Suicide: Medical-leave policy among biggest changes proposed by University
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said with a growing number of stu
dents on campus, there is bound to
be an increase in the proportion of
those with mental issues. She said
many circumstances contribute to
students becoming suicidal.
“Whether it be past family circum
stances, dealing with their sexual ori
entation, depression, many issues
can bring students to being suicidal,”
Schoonover said. “With depression,
many may be at the age when they
first get diagnosed. ”
But many students are coming to
college with previous diagnoses of
mental disorders, said Scott Perfect,
the clinical coordinator for Western
Oregon University’s counseling center.
“One of the things we’re seeing is
that there is an increase in the fre
quency and severity of mental ill
nesses at universities,” Perfect said.
“This puts a lot of strain on systems
at universities.”
He said reduced stigma associated
with mental illnesses and better med
icine have led to earlier detection of
mental health problems in students.
“People with psychiatric disorders
can go to school and succeed,” he
said. “They can also de-compensate. ”
Vice President for Student Affairs
Anne Leavitt said the number of stu
dents enrolling at the University who
are dealing with mental health issues
has created a need for better educa
tion and support on campus.
“Nationally, about one in five stu
dents are presenting with some form
of mental health challenge,” Leavitt
said. “They’re coming here with suc
cess in their background, and we
want to make sure they’re successful
here. So we begin with trying to edu
cate the rest of our campus that stu
dents with mental health challenges
are present in our campus, they’re
welcome in our campus and they
need our support.”
New task force, policies
To address the growing needs of
students facing mental health issues
— especially those at risk of contem
plating suicide — and to avoid poten
tial lawsuits, the University has creat
ed a suicide prevention task force,
has reviewed counseling center prac
tices and is putting the final touches
on proposed changes to the school’s
medical-leave policy.
Under current policy, the Universi
ty can force students to leave when
they pose an imminent danger to oth
ers or are severely disruptive to the
health of the campus community,
Holmes said. A new draft of the poli
cy, which will be looked at later this
year, would include suicidal behavior
as a category for medical leave and
would more clearly specify involun
tary leave as an option when individ
uals pose an imminent threat to
themselves or others, Holmes said.
The proposed policy would also
change which campus department
makes the final decision on whether a
student stays at the University. The
proposal would shift the final decision
from health-center professionals to the
Division of Student Affairs, although
the director of either the health center
or counseling center would make a
medical recommendation.
Holmes said the policy is needed
to address a small subset of suicidal
students, who she described as be
ing in a “suicidal career” or a “sui
cidal trance.”
“It’s where the person is kind of on
a mission,” Holmes said. “Their
thinking gets very narrowed, their
problem-solving becomes very nar
rowed ... and they don’t want to get
off that path.”
If students are outwardly suicidal
but continue to refuse help, they are
bringing harm not only to themselves
but the entire campus community,
Leavitt said.
“A student who is threatening sui
cide every night actually is creating a
crisis in the community around
them,” she said. “It holds the com
munity hostage.”
Friends and acquaintances might
stay up during the night to periodical
ly check on suicidal students, causing
them to become anxious and upset,
she said.
“The next thing you know, two or
three or four people’s lives are com
pletely altered by this crisis,” Leavitt
said, “and they can’t go to class.
They’re scared and staying up all
night.”
Although the situation is uncom
mon — usually people who are de
pressed are willing to get help,
Holmes said — those who refuse aid
put continuous stress on the counsel
ing center and campus community.
“I cannot tell you how time-con
suming it is,” Holmes said. “Let’s say
we do nothing even though we have
all this information, and the student
kills themselves. That’s not good for
the student because we could have
intervened, and we know that inter
vention helps. It’s not good for the
University, because it appears as
though we are uncaring. The parents
are extremely upset that one, they
didn’t know, and we knew; and two,
we didn’t do anything and their child
is dead now.”
Along with growing levels of suici
dal behavior, lawsuits have been pop
ping up on college campuses. In one
high-profile case, when Massachu
setts Institute of Technology student
Elizabeth Shin set herself on fire in
her dormitory room, her parents sued
the school for $27 million, claiming
the school improperly handled the
situation.
Holmes said avoiding litigation is
n’t the primary reason for the new
policy, but, “We’re trying to be on the
front end of that before something
happens, before there is a lawsuit.”
