For many young people, college can be tough emotionally and socially as well as academically. In today’s environment, though, things are much worse — dangerously so.
By just about any measure, the mental health of today’s college students is in free fall. The situation is dire and demands immediate attention. North Carolina State University in Raleigh has the unwanted distinction of being the epicenter of this crisis, with eight student deaths this academic year — at least five of them suicides. The problems that contributed to those tragedies are also widespread on other campuses, including those here in Hampton Roads and the rest of Virginia.
College has always been a challenge. Many students are away from home for the first time, living independently of their parents, and are exposed to all sorts of temptations. Finances, grades, job prospects and decisions about the future ratchet up the anxiety. Sexual assault is all too common. The proliferation of social media has greatly increased pressures and, too often, feelings of inferiority.
