Mental health problems are a major issue. Many people are affected by them or know someone who is affected by them. College can amplify mental health problems-- with college comes stress over grades, post-graduation plans, studying, finances, and more. With the amount of awareness there is around mental health nowadays, you think there'd be an improvement in treating mental health problems. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case.
At Ohio State, there have been two instances of suicide and attempted suicide by a student and former student jumping off the same parking garage. These two instances have raised concerns over the mental health treatment available at Ohio State. I have seen multiple people talking about long wait times to get in to see someone (4-6 weeks) unless their case was deemed urgent, as well as some people not receiving the treatment they needed.
It's time to acknowledge the importance of mental health and treatment for mental health problems. Everyone talks about how tragic instances like this are and mention where people can get help, but where is the improvement on the part of universities? A lack of funding and resources put into counseling services harms students when they are unable to get the help they need.
Mental health needs to be treated like it is just as important as physical health, because it is. Enough talk, more action. Colleges and universities need to help improve counseling and mental health services on campus to ensure students have access to the help they need. Hopefully, Ohio State will learn from these tragedies and take action to improve the counseling services offered. I hope other universities follow in their footsteps, too, and treat mental health among students as a top priority.