When it comes to heavy discussions, Camas High School students are starting to notice the lack of conversation surrounding suicide awareness and prevention within the CHS curriculum. There is no light brought to the topic through things like posters around the building, posts on websites, or even little comments made by staff. The only education students are given is a short health unit and a failed attempt at advisory classes.

Sadly, there have been incidents within the school dealing with suicide among students. Many completions of suicide will not be announced publicly due to privacy and respect of the families.

However, if student suicide is ever made known to the public, others may not quite understand just how serious the issue is within high schools, and how important prevention is.

It is a common understanding that when leaping into a topic such as suicide, the “school has to strike a delicate balance between honoring and not glorifying,” said CHS music teacher Ethan Chessin.

Everyone deserves a proper farewell and some sense of remembrance, yet it must come with the acknowledgement that the family deserves their privacy. No student should ever be used as an example, but more so to bring awareness and conversation to the topic.

“When it comes to mental health, people tend to fear the topic. While it may be getting more acknowledgement as our society progresses and modernizes, it’s still not talked about nearly enough … If people wouldn’t hesitate to help someone with a physical problem, why do they hesitate when it comes to mental problems?” An anonymous CHS student said.

So many students attending CHS personally struggle with some sort of mental health issue. It has become incredibly common among youth for various reasons, and while the school provides counselors for every student, many do not feel comfortable going to them for help. 

“Lots of students don’t know their counselors on a personal basis, meaning they won’t feel safe opening up. To the majority of students, counselors are just random adults with empty titles,” an anonymous CHS student said.

Another issue brought up by depression in students is grades, or rather, the loss of motivation to work for and raise them. This brings about the discussion of whether or not the requirements for student credits is too much for many to handle. Students spend hours a day at home on schoolwork, leaving little time for mental rest. 

“I know that as students we’re meant to meet a criteria for college, but having a bunch of kids with suicidal tendencies is getting us nowhere,” a CHS student said.

However, this topic brings much controversy. The saddening truth to CHS students is that many are intolerant to the idea of mental health issues and proper behavior. Simple comments and actions may have an incredible impact on others, and yet lots of students do not think about the serious consequences their behavior can have. While physical bullying is rare at CHS, emotional bullying is quite common.

“Camas is not always the most welcoming place to everybody,” Chessin said.

Good mental health is a necessity for everyone. Without being able to move forward in a healthy mindset, people lose the ability to cope through each passing day which leads to lack of motivation and loss of desire to live.

Not everyone gets the chance to learn how to deal with a mindset that is aching for help. It is not fake just because it is in someone’s head. In fact, mental illness is one of the greatest detonators in life. Therefore, having CHS teach mental health awareness and suicide prevention to their students is the first step to bringing much needed change and cognizance.