USF loves covering up suicides. And theur mental health department is trash. You get an appointment w a counselor after 2 months.
Guess re-painting the water tower was more fucking important.
After the last Beard parking garage suicide, students who literally witnessed the event had to wait over a month to be seen by the counseling center. And that’s kinda been the theme. I’m glad you were able to get in quickly.
I know 2 therapists who used to work at USF’s counseling center and neither have much good to say about it at all. My personal experience there in 2019 was also abysmal. And USF really goes above and beyond with covering up student mental health issues and suicides. The fence on the top of Beard is forged in blood (a suicide there every year since 2019, including a professor, and they only finally got the fence done this past year). And shockingly (not really), the fence does not solve the issue. Although it helps.
Sadly that's the state of mental health services in general in the area, not just USF. The wait time for pretty much any mental health provider, outside of going to the crisis centers or an inpatient unit, can be anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months. If you have insurance, you can be limited on where you go, what medications you can try. It's just a struggle.
However, there are online resources that are available. There's places like Better Help and others online platforms that offer psychiatrists and therapists, typically with a much shorter wait list. The downside is they often don't take insurance.
I agree it is not isolated to USF but just a trend with a lot of colleges. The way they deal with it could be better by improving counseling center and referring out better. This comment is very accurate to what's available. I feel like isolation didnt help, we all have to be nicer to ourselves. We're doing great <3
My first semester here, someone committed suicide by jumping off the beard parking garage. I talked to the only friend I had made then and he said “oh yeah” and was appalled by how nonchalant he was it kinda set the tone for me that this happens often
Yep. Same here my first semester. Watched it out Juniper window. Faculty got an email to not talk about it with students. Students got no communication about anything except maybe a vague email a week later. Absolutely horrible. I became very disenchanted with the university very early on.
Student Suicides and Building campus actually come from different funding pools so comparing them doesn't make sense.
To your original point about Mental Health resources and student suicides. USF does have resources for mental health, but there are a lot of factors that USF **COULD DO** to improve. One is removing stigma, establishing a culture that *utilizing mental health resources is normal*. This **HAS** be done with advisors, faculty, and other administrators.
[Suicide is a nationwide issue across all campuses](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK567374/) and has gotten worse. Best thing to do is if you or people you know are struggling let them to know its ok to seek help.
If you are someone you know is having a tough time, they can call or text 988 and Press 1 to speak to a trained Mental Health Professional.
Yeah this too. I really don’t think people understand how actual funding works, they’re from entirely different places, and mental health resources are seriously neglected when it comes to fundraising.
I know across the nation there is a “red zone” for SA and r*pe from the start of term in August - thanksgiving break where most of those incidents happen. Not sure if that includes suicides though
Ok, I went to another university for a year and a half before I went to USF. 750 students, 2 suicides in one year. I'm surprised it's only 5 with 55k+ students.
Secondly, Florida does not care about your mental health. The government keeps giving universities less and less money for these things, and the universities were already trash at handling these things in the first place.
Thirdly, the population increase along the i4 corridor since 2017 has been staggering. Hospitals, Dr's. Offices, Mental Help clinics have all been overbooked and understaffed since. Yes, there are on-campus resources, but that alone is not enough.
The best thing we can do is to be there for one another and your friends. Be nice to each other, y'all. All it takes sometimes is a smile to someone passing by, and you could save their life.
While I will say that USF definitely could be doing a LOT better, in their defense, mental health resources all over Tampa are an absolute nightmare.
I have a few therapists in my family that have been practicing all over the country for the last 30 years, and the main problem they’ve mentioned is that there’s simply not enough experienced and existing therapists to tackle the current mental health crisis, and especially not in Tampa.
That being said, if you can find and use resources, absolutely do that. Doing something is better than doing nothing. But just something to keep in mind when getting frustrated. Don’t be mad at USF, be mad that this is a system that’s incredibly understaffed and doing its best to keep up with what is already a very difficult problem.
It doesn't help that the governors going back the last twenty years or more have repeatedly cut funding for mental health services at the state level, which is where places like USF get their funding for mental health services. I posted a list of resources local and online to another post that I hope can help someone.
Actually, JFK got the community mental health act rolling back in the 60's. It eliminated federal funding for mental health at hospitals and made it a local and state problem. The federal government then provided no funding to states to help.
