Members of the University of Toronto (U of T) community are voicing their concerns around the state of the school’s mental health resources and policies, following a student death by suicide at the school’s Bahen Centre on March 17.
In a Twitter statement, the university acknowledged the student death—the second one this academic year after a student died by suicide in September last term.
“Members of our community may have been affected by the recent incident at the Bahen Centre. At this time, we wish to respect the privacy of the individual involved and acknowledge the profound effect on family, friends and colleagues,” the tweet read. “During this difficult time, please know that there are resources available for you, should you or someone you know wish to access them.”
Now, Catherine Clark, a U of T psychology and human biology student, created a petition to the school to take action to increase the mental health services on campus.
Clark said the current wait time for an appointment at the Health and Wellness Centre is two weeks, which she said is not acceptable.
She is looking to the executive director of the centre, Janine Robb and president of U of T, Meric Gutler, to address these issues and provide more opportunities for students to seek out mental health services.
Clark hopes her petition will influence the school to improve their services.
While U of T did post the resources and services for students to turn to after the recent tragedy, some students say that this is not enough to help students who are struggling.
Josh Grondin, vice-president (university affairs) for the U of T Student Union, said the problem lies in meeting the demand, given budgeting constraints of various departments. He said the central administration does not provide enough funding “to meet the exponentially increasing need for these services.”
“Student groups often do not support votes that increase student fees to fund this difference,” Grondin said on expanding mental health resources on campus.
Aside from this, Grondin said he believes the competitive nature of U of T is also part of the problem, which he said needs to be found in order to be proactive in intervention.
“It’s an academically rigorous environment. We have many international students, and we are living in one of the most expensive cities in the country,” he said. “These factors combine in very dangerous ways, and we are further propelled by areas of marginalization that many of our students face.”
Kristen Wong, second-year psychology and health public policy student, said she believes in transparency with the issues, and that this is the only way an issue like this will be conquered.
“I think people need a clear support system, as school is hard enough and to go through it on your own makes it even more difficult,” Wong said.
She said it is important to acknowledge the recent tragedy.
“Many of my instructors have not even mentioned the suicide, although I’m pretty sure they know that it happened,” Wong said.
“I have only had one prof who sent out an email mentioning the existence of the event, resources available to students, and how her door was always open if we need it.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, contact:
Mental Health Crisis Line: 613-722-6914 (within Ottawa) and 1-866-996-0991 (outside Ottawa)
Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region 24-hour line: 613-238-3311
Youth Services Bureau 24/7 Crisis Line: 613-260-2360 or 1-877-377-7775 (toll)
Photo from the U of T Digital Media Bank
