University Park on Eastern Michigan University’s campus was set aglow Monday night by rows and rows of decorated mason jars with small candles placed inside as part of The Light That Unites, an event put on by the Stigma and Fear End Now campaign. The colorful jars, each one decorated by
an EMU student, was intended as a tangible reminder of a life that was lost.
SAFE Now is a student-led campaign seeking to change the way students view people experiencing suicidal thoughts or other forms of mental illness. The campaign, which kicked off in February, was created by public relations major Malaika Bass and nursing-intent major Bryan Michalowski, and has received support from EMU’s Wellness Center.
Only in its first year, The Light That Unites managed a sizable turnout, with students dropping by Big Bob’s Lake House over the span of several hours to adorn their own mason jar with translucent paper, glitter and markers. Among the participants were several members of Greek organizations.
“I think it turned out absolutely wonderfully,” Michalowski said. “Even though we didn’t have a big crowd of people outside, we had a lot of people who had so much fun making jars, and people were coming and going and it looks beautiful.”
Bass mentioned the event had taken on several forms before the organizers decided on the candlelight mason jars. Scrapped ideas included sky lanterns and lighting up the water tower or lake with green and yellow for suicide prevention and mental health awareness.
“We got a lot of really fun and great designs,” Bass said. “I think people were really able to commemorate their family and friends and lost ones.”
One student participant, senior urban and regional planning major Alexandria Edwards, said,
“People really worked hard on their jars, so I think overall it’s gone really well … It was a really good program to have to raise awareness.”
Isabella Guo, a sophomore early childhood education major who helped plan the event, said, “I really like that so many people are walking by. They’ll come in and make one too. It’s really inspiring and empowering.”
Hailey Huckestein, a political science major, is a resident advisor at Best Residence Hall who worked with SAFE Now to put on the event.
“We kind of wanted to bring awareness to this issue that’s not going away and that we constantly deal with day to day,” Huckestein said.
Suicide.org said the second-leading cause of death among college students is suicide, often due to untreated depression. According to a 2002 study by the American College Health Association, one in 12 college students have made a suicide plan.
In 2010, the ACHA conducted another study, surveying students from 139 campuses. Findings showed nearly 1/3 of respondents said they felt “so depressed it was difficult to function.”
“I know in the past couple of years it personally affected me,” Huckestein said. “I know a few people who have committed suicide, a big number who have tried or attempted to but were unsuccessful.
Just on campus, I know so many people that have personally been affected by suicide, whether it’s friends or family.”
Active Minds, a college mental health organization, said on its website, “College students are at high risk for developing mental illness, as many illnesses first present at the college age. Pair that with the high-stress environment of college life and the fact that many young adults are on their own for the first time, and students are especially vulnerable to developing problems with their mental health.”
The campaign hopes to team up with other on-campus organizations to help raise awareness for the issue. The Illinois Department of Public Health created a pamphlet on the relationship between college life and suicide, and said colleges need to actively address the many-faceted problem of suicide on a campus-wide scale beyond just a counseling center.
SAFE Now plans to hold another event in the vein of The Light That Unites next year, hoping to make next year’s event bigger and better. Hucklestein hopes it will become an annual event, possibly incorporating a speaker in the future.
“It’s something that needs more attention because it’s just so tragic and heartbreaking, and it’s something that can be helped,” Huckestein said. “I’m sick of standing by and watching these tragedies happen to people I love.”
If you or somebody you know is considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