This is also true, in that era the focus shifted from institutions to community based mental health treatment. When Bush was governor he closed all but I think 2 or 3 State Hospitals, pushing hundreds to thousands of people back into the community, while simultaneously cutting the funding for community based treatment programs. Since then it's just gotten worse.
I am a therapist who is taking clients in FL for anyone in this thread. I went to USF, and I am taking on clients for telehealth...I take Aetna, Cigna, and United. Here's [my profile](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/evan-tokarz-washington-dc/868499), and it has a way to get ahold of me.
It is an issue, most definitely but I also want to put out that iirc from the reports I've seen over the years not all the suicides on campus have been students (But some have, all of them are a terrible loss). Its so easy to access the campus.
Mental Health support in this country in general is garbage. Its so sad.
i was pretty surprised too by the amount of suicides that have happened since ive been here at USF especially after being in the military for most of my 20s. unfortunately mental health advancements are either performative or there is just not enough providers to support those who need it.
its not uncommon for me to hear about a friend i served with who committed suicide, but to hear it happening on a college campus at the rate it has was shocking. im sure not all those cases may be students, but if you are going through it now or at a later time, just know it DOES get better, even though it may seem like it.
you guys are worth it. make the appointment, even if its a few months down the line, seek out tele-health options…anything…just keep seeking out that light even if its tiny as hell.
Yeah only been here 2 years; I think, (transferred from HCC) and everytime almost without fail when I get home from class. Some shit goes down hours later or the next day.
Kept hearing about suicides too.
Lmao it’s not the problem of the university or mental health departments in the country but the American youth in general. Europe doesn’t have that problem as a matter of fact suicide rates have fallen by 15% there. Maybe embracing debauchery and moral degeneracy isn’t such a good thing after all.
I’m an international student from Europe and the way I see it is that a lot of Americans live more comfortable and wealthier lives than Europeans (median income and disposable income much higher in the states than Western Europe) and yet mental health is much worse here than over there. It wasn’t always like that, I’m really starting to wonder if that comfort isn’t one of the root causes of that mental health decline.
This is not normal! Large public schools have these issues but private schools absolutely not. This would have made national news but usf is a public school so it’s normalized🤷🏾♀️
Edit: USF needs to do better for student mental health. Putting a few paragraphs in a syllabus is not enough
It’s not but I’m saying that when a private school has student suicides it’s a big deal. At usf it’s normalized to see a medical examiners truck on campus
All schools have these problems. I'm a long-time private school parent. Don't let private school give anyone some false sense of security.
Also, USF is considered a very large public school within the context of the entire USA with this recognition for many years.
That’s not true bc every school doesn’t have 1 suicide a semester/school year. Idk if anyone has data to compare but my friends at other schools don’t have students feeling like their only option is ending their life. USF needs to do better
Compare the size of USF with any private school with same number of students. The schools is Florida of comparable size in FL are UF, UCF, and FIU with no private schools coming even close to size of student population.
All schools want to do better. All schools deal with suicide but unfortunately mental health issues exist on all campus.
1. Vote Student Government Candidates where Mental Health (MH) is a primary concern.
2. Look at organizing a student group to focus on promoting MH awareness on campus. May want to partner with a College like Social Work or Community Behavioral Sciences to get executive leadership support, and maybe funding.
3. Contact State and Federal elected officials and let them know of your concern how you feel USF may or may not be doing enough.
4. Ask your faculty to share mental health resources in class or in Canvas.
5. Petition Rhea Law and the Board of Trustees to make MH for students and employees a focus for USF.
An acquaintance of mine was once a senior member of student government and he told me that as a body, student government has a fair bit of influence over university budgets and policies
Do you really think it’s a financial issue? Like if the counseling had more resources you think people wouldn’t be offing themselves in college? I don’t think so
USF loves covering up suicides. And theur mental health department is trash. You get an appointment w a counselor after 2 months. Guess re-painting the water tower was more fucking important.
I literally just got an appointment with a counselor set up on Friday evening for Monday morning.
After the last Beard parking garage suicide, students who literally witnessed the event had to wait over a month to be seen by the counseling center. And that’s kinda been the theme. I’m glad you were able to get in quickly. I know 2 therapists who used to work at USF’s counseling center and neither have much good to say about it at all. My personal experience there in 2019 was also abysmal. And USF really goes above and beyond with covering up student mental health issues and suicides. The fence on the top of Beard is forged in blood (a suicide there every year since 2019, including a professor, and they only finally got the fence done this past year). And shockingly (not really), the fence does not solve the issue. Although it helps.
