It’s the kind of stuff no one wants to talk about — which isexactly why we thought it needed to be.
When The Daily undertook its seven-part mental-health series,our goal was to shed light on a topic that is frequently areignored or denied, both at Northwestern and elsewhere. Some of ourstories were harsh, others were uplifting — but we presented themall as honestly as we could.
We credit our sources with making that possible. Without theirwillingness to share their most vulnerable moments, the serieswould not have been possible. Their stories were both refreshingand inspiring, and we thank them for trusting us to tell them.
The Daily consciously avoided the use of anonymous sources inthis series. These topics are sensitive precisely because of thesocial stigma attached to them, but providing names and identitiesis an important step in removing that social stigma — andultimately helping more people.
The people you read about this week have no reason to be ashamedof their lives, and we’re grateful they agreed to let us printtheir names.
Now that these stories have been told, students andadministrators must make use of them — by improving the waymental-health issues are addressed at NU. Counseling andPsychological Services is consistently flooded with studentsseeking help, but they still are severely understaffed. Changingthat needs to be a top budget priority, because clearly studentswant — and need — to take advantage of the service. Whenimplementing these changes, administrators should also seek studentinput. Students know best what changes are truly needed.
And students too can take responsibility for bettering themental-health community at NU — some possibilities includecreating peer counseling groups or a crisis phone line. Thesimplest solution is to make small but conscious efforts to connecton an individual level — talking to a hallmate, noticing when afriend seems sad. These efforts will make the real difference inthe long run.
For one week students courageously told their stories on thepages of The Daily. We hope students will continue to share theirstories — but from now on, with each other.
