Warning: The following article contains mention of suicide and depression.
Dear Emory University,
How dare you. How dare you overlook your students. How dare you be blind to their struggles. How dare you cheaply refuse to provide adequate mental health resources when students pay thousands of dollars in tuition to receive them. How dare you hide the truth from your students.
As a student of Emory University, I have seen the harrowing fight for mental health help. I have experienced the two month waiting period to get treatment by the school’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). I was one of the lucky ones who got help quickly because of my numerous emails, calls and my unfortunate family history with suicide. But even those eight visits at CAPS or the resources from TimelyCare are not enough for many students. I was one of the lucky ones who recovered. However, I believe it is simultaneously unrealistic and unfair that students who are already drowning in responsibilities, anxiety and possibly fighting for their life to jump through all of the hurdles to find treatment. With my support network, I was able to get help. Sadly, not everyone has that support or feels comfortable reaching out to their support. Often, individuals simply feel like a burden to their support, so they refuse to ask for help. I am angry at you, Emory. I am angry that I have had to struggle and I am angry that I have to watch my friends wait for help.
My heart has stopped for each tragedy that has happened on Emory’s campuses. But I know my pain cannot compare to those of their close friends. The pain their families must feel is unfathomable to me.
I understand that Emory respects the privacy of families when tragedies occur. But it angers me that they continuously do nothing to give notice to the general student body of the occurrences and give no time for students to process the losses. Without a general notice from the school, rumors spread like wildfire, sensationalizing the losses of fellow students. This deeply angers me. As someone who has had rumors spread about the death of a family member and a friend, a tragedy should never be a source of speculation and gossip. It angers me that Emory does not say anything, allowing more pain to be inflicted upon those who are already in pain. As a message to my fellow students, I beg that you do not spread these tragedies around like gossip.
Emory, I demand that you apologize for your inability to act sooner. I demand that you make changes to your mental health resources. I demand that you change CAPS and hire more therapists and psychiatrists so that more students can get help sooner. I demand that you change policy, that you provide more than eight therapy sessions per student per year. Finally, I demand that you are more open about events that happen on both of Emory’s campuses so that students can push for change. These tragedies are something that should never happen in our home and you need to make changes so students feel empowered to get help before it’s too late.
My love and support go to those recovering and processing from the recent events.
Yours truly,
Lexy
Lexy Campbell (24C) is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 1-800-273-8255.
Crisis Text Line is a texting service for emotional crisis support. To speak with a trained listener, text HELLO to 741741. It is free, available 24/7, and confidential.
Lexy Campbell (24C) is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, majoring in biology and minoring in professional writing. She is passionate about women's health, mental health and speaking up for change. She is involved in Emory Red Cross, Bread Emory, and research.
