Texas Senate Bill 1624 took effect yesterday, requiring all incoming students at Texas academic institutions to receive information regarding mental health and suicide prevention services. The passage of SB 1624 can be attributed to the parents of Lee Walker, a student who died by suicide at UT in 2014.
The University must use this bill as the beginning of a new approach to advertising the mental health and suicide prevention services on campus. The best way for the University to fulfill this requirement is to host town hall-style gatherings at orientation, mediated by suicide prevention experts. The goal would be to teach students how to recognize signs of depression or suicidal ideation in themselves or others as well as to highlight the abundant University resources available.
A town hall-style approach to suicide awareness is important because it would establish a comfortable environment for students to talk about a difficult subject. It would also allow students to participate in the discussion, ensuring the message is received. Hosting these presentations at orientation would introduce the discussion to students before they are engulfed in the nerve-wracking first semester of their college careers.
[For more of this story go to https://www.dailytexanonline.c...l-health-on-campuses]
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