North Raleigh Today

A fourth student has died from apparent suicide this semester at North Carolina State University, according to a university spokesman. The sophomore male was found dead in a Wolf Hall room.

"The university has lost five students this semester,” the spokesman said in a WRAL report. “One was an off-campus auto accident and there have been four apparent suicides.” 

The rash of tragic deaths has shaken other students.

“Obviously that is very sad,” sophomore David Tofade said in the report. “That is our classmate." 

The latest death comes just  over a week after the university's first Wellness Day after the third apparent suicide.. Wellness Day offered a day off from classes and tests and counselors encouraged students to focus on their mental health. The day included free activities including yoga classes, coloring, crafts, a guided walk, climbing, tea time, video games and more.

"The university is pouring every resource we have available into reaching our students in need and providing them support and guidance," a university spokeswoman said, pointing students to the Wolfpack Wellness resources, a list of on- and off-campus counseling, prevention, podcasts and other resources.

"Our leaders need to have good conversations about how we move forward and how we address it,” McKenzy Heavlin, president of N.C. State student government said. 

Psychotherapist Kamala Uzzell said university leaders are doing what they can to address the problem, adding that they will need more support if they are going to support all the students on this massive campus.

”If there is any failing, it's that we need to have more focus, more attention and more money put toward mental health resources,” Uzzell said.

N.C. State is not the only campus in the state that has struggled with a wave of suicides. Last year, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill experienced a similar problem and gave students two “well-being” days to help them cope.

N.C. State student Tony Kelly says the stress is high among students. Some of that, he said, is related to the pandemic and the constant blitz of negative information on social media.

“Students are certainly under a lot of stress. To say, 'Hey, I need help, I am not doing well' is very difficult."

Colleges and universities should focus on making mental health resources, like screenings for anxiety and depression, readily available, according to Amy Kennedy, co-founder of Kennedy Forum, a mental health advocacy group.