April 25th, 2017

Chancellor Glen D. Johnson

655 Research Parkway, Suite 200
Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Dear Chancellor Glen D. Johnson:

My name is Kyra Beer and I am a freshman at Northern Oklahoma College in Stillwater

Oklahoma in hopes of attending Oklahoma State University to pursue my dream as an English
major. I have written and re-written this letter in hopes of making it sound less like a sad story
and as more of a push to fight for students suffering from mental illness. College, for most
people, is scary and unknown. We spend years here accumulating debt and we are ultimately
deciding where we want our future to go so it seems like quite a bit of pressure on us. As a
general statement, through all of that, we do college alone. Now when I say alone, I dont mean
people arent there for us and we dont have people that love us, but emotionally we are alone.
Speaking from personal experience, it is hard to come into college as an active heroin addict and
no one in your corner that fully understands the illness. I have diagnosed PTSD, depression,
anxiety, and a slew of other things- but seems like there is no one to talk to. There is only one
Narcotics Anonymous meeting in Stillwater and from what I have heard it is just a good place to
get drugs. It is also incredibly hard to get in to the psychological services and meet with an actual
psychologist unless it is an emergency, and that is hard to say whether my situation would be
more of an emergency than someone elses crisis. Oklahomas higher education should provide
more help and easier access to help for college students suffering from mental illness.

College is a big change for many people and can be hard to adjust to the new lifestyle of living.
From restless nights to trying to make friends to studying all while trying to find yourself, can be
a bit overwhelming. Also, students come in with pasts that they try and leave behind but
sometimes it just isnt that easy. According to Ally Holterman, a reporter from the San Francisco
Public Press, college students with mental health issues, college is often not the first time
theyve experienced overwhelming amounts of stress, and I agree in that students are often
pressured into succeeding in college without any other options (Holterman 2016). Yes, that is a
gross generalization but it seems like everyone I have met is pressured by their parents or
someone they have in their life that college is the only way to succeed. As a college student
struggling with mental illness, I feel as if I can advocate for people who either arent ready or
dont know by suggesting a few things that can improve our way of life.Our brains are still
developing and not getting sleep and always being worried/stressed about life doesnt help.

The statistics show that one in every 12 students have a suicide plan ready (Sabatke 2016). I
understand that there are limitations on what a school or university can offer but students arent
always living up to their potential because of the lack of support people receive in college. My
biggest suggestion is that professors are more understanding of triggers and the school offers
more support that has easier access to help. According to the National Data on Campus Suicide
and Depression, more teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from all other illnesses
combined (Sabatke 2016). Students who have PTSD, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, or
any other kind of mental illness sometimes have a hard time speaking up about their struggles
and I can understand that. For example, I wanted to try and see a psychologist, but they are
booked 2 months out. They make exceptions to meet with someone if there is a crisis, but
sometimes it is hard to identify your mental illness as a serious crisis over someone elses. All it
takes is for someone to listen, someone to speak up, someone to reassure people that their
feelings matter, and that help is always available.

I know that you cant just snap your fingers but I think that more services being offered will
ultimately benefit everyone. There are so many different options but informing families is where
it needs to start. I agree with Briana Boyington, a digital producer as she states [We] encourage
families to work together and discuss how to balance new responsibilities while maintaining
optimal health (Boyington 2014). That is such a good start in that as students are leaving the
nest, their families should be more understanding. I can see it farther down the line as a widely
discussed problem but less of an issue. The problems that come with mental disorders differ with
each person but can be mild to severe, but each person should have individual treatment plans
(Boyington 2014). The numbers show that suicide in college student are only growing to around
1,000 suicides on campuses every year, and that is too many for my generation (Suicide).

I greatly appreciate your time in reading this. I hope that I have given some insight on the suicide
rates in colleges and the mental illness in the students. I only hope for our worlds sake that
something can be done for my generation as people are taking their lives.

Sincerely,

Kyra Marie Beer

1118 W Hall of Fame Ave
Stillwater, OK 74075
 Annotated Bibliography

Boyington, Briana. 3 Ways Students With Mental Illness Can Prepare for College. U.S. News,

26 Mar. 2014, www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2014/03/26/learn-how-

to-deal-with-mental-illness-in-college. Accessed 22 Apr. 2017.

The article gives advice to parents, students, educators, and really anyone that has anything to do

with college or mental illness. Briana walks people through some suggestions and planning for

people to do for their college students. The author is Briana Boyington. She does education

digital producing at U.S. News. U.S News is a wide ranged reporting website, paper, eBook, and

book. The publication seems to be less bias than some of the others. Boyington is just giving

insight on ways to help. She gives statistics and has credible resources to back them up. The

source is reliable because Boyington gives suggestions on bettering the higher education.

Holterman, Ally. Mental Health Problems for College Students Are Increasing. Healthline,

Healthline Media, 25 Aug. 2016, www.healthline.com/health-news/mental-health-

problems-for-college-students-are-increasing-071715#8. Accessed 22 Apr. 2017.

The article gives statistics, background on the research and illness, and personal experiences

from multiple individuals. Ally Holterman takes quotes and stories and groups them into

categories on where, why, how mental illnesses come about. I could not find much about Ally

Holterman other than that she writes quite a bit about either mental health or college and this one

just happened to both. Healthline has multiple medical professionals that review the submissions

and make sure they are accurate. The article is from 2016 which is more recent than most. The

source was bias but for all the right reasons in that people need to be more supportive of the
mental health and she advocates for that. The source is credible as it goes through medical

professionals before being published and she cites all of her facts.

Sebatke, Sarah. Mental Health on College Campuses: A Look at the Numbers. USA Today,

Gannett Satellite Information Network, 30 Jan. 2016, http://college.usatoday.com/2016/

01/30/mental-health-by-the-numbers/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2017.

I chose this article only for statistics. Sarah Sebatke uses outside sources to pull statistics that are

shocking. Sarah is a college student and works for USA Today to share her articles. The source is

known for promoting things from news to cooking to weather. The article is recent and unbiased

as it is mostly statistics. She is a college student working towards her degree in journalism and I

find that to be credible in the fact that she has firsthand experience. The article benefits my letter

in that I can pull accurate numbers to provide more emphasis on the seriousness of the situations

in college.

Suicide Statistics. Suicide Statistics, www.emorycaresforyou.emory.edu/resources/suicidestati

stics.html. Accessed 22 Apr. 2017.

The website is a universitys website and has statistics that I found necessary to my letter. The

website has statistics for adults, young adults, college kids, and the statistics for their college.

There is no author. The source Emory University and they are providing the information for their

students and others. The source is not biased as the statistics are just facts. The source is reliable

as they give insight on not only their students but on everyone. It will benefit my paper as I can

use the statistics and give insight on suicide and mental health.