Colorado College students call for change amid 3 student deaths in recent months

Oct. 13—Anger, sadness and "general unwellness" have created an undertone of tension on the Colorado College campus in Colorado Springs, which has lost three students in less than six months.

Two confirmed suicides happened in April and in May, on the last day of school. A third student died a few weeks ago, with the cause not yet determined, Dean of Students Rochelle T. Dickey said Thursday.

"It's just really devastating, certainly to the families, to the friends and for our campus," she said.

Two of the deaths occurred on campus; the third while the student was at home, she said.

The number is high for such a short period of time and unusual for the small liberal arts campus that has about 2,100 students, Dickey said.

"We've definitely seen an uptick," she said, adding that other colleges and universities also are posting increases.

Two students at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill took their lives within a 48-hour period at school in the fall of 2021, and Saint Louis University, Dartmouth College and West Virginia University reported losing multiple students to suicide during the pandemic.

Nationwide, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for people ages 10-34, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The trend is continuing.

El Paso County has recorded 15 deaths by suicide in the 18- to 24-year-old age group to date this year, compared with 17 total for 2021, said Dr. Leon Kelly, El Paso County coroner and chief medical examiner.

Stressors for the age group include difficulty transitioning into adulthood, lack of purpose or meaning in their lives, substance abuse, intimate partner issues and legal troubles, he said.

"Many are carrying those same emotional challenges they had as older kids in school into their early adult years," Kelly said. "That's a very tough period for folks who don't have a support system or who don't engage the support system they have — which is likely to be the case in high-achieving kids who complete suicide."

A large group of Black, Brown and White students are rallying for change, three students said Thursday after classes.

Because while they can't exactly point the finger at the college, which is known as being as expensive and academically rigorous as Ivy League schools, they say administrators aren't paying enough attention or spending enough money on students' mental health, which they say has worsened to a critical point.

"There have been concerns about student mental health and safety for years because there is a lot of pressure and anxiety," said Eve Stewart, a junior studying sociology.

Students petitioned for a day of bereavement in the spring but only received a 45-minute pause to process the suicides, she said. A few weeks ago, they didn't know for hours which student had died.

"I mentally ran through all of the people I knew who were struggling, and then I went back to my paper," Stewart said. "It seems like us creating the grades that gives CC its elitist status as an institution is more important than our wellness."

The student newspaper, the Catalyst, published three and a half blank pages and a half-page explanation in its Oct. 7 edition. Editors wanted to give staff time off to deal with the "emotionally draining and psychologically taxing" period.

Some students blame the block plan, a schedule in which students dive deeply into one class for three-and-a half weeks, get a four-and-a-half day break and do it all over.

"Everyone has a complex life," Stewart said. "We can't sit here and say CC is the reason those people passed, but we definitely have the belief that CC, particularly the block plan, exacerbates a lot of stress and creates greater pressure and anxiety."

Said Kat Falacienski, a sophomore English major, "We are essentially encouraged to push through it."

When finals happen every month at the end of a block, "it's normal to be crying all the time and not sleeping," said senior Samantha "Sammy" Ries, who's on a pre-med track.

Studies conducted by the campus Wellness Resource Center showed that 16% of students had "seriously considered suicide" in the past 12 months and 41% had "developed a plan."

Also, 13% of students said they had experienced "unwanted sexual contact," which students identified as another problem contributing to mental imbalance among their peers.

Ries said two of her friends had been raped, and the alleged attacker remains on campus attending classes. Stewart also said she had been sexually assaulted as a freshman and was scared to walk to her dorm the rest of the year. A Title 9 complaint resulted in "consent training" for her assailant, she said.

Nearly 900 students, parents and alumni had signed a petition as of Thursday, calling for a study of the block plan's effects on mental health.

The college has used the block plan as a distinguishing factor for 51 years. As it stands, the model that essentially condenses a class that normally lasts an entire semester into less than one month of study is so demanding of time that students must choose between academic success and attending to mental health, having a social life and on some days, even taking a break to eat, Ries said.

The group of students demanding change has grown to 450 supporters, nearly one-fourth of the campus population.

The group issued a list of 10 problems they want changed, including that students can take at least one absence for a mental health day without penalty, the campus develop an anonymous reporting line for unsafe classroom environments and that there be a team added to support survivors on campus.

Dickey agrees there's work to be done and says upgrades are underway.

"There's always room for improvement, and we want to do better," she said.

The campus has several suicide-prevention programs in place, she said, peer-support, training on bystander intervention and a course on Mental Health First Aid, a national program that teaches skills to respond to signs of mental illness and substance use.

Administrators are talking about forming a task force on mental health, which would include students, parents, staff and alumni, Dickey said. College officials also are looking at implementing mandatory mental health training, one of the students' requests.

The school is working on earning a Healthy Minds designation in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Higher Education, Dickey said. The standing requires schools to complete 10 mental health services and training programs.

Colorado College also likely will join the Suicide Prevention Collaborative for El Paso County, she said.

"There are things we can do internally, and there are some helpful partnerships we can employ as well," she said. "This is something our whole community has to be engaged in."

Post-pandemic, college-age adults are reporting increased anxiety and attention and concentration problems, said Amy Garcia, a licensed professional counselor with Thriveworks in Colorado Springs.

The latter can spark feelings of persistent irritability, which can lead to a lack of motivation, social isolation or low moods, she said.

"These young adults were entering a transitional period in their lives — not only in their roles but their personality building — and were taken away from social interaction, influence and experiences that help them gain self-awareness during that transition," she said.

Connecting the body and mind in a holistic way can help, Garcia said. Individual therapy, campus groups and call lines also are available.

"The most important thing for these young individuals to remember is that they are not alone in this," she said. "There are so many others their age that are struggling after the pandemic or became more aware of how much they were struggling during it."