Vitals Spotlight - We Give the Doctor an Exam

Dr. Jess Shatkin

A 20-year old NYU student leaped to his death from the 10th floor of Bobst Library, leaving a suicide note behind in his dorm. This tragedy once again revives the concerns about the high number of suicides at this college in recent years.

Dr. Jess P. Shatkin, director of Undergraduate Studies in Child and Adolescent Mental Health at NYU Langone Medical Center, states that a combination of factors contribute to a college student’s anxiety and depression. Living away from home, managing one’s own time and expenses and dealing with peer pressure are only some of the difficulties they face. He believes these issues become more difficult for students at large, decentralized universities such as NYU.

“There is a level of monitoring that just can’t happen on an urban campus,” Shatkin said.

According to Vitals.com, Shatkin received his medical degree at State University of New York Downstate College of Medicine and completed his specialty training at UCLA Medical Center.

At least nine students at NYU have committed suicide since 2002 reports the New York Times, including four in 2004. The school has attempted to curb the problem by expanding counseling services and creating a 24-hour hotline that student could call about suicide concerns

Bobst Library at NYU (wikimedia.org)

In 2003 two students chose Bobst Library to kill themselves, leading the university to install eight feet high Plexiglas panels around the perimeter of the atrium. The university also restricted access to the balconies so students were not allowed above the second floor after 1 a.m. But somehow Andrew Williamson-Noble got inside and over the wall, which was not an easy thing to do.

Friends say Williamson-Noble, who was majoring in East Asian Studies, was a funny, happy guy. Although the NYU student’s life was marked by tragedy early on when, at age 6, his infant brother died of sudden infant death syndrome. Even though he left a suicide note behind, he gave no prior indication to his family or friends that he was about to kill himself.

“I wish I had more friends who were on the same sleep cycle as me,” he wrote. “There’s a considerable loneliness that comes from being awake when few others are. One feels both that one owns the world, and that despite this triumph, has no one to share it with.”

It isn’t always apparent how desperately unhappy college students become before it’s too late. Student suicides still total some 1,100 a year nationwide, second to motor vehicle accidents, according to the Daily Beast. The Jed Foundation, a New York based college suicide prevention program, estimates that one in ten college students have considered taking his or her own life.

The 2009 National Survey of Counseling Directors reported a 94 percent increase in students with severe psychological problems and 91 percent were already taking psychiatric medications. The increasing use of antidepressants means more students with psychological problems are functional enough to make their way onto college campuses and can hopefully control their illness with counseling and medication.

Andrew Williamson-Noble (nydailynews.com)

The colleges walk a fine line when it comes to helping troubled students. Some are worried about liability suits and may overreact and send potentially suicidal student home. But moving too quickly can infringe on their rights, New York City’s Hunter College had to pay 65,000 dollars in 2006 to settle such a case.

Privacy rights limit what mental health professionals can disclose to parents about their troubled children and social stigma often makes it hard for students to reach out. According to a study, more than 80 percent of students who commit suicide never sought counseling beforehand.

These are only some of the challenges colleges face in attempting to identify students who are at risk and helping them get the treatment they need to save their lives.