Students walk in support of suicide prevention
Strings of white and colored lights covered Saint Joseph’s University’s campus during the second annual Out of the Darkness walk on Sunday, Oct. 2. The event began at dusk as current students, alumni, and families gathered on Sweeney Field to listen to speakers before walking across campus. Sydney Peterson, ’17, and Andrew Flynn, ’17, organized the event, attended by 465 people.
“All the credit of bringing this national event to Saint Joseph’s campus goes to Maria McHugh, who graduated in the class of 2016,” Peterson said. “In light of the recent few tragedies of suicide here on campus within the past two years, she decided it was time to fight for a change and bring awareness to the issue, specifically here at SJU.”
The walk was sponsored by the Dean’s Leadership Program from the Haub School of Business. The program partnered with Active Minds, a national non-profit organization whose mission is to make students on college campuses aware of available mental health resources.
“The idea for suicide awareness started as just that: an idea,” Flynn said. “That idea soon grew into something much larger. Last year the first year the Out of the Darkness walk took place, and we had close to 400 people who attended.”
Each supporter donated $15 to take part in the Out of the Darkness walk across campus. All of the proceeds raised from the walk were donated to the national Active Minds organization. Caroline Glavin, ’17, president of the Active Minds chapter at Saint Joseph’s, was present at Sunday’s walk to support Active Minds.
“Active Minds shows students that it’s OK, and necessary, to take a break and breathe, even if you just take an hour for yourself,” Glavin said. “We want to be the one to help start [a] conversation about mental health.”
Greg Nicholls, PhD., director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at St. Joe’s, spoke at both Out of the Darkness events.
“There is a tendency, because of the stigma, to sweep a very emotional and impactful topic like suicide under the rug,” Nicholls said. “Though the stigma is not as strong as it was years ago, it still exists.”
The Out of the Darkness walk celebrated life as uplifting music played and students joined together to show one another that no one is alone in the fight against mental illness. Alyssa DiCandilo, ’19, was one of the event’s returning students.
“I really enjoyed how the walk was extended across both sides of campus,” DiCandilo said. “It was symbolic and allowed us more time to reflect on how far we’ve come, individually and as a community, to fight the stigma.”
As the sun began to set over campus on Oct. 2, students and families held hands, laughed, and cried as they remembered those lost and those who are fighting to live a comfortable and happy life.
“What I hope to get from this walk is an awareness for people to say, ‘You are not alone, and we’re going to show that for you; we care about you,’” Glavin said.
