Thomas Mott Osborne: “From 1952 to 1995, we have three times the number, the rate of suicides, in this country as we did in 1952. This is a…”

“From 1952 to 1995, we have three times the number, the rate of suicides, in this country as we did in 1952. This is a national epidemic. So to say that we really should not do anything or we should really go slow for some reason rubs me the wrong way. The other aspect of the program that I wanted to mention today is the college mental health services. A survey regarding college students indicated that 60 percent of college students feel hopeless. More than 40 percent report being depressed. And 9 percent are suicidal. On the college campus, we have tremendous problems with this issue. You do not have to again go to these students and say, do not kill yourself. We do not have to show them films, but we do have to persuade them that it is not unmanly or it is not weak on the part of a woman to express your problems, to go to a mental health service, to talk things out, to be open with what is bothering you. These are the kinds of things that need to happen.”