Letter: Students still encouraged to seek mental help

Editor,

We are concerned that students reading the headline, "Suicidal thoughts may get students kicked out," in Wednesday's Daily Lobo, will not seek help if they become suicidal. The headline implies that all students with suicidal thoughts are at risk of being kicked out of UNM. Students who do not read the article for clarification may be misled by the headline.

The article states, "A proposed policy would withdraw a student involuntarily from UNM if they are deemed dangerous to themselves or others." The policy was drafted to try to manage a rare but difficult situation: when the University may not be able to keep a student safe or when a student's mental health condition is extremely disruptive to other students.

Suicidal behavior is complex. Unique to each person in distress. Suicidal thoughts are the least lethal set of suicidal behaviors, and would not, by themselves, cause anyone to be temporarily dismissed from UNM. In fact, it is common for individuals to have suicidal thoughts sometime in their lives.

The draft policy is intended for the few students whose safety risk is much greater than suggested by suicidal ideation alone. Those few students who would be considered for disenrollment would first have to demonstrate behaviors that negatively impact the learning or living environments of other students. We have an ethical and legal responsibility to do whatever is needed to keep troubled students safe and protect the educational environment of all students.

The proposed policy is still in draft form and will be reviewed extensively before it is submitted to UNM administration.

Whenever students face excessive stress or difficult personal problems, professional support may be helpful or necessary, and we encourage any student experiencing such problems to reach out for help. For information on services available at Counseling and Therapy Services, call 277-4537.

Beverly Kloeppel

Director, Student Health Center

Carol Wagner-Adams

Counseling & Therapy Services