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ISSUE 9 of The Sanctuary (13

November 2007) contained

an article documenting the at-

tempted suicide of a Durham

student. Student attacks police 

explicitly outlined the troubled

personal circumstances the stu-

dent was dealing with at the

time, and the possible motiveshe had for attempting to end his

life.

Disturbingly, the focus of the

article was not concern for a fel-

low student who had felt driven

to throw himself into the Wear

for whatever personal reason,

but rather that he had hurled

abuse at police officers. Thevery title of the article clearly

demonstrated that this was not

an exploration of the issue of 

suicide in the university but

rather an account of an abusive

student. The nature of the article

exemplifies a neglect of a much

more disturbing problem.

First and foremost, one should

not overlook the article’s obvi-

ous mistakes. I am curious to

know how the student managed

to appear “at Consett Mag-

istrates’ Court on 6 October,where he pleaded guilty”, and

then go on to attempt to “drown

himself in the River Wear on

a boozy night out on October

16th”.

Perhaps The Sanctuary will be

able to tell me how he has man-

aged to successfully bend the

space-time continuum, so that I

will be able to write my essays

before they have been set.

Furthermore, the photograph

which accompanies the arti-

cle was a highly questionable

choice. It is clear that it was

carefully chosen to reinforce the

paper’s depiction of the student

as a “foul-mouthed” lout.

Suicide and attempted suicide

is an issue which plagues all

universities, Durham being no

exception to the rule. The sui-

cide charity group Papyrus, who

focus mainly on the prevention

of suicide amongst young adultsand teenagers, outline the par-

ticular vulnerability of students

in their campaign.

Papyrus’ publications deal

with the many issues that face

students in their transition to

university and offer support

for coping with problems they

may face. Nationwide, studentsstruggle with difficulties rang-

ing from debt to relationship

troubles and some feel so over-

whelmed that suicide appears to

be the only way to escape their

problems.

The work of NightLine goes

a long way in offering support

for students; however it seems

to me that what lies at the heart

of the issue is an attitude within

the student community of keep-

ing feelings hidden.

University life is hectic, expec-tations are high, and pressure is

exerted from all quarters, in the

form of academic demands as

well as by friends and relatives.

Often the students who have

worked the hardest to achieve

their goals are those who prove

least likely to admit that they

are having trouble managing.

Attention needs to be drawn to

the importance of recognising

the symptoms of mental issues

and promoting suicide preven-

tion for those suffering beyond

their power to cope.

The problem lies not in the

lack of availability of support,

but in the prevailing attitude

towards the subject of mental

health and suicide. Although

help is available from the Uni-

versity for those who directly

need assistance, there is a lesser

emphasis on the importance of 

an awareness of the symptomsof mental health issues in other

people.

Papyrus’ campaign focuses on

providing university staff and

students with information about

recognising the symptoms of 

emotional distress in order to

prevent such issues developing

into serious mental health com-plications.

Durham University is one of 

the few collegiate institutions in

the country; the idea of being a

part of a College should extend

beyond simply being a member

of a sports team and should in-

stead foster a more deep-rooted

sense of community spirit and

mutual support. Every one of us

has an obligation to our fellow

students. I do not insist on be-

friending every person on one’s

corridor; what is more impor-

tant is the ability to understand

the difficulties that others may

be facing and how to help themhelp themselves.

The issues surrounding

suicide resonate particularly

strongly at this time of year. The

holiday season presents many

people with further struggles

owing to financial and family

obligations. For students, spe-

cifically new undergraduates,the holiday time can be difficult

because the winter vacation is

often their first trip home.

Coming home can seem like

an escape from university prob-

lems, making it all the more

difficult to return in the New

Year. Furthermore, many stu-

dents find it difficult to admitany problems they are having to

their parents.

It is a mistake not to confront

the issue head on, as not talking

about suicide only further en-

courages its descent into taboo

and makes it increasingly dif-

ficult to discuss openly. Suicide

happens within a universitycontext and therefore, as a com-

munity, affects all of us.

The student community has

a responsibility to one another

to recognise issues affecting its

members and to establish an

environment in which students

feel able to talk about their is-

sues and ask for help.

It is the lack of compassion

on The Sanctuary’s part that is

most shocking. Considering the

prevalence of suicide among

students, the entire article was

irresponsible and presented in

extremely bad taste.