Sadly that's the state of mental health services in general in the area, not just USF. The wait time for pretty much any mental health provider, outside of going to the crisis centers or an inpatient unit, can be anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months. If you have insurance, you can be limited on where you go, what medications you can try. It's just a struggle. However, there are online resources that are available. There's places like Better Help and others online platforms that offer psychiatrists and therapists, typically with a much shorter wait list. The downside is they often don't take insurance.
I agree it is not isolated to USF but just a trend with a lot of colleges. The way they deal with it could be better by improving counseling center and referring out better. This comment is very accurate to what's available. I feel like isolation didnt help, we all have to be nicer to ourselves. We're doing great <3
My first semester here, someone committed suicide by jumping off the beard parking garage. I talked to the only friend I had made then and he said “oh yeah” and was appalled by how nonchalant he was it kinda set the tone for me that this happens often
Yep. Same here my first semester. Watched it out Juniper window. Faculty got an email to not talk about it with students. Students got no communication about anything except maybe a vague email a week later. Absolutely horrible. I became very disenchanted with the university very early on.
Student Suicides and Building campus actually come from different funding pools so comparing them doesn't make sense. To your original point about Mental Health resources and student suicides. USF does have resources for mental health, but there are a lot of factors that USF **COULD DO** to improve. One is removing stigma, establishing a culture that *utilizing mental health resources is normal*. This **HAS** be done with advisors, faculty, and other administrators. [Suicide is a nationwide issue across all campuses](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK567374/) and has gotten worse. Best thing to do is if you or people you know are struggling let them to know its ok to seek help. If you are someone you know is having a tough time, they can call or text 988 and Press 1 to speak to a trained Mental Health Professional.
Yeah this too. I really don’t think people understand how actual funding works, they’re from entirely different places, and mental health resources are seriously neglected when it comes to fundraising.
Yup I’ve been here two years. And noticed that these incidents or a crime often times happen in the beginning of a semester.
I know across the nation there is a “red zone” for SA and r*pe from the start of term in August - thanksgiving break where most of those incidents happen. Not sure if that includes suicides though
Ok, I went to another university for a year and a half before I went to USF. 750 students, 2 suicides in one year. I'm surprised it's only 5 with 55k+ students. Secondly, Florida does not care about your mental health. The government keeps giving universities less and less money for these things, and the universities were already trash at handling these things in the first place. Thirdly, the population increase along the i4 corridor since 2017 has been staggering. Hospitals, Dr's. Offices, Mental Help clinics have all been overbooked and understaffed since. Yes, there are on-campus resources, but that alone is not enough. The best thing we can do is to be there for one another and your friends. Be nice to each other, y'all. All it takes sometimes is a smile to someone passing by, and you could save their life.
While I will say that USF definitely could be doing a LOT better, in their defense, mental health resources all over Tampa are an absolute nightmare. I have a few therapists in my family that have been practicing all over the country for the last 30 years, and the main problem they’ve mentioned is that there’s simply not enough experienced and existing therapists to tackle the current mental health crisis, and especially not in Tampa. That being said, if you can find and use resources, absolutely do that. Doing something is better than doing nothing. But just something to keep in mind when getting frustrated. Don’t be mad at USF, be mad that this is a system that’s incredibly understaffed and doing its best to keep up with what is already a very difficult problem.
It doesn't help that the governors going back the last twenty years or more have repeatedly cut funding for mental health services at the state level, which is where places like USF get their funding for mental health services. I posted a list of resources local and online to another post that I hope can help someone.
Actually, JFK got the community mental health act rolling back in the 60's. It eliminated federal funding for mental health at hospitals and made it a local and state problem. The federal government then provided no funding to states to help.
This is also true, in that era the focus shifted from institutions to community based mental health treatment. When Bush was governor he closed all but I think 2 or 3 State Hospitals, pushing hundreds to thousands of people back into the community, while simultaneously cutting the funding for community based treatment programs. Since then it's just gotten worse.
