Trigger warning: Mentions of suicide, bullying
Introduction
‘Student suicide’ is a phrase that has been on the news quite a lot, especially in 2023. Regrettably, this phrase has yet again come back to life to report the recent death of a first-year undergrad student at Jadavpur University. A 17-year-old student lost his life after falling from the balcony of the hostel building. This not only serves as a cold, stark reminder regarding the state of student welfare at colleges/universities but also forces us to point out how these universities are failing to provide a safe space for students. It is being reported that the alleged cause of death is ragging. Hostels inside universities are reportedly becoming unsafe places for students to stay, and as a student, I find this deeply concerning.
How Universities Are Failing To Protect Students From Ragging
Are you familiar with the concept of a chain reaction? Because that is what ragging is: a vicious chain reaction. Ragging involves subjecting newcomers or junior students to various forms of physical, emotional, and psychological abuse by their seniors.
Hailing from Nadia district in West Bengal, the deceased minor was pursuing his Bengali Honours from the university. He was reportedly heard shouting "I am not gay" repeatedly before his death. The alleged cause behind this tragic suicide is extreme ragging and bullying by seniors. A former student of Jadavpur University (JU) was on Friday, 11 August, arrested and charged with the murder. Two more students – a second-year economics student and a second-year sociology student – were also arrested in connection with the incident.
These seniors were once juniors who were subjected to similar forms of emotional abuse. Hence, they take it upon themselves to make sure that their juniors, too, get a taste of the constant belittling and harassment that they faced. It’s almost always the case that the students who are bullied pick up the same patterns and inflict the same torture on others. It is just like the cycle of patriarchy, where misogyny is transferred from one generation to the next.
Why Are Universities Failing To Provide A Safe Space For Students?
Universities often consist of a diverse range of students with differing viewpoints and backgrounds. It is the job of the administration to ensure a safe and just environment so that students from all backgrounds can fully concentrate on their studies. But this job of ensuring a safe and just environment depends on a few factors, and this is exactly where universities and colleges are failing:
Insufficient Mental Health Services:
One of the main factors is the availability and quality of mental health services. If a college's counselling services are understaffed, have limited hours, or lack experienced professionals, students might not receive the support they need. Also, it is the duty of the college authorities to ensure that the staff that they have hired are qualified and adequately trained so that they can recognise signs of distress or mental health issues. Lack of training can lead to missed opportunities for intervention. When situations like these do happen, they tend to tarnish the public image and reputation of the institution. So, instead of realising their duty of care to comfort and assure their students and do everything earthly possible to ensure such tragic incidents never occur again, they go all out in trying to save their damaged reputation. This could lead them to downplay or handle internal issues quietly, which might not be in the best interest of the affected students.
Stigma and Awareness:
A lack of awareness and understanding about mental health can contribute to problems of depression and, in the worst case scenarios, suicides. The stigmatisation of mental health issues can prevent students from seeking help, fearing judgement or negative consequences. Colleges that don't communicate openly about mental health resources and support might inadvertently prevent students from seeking help. And if they do seek help or raise concerns, college authorities either try to downplay the issue by sweeping it under the carpet or they just don’t take the matter seriously. Because often, to come up with solutions for the concerns raised by students, it costs universities time, energy, and most importantly, money, among other resources. While sometimes, universities might have limited resources to address all complaints promptly which leads to inadequate resolutions, sometimes they just don’t want to.
High Academic Pressure:
While this point gravely reflects the current state of our education system, the intense academic pressure and competition can exacerbate mental health issues. A hyper-competitive environment can contribute to stress, anxiety, and depression among students.
Importance Of Sensitisation Programs For Students
Sensitization programs hold paramount importance within university settings as potent tools in the prevention of suicides among students. These programs also teach students and faculty members about intervention and prevention and educate folks on how to respond to and behave with people coming from diverse backgrounds. They help enhance students’ understanding of the stressors unique to academic life, the pressures of social integration, and the challenges of personal growth during these formative years. These programs hold the potential to save lives and transform university campuses into havens of mental well-being.
Student Politics: A Double-Edged Sword
Jadavpur University is known for its student bodies and its students’ active participation in political activities. The main accused, a former student, had completed his MSc in Mathematics at the university in 2022, but continued to stay at the university hostel. He was a leader of the campus’ influential group Democratic Students’ Federation. This poses dangers such as:
Misuse of Power: As in any political arena, student politics can attract individuals who seek power for personal gain rather than the betterment of the student community. This can lead to corruption, favouritism, and misuse of resources. Student leaders who gain power might become authoritarian and can target students who disagree with them. An established dictatorship instead of a democracy can create an environment of fear amongst other students.
Conclusion
We need to make emotional education mandatory, and we need to normalise going to therapy. Finally, we need to end mental health stigma, which is only possible if we openly discuss it. People of all ages and genders can have mental health issues, and there is no SHAME in asking for help. This is a severe ongoing epidemic that will only worsen if we don’t take concrete steps toward it.