FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 9, 2015
For More Information:
Glenville State College
Public Relations Department
(304) 462-4115
GLENVILLE, WV - Members of the Glenville State College student organization Pioneers for a Cause braved a frosty Monday morning to bring awareness to a somber subject â student suicide. The group covered the campus lawn at Clark Hall with backpacks that included stories of students who had been lost to suicide. The packs and stories were a dynamic way to visually represent the sometimes silent struggle facing students. Nationwide estimates say approximately 1,100 students take their own lives each year.
As part of the awareness event, students who visited the display were able to read the personal stories of a person lost. Additionally, they were encouraged to write a message of encouragement on small yellow flags and place them around the backpack display. Students could then write that same message on a dry erase board, take a photo, and share it on Instagram and other social media using #BeTheVoiceGSC.
Pioneers for a Cause originally tried to get the nationally recognized 'Send Silence Packing' traveling exhibition of 1,100 donated backpacks to visit GSC but were unsuccessful due to the popular exhibit having already been booked for the year. So the student activists decided to make sure that the event happened anyway so they worked to get as many backpacks donated as they could and organized an event themselves. "Suicide prevention is an important topic and it's everyone's job. If this event helps to save one life, then we did what we had hoped," said Pioneers for a Cause member Jonna Strickland.
The group extends their thanks to those who donated backpacks and supplies, the other student organizations at GSC that helped with setup, and to Michele Toman for donating information and literature. Toman founded the state chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and successfully rallied the West Virginia legislature to pass a bill requiring state school systems to have detailed suicide awareness and prevention programs in place.
The backpack display and information table will be up throughout the day on Monday, November 9 and Tuesday, November 10.
Glenville State College students who might be struggling can contact the campus counselor at (304) 462-6432 or visit the ULifeline site here. If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-TALK (8255).
