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My friend Francine’s daughter, who attends Columbia University, received a disturbing e-mail from the Dean of Columbia College on December 5. The note said one of Columbia’s students, Joshua Villa, had passed away. There was sadness in the note, mention that campus administrators had been in contact with Joshua’s family to provide support, and acknowledgement that, when a community loses a member, all are affected by the loss. All were encouraged to rely on one another and on university resources. Phone numbers of the Counseling and Psychological Services staff were provided. Francine received a similar e-mail from the Executive Director of Columbia’s Family Engagement Office.
But there was no mention of the cause of Joshua’s death in either e-mail.
Francine, seeking to support her daughter during this difficult time, wondered what had caused Joshua’s death. If it were meningitis, Francine would have warned her daughter that, if she were to develop a sudden high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, vomiting, or sensitivity to light, she should seek immediate medical attention. If it were alcohol poisoning, Francine would have reminded her daughter that binge drinking is dangerous.
It didn’t take Francine long to find a New York Post article reporting Joshua Villa had died in his dorm bathroom, asphyxiated by the bag he’d put on his head. On Twitter, shortly before he committed suicide, Joshua had posted soul-wrenching Tweets about feeling irrelevant and questioning growth.
Why wasn’t Columbia clear about Joshua’s cause of death? I’ll bet if Joshua had died of meningitis, the university e-mails would have said so. Columbia probably would have mentioned symptoms students should be aware of and advised parents about what students should do if they experienced the symptoms. Maybe the communications would have even included a link so that parents could learn more about meningitis.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, approximately one million people attempt suicide each year.1 In 2010, the most recent year for which data exist, 38,364 Americans took their own lives; that’s one suicide every 13.7 minutes. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death among all Americans and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center claims that suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students2.
Each year more than 1,000 students commit suicide on college campuses.
Risk factors for suicide are known. 90% of people who die by suicide have a potentially treatable mental disorder at the time of their death—a disorder often unrecognized and untreated. More often than not, it is untreated depression. Other risk factors include a previous suicide attempt, family history of attempted or completed suicide, history of trauma or abuse, and chronic pain or a serious medical condition. Stressors such as losing someone close, financial loss, trouble with the law, and bullying can make people susceptible to suicide.
Like Joshua, people who die by suicide usually show some indication of immediate risk before their deaths. Warning signs of suicide include feeling hopeless, trapped, desperate, humiliated, and losing interest in things. Some people develop insomnia, isolate themselves from family and friends, and become irritable. Joshua had broadcast his plea for help on Twitter.
Columbia missed a very important learning opportunity. Suicide is only one aspect of a larger mental health problem on our college campuses. The American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment found that 60.5% of college students “felt very sad” and 30.3% “felt so depressed that it was difficult to function” at least once in the prior 12 months.3 The survey also found that, even though most campuses provide low-cost or free mental health services to their students, many students do not ask for help. Most students who are depressed are not in treatment, and most students who die by suicide had not been clients of the counseling center.4
I understand why Columbia omitted mention of the cause of Joshua’s death. Perhaps they wanted to spare Joshua’s family more heartache. It’s difficult for most people to talk about suicide. My mother committed suicide when I was a senior in college. For more than 40 years, I told friends that she’d died in a car accident.
But by hiding Joshua’s cause of death, the university added to the stigma of suicide and mental illness. And it failed to enable caring parents like Francine to support their grieving children.
Columbia was right, however, that when a community loses a member, all are affected by the loss. Joshua’s death deserved more respect.
- https://www.afsp.org/understanding-suicide
- http://www.sprc.org/collegesanduniversities/campus-data/prevalence
- http://www.acha-ncha.org/docs/ACHA-NCHA-II_ReferenceGroup_ExecutiveSummary_Fall2011.pdf
- Gallagher, R.P. (2004-2012) National Survey for Counseling Center Directors. Arlington, VA: International Association of Counseling Services.
