Earlier this week, Active Minds held its first-ever End the Silence Suicide Campaign on the West Quad.
Active Minds is a national organization that focuses on raising awareness about mental health issues and mental illnesses. The organization provides students with information about campus and community resources that could help with any mental health issues.
Last Monday and Tuesday, students working with the organization displayed 1,100 diplomas on the West Quad from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The 1,100 diplomas represented the 1,100 college students nationwide who commit suicide each year. Students were encouraged to stop and reflect on these issues with the organization.
“It’s more of a visual representation that we all can speak about and [use to] just reflect on the large number of students who take their lives,” said Anum Idris, a member of the External Affairs Commission.
Members of Active Minds said they intend to break down the stigma of mental illness through events such as the End the Silence campaign. In addition to making this an annual event, the organization plans to attend and organize other events such as Operation Beautiful, an eating disorder awareness campaign, and has been working on developing a mental health curriculum for middle school students in Davis.
Photos by Johnny Ma.
