As a result of three student suicides in the last academic year, Murray State’s Counseling Center has been restructured.
The center now hosts an increased staff, a new director, the capacity to see 80 clients in a week, on-call counselors, long-term therapy options and a directory for off-campus resources.
Angie Trzepacz, director of the Counseling Center, said the office was transformed and has been geared to push suicide prevention as a direct result of the student suicides last year.
“We want to bring awareness about suicide prevention,” she said. “There are so many other options.
“Given the chance, this office can talk to the person, or friend of a person, thinking of suicide and we can get them thinking about why to keep on living, to talk about their dreams and aspirations.”
But some students have misinterpreted the posters, which are featured across campus.
Dylan West, junior from Benton, Ky., said he believes the ad is ineffective and might actually project the opposite of what was intended.
He said the text should have started by telling needy students to stop or prevent suicide. He said the cloudburst reminded him of a warm light at the end of a tunnel.
Another student, Rachel McKinley, freshman from Louisville, Ky., said, upon first inspection, the word suicide was most prevalent.
“It’s a confusing message,” she said. “I assumed it was a flyer suggesting you could get help somewhere, but I wasn’t sure.”
Trzepacz said the posters were meant to help promote awareness – something she said the University needed.
Rhea Flanery • Sep 22, 2012 at 4:20 am
It's also a shame that it took 3 suicides in an academic year for these changes to occur.
Rhea Flanery • Sep 22, 2012 at 4:20 am
The posters might have been MEANT to promote awareness, but it sounds like they failed miserably at that goal.