SUICIDE on CAMPUS

By MATTHEW GWIN

Hagadone News Network

Very few events compare to the pain felt by family, friends and the greater community in the wake of a suicide.

The Inland Northwest has seen firsthand these tragic circumstances play out in recent weeks after Washington State University quarterback Tyler Hilinski took his own life on Jan. 16.

Hilinski’s friend and teammate, former WSU quarterback Luke Falk, offered some thoughtful and touching comments on the subject at his Senior Bowl media day Tuesday in Mobile, Ala.

“I think Tyler and I are going to be tied forever now,” Falk said. “I think that we really need to do something about [suicide]. I want to be a guy that has something to do with it.”

But what steps do universities take in the aftermath, and in their daily operations, to educate students on mental health and suicide prevention?

According to an Associated Press report, more than half of the nation’s 100 largest public universities do not track student suicides.

A variety of factors — including unclear cause of death, legal liability, and respect for family privacy — make it difficult for universities to keep concrete figures on the matter.

Officials at North Idaho College and Lewis-Clark State College pointed to these same reasons as to why they do not officially track student suicides.

According to Doug Steele, director of student counseling, student health and disability services at Lewis-Clark, the college remains aware of student suicides and hasn’t experienced one in some time.

“We obviously are more aware of students who die by suicide,” Steele wrote in an email. “Fortunately we haven’t had any currently enrolled students die by suicide that we are aware of for many years.”

Steele added that LCSC provides anxiety and depression screening to all students seeking health or counseling services, regardless of the reason for their visit.

Tim Gerlitz, the director of student disability and health services at NIC, pointed to the many stressors college students face as triggers that can negatively affect their mental health.

“The pressure of good grades, acclimating to a new college culture, and trying to balance competing priorities can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed,” Gerlitz wrote in an email.

Gerlitz said the licensed therapist at NIC provides services to more than 600 students each year. He also said NIC refers students to several community resources, including the 24-hour crisis center and Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline.

Unlike LCSC and NIC, the University of Idaho has information about all on-campus suicides going back many years, according to Greg Lambeth, director of the testing and counseling center at the university.

Lambeth said four Idaho students had completed suicide in the last 18 months, which he said was a very high number. However, he also noted that there had previously been a lengthy interval without any student suicides at the university.

After an on-campus suicide, Lambeth said, the university takes extensive measures toward education and prevention.

That includes a reporting system called Vandalcare, where concerned students can file a report about a friend or classmate they think may be suicidal.

“Programs like [Vandalcare] broaden suicide prevention to a community-wide concern and responsibility,” Lambeth said. “We know not everyone who should will seek services, so it’s important for our prevention to be broad.”

Lambeth said he was working on a longer-term project on how to engage young men in help-seeking behaviors.

He noted that men are much less likely to seek mental health services even though roughly 80 percent of completed suicides among people age 18-25 are men.

Of course, suicide is a problem outside college campuses, too. In fact, university students actually have lower rates of suicide compared to people in the same age range who aren’t enrolled at a college.

In Idaho, 21.4 people per 100,000 completed suicide in 2016, giving the state the sixth-highest rate in the country.

Lora Whalen, the Region 1 chapter co-chair of the Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) of Idaho, said there were 42 completed suicides in Kootenai County in 2015, but the number dropped to 18 in 2016.

She added that 50 percent of suicides in North Idaho involve a firearm. Idaho averaged 228 deaths involving a firearm per year from 2000 to 2016, of which the majority were suicide-related.

Lambeth, who also works as a clinical psychologist, said people who attempt suicide with lethal means — such as a firearm — still may feel conflicted about wanting to end their life.

“There is a lot ambivalence about killing yourself for most people,” Lambeth said. “It’s remarkable how many individuals who have experienced failed suicide attempts are so grateful that they survived.”

As for why Idaho and many western states experience such high rates of suicide — Montana has the highest rate in the country — Lambeth pointed to the rural landscape of the Gem State, the prevalence of firearms and a potential bias against mental health issues.

“In some cases, people have limited access to mental health services,” he said. “Idaho is a large, rural state that values autonomy, and that can affect someone’s willingness to engage in help-seeking behaviors.”

Whalen said SPAN encourages gun owners to keep their firearms locked away, especially in homes with children.

She also advised loved ones to offer to keep a friend’s or family member’s gun if they are showing signs of depression or suicidal tendencies.

Warning signs include talking about wanting to die, suddenly becoming more isolated, purchasing many guns in a short period of time, and stockpiling pills, according to Whalen.

“The key is that loved one or friend who sees first that something is wrong,” she said.

Whalen said the most important preventative measure can be the support and connection provided by a close friend or family member.

“They have to feel like they belong and there’s a reason for them to be there,” she said. “And that’s exactly what you tell them.”

If you or a loved one is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please contact the Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline immediately. The line is operated 24/7 and can be reached at 208-398-4357.