Students asked by the University to
leave due to a health or safety emer
gency could return with a doctor’s
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UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
http://heaIthcenter.uoregon.edu • appointments: 346-2770
COUNSELING SERVICE USE BY STUDENTS
2000
1750
1500
1250
1000
750
500
250
0
Number of students Number of those with
using counseling services suicidal thoughts
1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004
note or some other evidence that
they are ready to be back in school,
Leavitt said.
The policy is modeled after one at
the University of Illinois, which
Leavitt said has been successful.
The Oregon Institute of Technology
is also considering one, but only
Willamette University, in Salem, has
a similar policy.
Clinical coordinator Scott Perfect
said Western Oregon University has
n’t considered such a policy.
“People’s civil rights aren’t sus
pended because they need psycho
logical services,” he said. “We don’t
force services upon people.”
However, in cases of medical
emergencies and crises, the school
could rely on other grounds, such as
housing contracts, to mandate a psy
chological assessment, he said.
“People have the right to refuse
services,” he said. “The community
has the right to say, ‘We don’t want
you to kill yourself’ and get the
police involved.”
Although the decision will impact
students, so far, it has only been dis
cussed by staff, Holmes said. The
policy will be subject to campus dis
cussion when it is officially proposed,
she said, but much of the back
ground information for drafting it
was best left to health professionals.
“Student input is important, but at
the same time, students are not
trained as professionals,” Holmes
said. “At the end of the day, we still
need to get the job done, and we’re
going to be held accountable for it.”
ASUO President Adam Petkun said
he didn’t have enough information
on the drafted policy to voice an
opinion, but he was concerned that
making an already-stressed student
leave school could be harmful. He
hopes students would eventually be
more involved with the formation of
the policy.
“I understand the need to have ex
perts, but who could give you better
perspective on issues involving stu
dents than students?” he said.
Holmes said the need to protect
the entire campus community out
weighs concern for an individual
who is suicidal, disruptive and refus
ing services.
“We need to tell those students
you can’t stay here, be in school and
do that,” Holmes said. “It’s not safe.
It’s not good for anybody else and it’s
just not a solution.”
Students seeking services
Although many schools in the Ore
gon University System are generally
confident that students’ needs are be
ing met, the growing need for mental
health services has also increased the
need for staff, according to several
counseling centers.
Holmes said the University coun
seling center does very well in pro
viding individual and group counsel
ing to the University’s nearly 20,000
Bret Furtwangler | Graphic artist
students, but it needs another psy
chologist.
Southern Oregon University offers
counseling and crisis services but
sets a limit of five sessions before stu
dents must pay an additional fee. For
more severe problems, the school
refers students off campus. Addition
al funding and staffing could help the
school to better serve students, said
Allan Weisbard, the school’s director
of counseling.
“Where we see a big shift in lack
of resources is in the greater com
munity,” Weisbard said. “If we had
more staff, we could certainly do
more outreach and groups. It’d be
much better. ”
Marianne Weaver, a clinical psy
chologist at Eastern Oregon Universi
ty, said because of an increase in stu
dents with mental problems, the
school’s staff of two has faced a
heavy workload.
“Both of us are being asked to do a
lot more on campus,” Weaver said,
noting they’ve managed to avoid us
ing a waiting list.
Space limitations hinder service
and staff expansion at the University,
Holmes said. While she’d like to hire
another psychologist, there isn’t
enough office space. She hopes an
additional 10,000 square feet from a
remodel slated for upcoming years
will help the center expand, although
they’re operating efficiently for now.
“We feel very fortunate we’re well
funded,” Holmes said. “We’re not
cutting back on services, but we’re
not rolling in extra money. It’s just ex
actly the way it should be.”
Leavitt said she worries the in
crease in student needs could out
pace the expansion of the University
Health Center.
“If the population continues to
have a growing presence of mental
health issues, it may be the remodel
ing is not going to be good enough,”
she said.
New funds may come to universi
ties through a bill recently passed by
Congress. The Garrett Lee Smith
Memorial Act was named for Oregon
Sen. Gordon Smith’s son, who com
mitted suicide last year while at col
lege. The bill was passed by Congress
in September and authorizes $82 mil
lion over three years to fund suicide
prevention programs for states,
American Indian tribes, colleges and
universities.
Leavitt said the bill has yet to be
appropriated, but the University will
eventually apply for grant money
through the program. She said the
bill will help give campuses the ca
pacity to reach out to students.
“(Smith’s) son’s death reminded
us of what we already know,” she
said. “Students who go to college are
at less risk, but only if there are help
ing services.”
karahansen @ dailyemerald. com
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