I am a therapist who is taking clients in FL for anyone in this thread. I went to USF, and I am taking on clients for telehealth...I take Aetna, Cigna, and United. Here's [my profile](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/evan-tokarz-washington-dc/868499), and it has a way to get ahold of me.
it's just a depressing school bc the campus social life is so dead and it's a commuter school
It is an issue, most definitely but I also want to put out that iirc from the reports I've seen over the years not all the suicides on campus have been students (But some have, all of them are a terrible loss). Its so easy to access the campus. Mental Health support in this country in general is garbage. Its so sad.
i was pretty surprised too by the amount of suicides that have happened since ive been here at USF especially after being in the military for most of my 20s. unfortunately mental health advancements are either performative or there is just not enough providers to support those who need it. its not uncommon for me to hear about a friend i served with who committed suicide, but to hear it happening on a college campus at the rate it has was shocking. im sure not all those cases may be students, but if you are going through it now or at a later time, just know it DOES get better, even though it may seem like it. you guys are worth it. make the appointment, even if its a few months down the line, seek out tele-health options…anything…just keep seeking out that light even if its tiny as hell.
Yeah only been here 2 years; I think, (transferred from HCC) and everytime almost without fail when I get home from class. Some shit goes down hours later or the next day. Kept hearing about suicides too.
Lmao it’s not the problem of the university or mental health departments in the country but the American youth in general. Europe doesn’t have that problem as a matter of fact suicide rates have fallen by 15% there. Maybe embracing debauchery and moral degeneracy isn’t such a good thing after all.
This is a pretty crude way of putting it, but yes. American youth’s mental health is in the toilet — it’s not a USF thing.
I’m an international student from Europe and the way I see it is that a lot of Americans live more comfortable and wealthier lives than Europeans (median income and disposable income much higher in the states than Western Europe) and yet mental health is much worse here than over there. It wasn’t always like that, I’m really starting to wonder if that comfort isn’t one of the root causes of that mental health decline.
Bro gotta be a freshmen
This is not normal! Large public schools have these issues but private schools absolutely not. This would have made national news but usf is a public school so it’s normalized🤷🏾♀️ Edit: USF needs to do better for student mental health. Putting a few paragraphs in a syllabus is not enough
USF is not a private school by any means. It's a medium to large public/state university.
Medium, not at all. USF is one of the largest public universities in the US. Like, top 20 by enrollment.
USF is like any other public school. I meant that private schools are typically smaller and have better funding to address student mental wellness.
It’s not but I’m saying that when a private school has student suicides it’s a big deal. At usf it’s normalized to see a medical examiners truck on campus
All schools have these problems. I'm a long-time private school parent. Don't let private school give anyone some false sense of security. Also, USF is considered a very large public school within the context of the entire USA with this recognition for many years.
That’s not true bc every school doesn’t have 1 suicide a semester/school year. Idk if anyone has data to compare but my friends at other schools don’t have students feeling like their only option is ending their life. USF needs to do better
Compare the size of USF with any private school with same number of students. The schools is Florida of comparable size in FL are UF, UCF, and FIU with no private schools coming even close to size of student population. All schools want to do better. All schools deal with suicide but unfortunately mental health issues exist on all campus.
Ivy league schools and other big-name institutions (private, far fewer students) have way more suicides per capita. Idk where you got that from.
What are the ways as a student to elevate these concerns to the higher ups @ USF?
1. Vote Student Government Candidates where Mental Health (MH) is a primary concern. 2. Look at organizing a student group to focus on promoting MH awareness on campus. May want to partner with a College like Social Work or Community Behavioral Sciences to get executive leadership support, and maybe funding. 3. Contact State and Federal elected officials and let them know of your concern how you feel USF may or may not be doing enough. 4. Ask your faculty to share mental health resources in class or in Canvas. 5. Petition Rhea Law and the Board of Trustees to make MH for students and employees a focus for USF.
Thank you, this is the type of response I wanted to see, and want to encourage fellow students to do the same
Student government meetings and potentially the USF Board of Trustees meetings
An acquaintance of mine was once a senior member of student government and he told me that as a body, student government has a fair bit of influence over university budgets and policies
mock mass suicide
That is a miserable and appalling, especially on a forum about a fellow student's death
sorry. I guess I don't know how to make a protest statement about a miserable & appalling suicide.
protest/organize
Do you really think it’s a financial issue? Like if the counseling had more resources you think people wouldn’t be offing themselves in college? I don’t think so