understand the realitiesof depression and suicide and do our part to make it less of ataboo thing to talk about, Winkworth said. When students need someone on campus to talk to about their mentalhealth, they can go to the Counseling Services Center. It is a freeservice offered by the university that allows students to talk withprofessional counselors about anything students want to talk about. They are the ones who interact with students one on one and helpthem get the help they need if they are suffering fromdepression, Winkworth said. They also offer occasional programs such as a Zen MeditationWorkshop every Thursday between Feb. 23 and April 26, from 7 to 8p.m. in room 205 in the Campus Center. Resident Assistants are also trained to be able to discussanything, including thoughts of suicide. Anthony Smith has been aResident Assistant at both Tompkins Cortland Community College andOswego State and he believes that he is able to deal with someoneexperiencing suicidal thoughts. No one is adequately trained to deal with someone who iscontemplating suicide, Smith said. However, being in a positionlike that of an R.A. gives you a better idea of how to handle thatsort of situation. He said that dealing with suicidal residents is a major part ofR.A. training, specifically learning how to determine if someone isdepressed or suicidal, how to hold a conversation when talking withsomeone who may be contemplating taking their life, and how to notbe afraid to ask the pivotal question, do you want to take yourown life? I did have a resident who was suicidal once, Smith said. Onone occasion she got severely intoxicated and took a knife into thebathroom and locked herself in. On other occasions she would try tooverdose on pills. I just talked to her and tried to convince herto relax and once she started talking I was able to ask her thatimportant question. She responded right now I do. I called theauthorities and U.P. was able to set her up with a psychologist ata hospital. With suicide being at least as common a potential problem as anyother campus issue, some Oswego State students are doing their bestto curb this growing trend. Active Minds, Inc. is a nationalorganization whose aim is to utilize the student voice to changethe conversation about mental health on college campuses. JoMolascon and Melanie Hoffman are the co-presidents of the OswegoChapter and they put their time aside on Quest Day to sponsor anevent called Send Silence Packing. The program placed 1,100backpacks and personal stories around the quad area of centralcampus to represent the 1,100 college students who commit suicideeach year. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Gas Cutting Machine Manufacturer , China Auto Darkening Welding Helmet, and more. For more , please visit Portable Electrode Oven today!
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