Suicide on university campuses is shooting up, and this phenomenon has led to conversations and discussions among people, but all the talks of numbers and patterns still leave us with the ques-tion: "Why do the students take their own lives?" The most common factor is mental illness, in particular, "mood disorders", such as phobia, paranoia, hypochondria, clinical depression and manic-depressive illness, also known as bi-polar disorder.
Mental problems have drawn attention from the government, society and universities as the number of suicide cases on campuses have grown alarmingly. National support system towards suicide on campus has been established in many countries. Besides, the counseling and mental health centre, most of the universities have set up a warning and intervention mechanism to supplement psychiatric counseling, especially focusing on suicide prevention on campus.
However, a hidden risk factor which is significantly associated with the possibility of suicide among university students hasn’t been detected by the government, society, and/or universities. The design of student accommodation in universities should be considered as an important point, which may precipitate depression or escalate the level of mental illness. A number of suicide cases, which have happened in student dorms highlights that there are some problems with the design of student accommodation and perhaps should be taken into account as a subversive in campus suicide.
Subversive
Poor student accommodation design can be classified into three categories.s
1. Surroundings. A number of universities are located in suburbs or far away from town centres, understandably their student hall developments are situated close by, which is convenient for the students to access between their dorms and campus. But some characteristics of an urban location can possibly cause depression in students.
A. The shortage of entertainment in suburban districts may induce feelings of a sense of dullness. It is difficult for students to get rid of their tension through the limited facilities, and always living under pressure without any form of release may cause depression and other mental illnesses.
B. Lack of company and poor public transport also decrease the possibility of social communication between students. Taking part in city centre activities requires the students to go out of their way, therefore they may opt to stay in their rooms.
C. With the exception of watching DVDs and playing computer games, the only entertainment for students appears to be peer parties, but the two popular problems with these parties are alcohol and drug abuse. These are other high suicide risk factors, more than half of all suicides involve drugs or alcohol.
2. Layout and interior design. Common features of the student flat are small, crowded, and low. These interiors also have uniform layout, poor colour coordination, dull furniture and framework. This is all very monotonous and depressing to those who are more vulnerable.
Black, white, gray, dark blue and some other cool colours are extensively utilized in student accommodation, because these colours look clean, tidy and steady. But from the psychological perspective, a negative influence on people’s mood can be generated when living in an environment with these colours together.
Psychologists believe warm colours like red, yellow and orange can enhance people’s mood and make people happy; contrary to this, dark blue, gray, brown and other cool colours can make people quiet, even depressed. Black and white are two extreme colours, many surveys show that black can distract people’s attention, and make people upset, empty, desperate and depressed. When living in such an environment for a long time, pupils of the eyes will be enlarged, therefore people will be getting more and more detached; in addition, their health and wellbeing will be influenced. However, although white is clean and can calm people down, living in an environment such as this for long periods can lead to the pupils of the eyes shrinking because of the strong contact with white light, and it will cause headaches and nervous debility.
Wayne Liao, a graduate student of Lancaster University, who lived in a student hall when he was studying in Grizedale College of Lancaster, said: “my flatmates and I couldn’t stay in our rooms for more than three days, the black doors, the ceilings, and the white walls of the flat almost drove us mad. But if we were to go out, it usually took us 2 hours to get to the city centre area, and at least 40 minutes by bus to the nearest supermarket. So, compared to going out, we’d rather stay in our flat, drinking and taking drugs to release our depression. Once when I spent my Christmas holiday in our flat alone, I really felt suicidal. To have such a feeling is horrible, and I don’t even want to recall it.”
Students who lived in a flat of student hall in Lancaster University were sitting and drinking in their flat’s corridor, in order to release their depression.
Samantha Dong, a graduate student of Loughborough University talked about one of her flatmate’s death in the student flat of Loughborough University. “When we found her body, it was several days after her death. It was a devastating scene. She died in her bath room. Nobody knew she had died until someone noticed a flow of water coming out from her room through a crack between her door and the floor. There was also an unusual smell. No one knew how she died. People said maybe she died from sudden illness like heart attack or etc., but no one can give us a satisfying answer. This happened several years ago, but I still believe she died from suicide. A week before her death, she told me she felt like she was living in a cell; dark, cramped, and silent. I know she was very anxious about her study, because she couldn’t focus on studying in her room that felt like it is a cell. I can understand and relate to how she struggled with her studies, life conditions, and mental troubles.”
Student flat of Loughborough University. Too much white may lead to feelings of tenseness nervousand can cause mental illness.
3. Supports and services. This is a service design problem. Most universities haven’t built support services for students living in campus accommodations, such as neighbourhood facilities (for entertainment, sport, communication and study), and it is necessary to run workshops for staff to develop appropriate attitudes and working ways when dealing with student matters.Poor supports and services might make students more frustrated with their accommodation, and it may also be a trigger for depression. Alternatively, investment in the infrastructure and services of university will decrease the possibility of student’s depression, which is influenced by the poor design of their rooms.
Time to Intervene
Suicide leaves a wide path of destruction: they not only harm themselves but those they care for most around them. In Nancy O'Malley's book, ‘Suicide on Campus’, James Rhem states, "Suicide hurts us all. When a student kills himself in a dorm, the whole campus is affected. His fellow students, his teacher, his resident advisor all feel the loss in some way or another. It challenges each of them, each of us. Clearly, we must work together against suicide not just for the sake of the victims but for all our sakes."
It is time to highlight the importance of the living environment of students as a crucial factor, which may lead to the suicide of university students. Hence psychologists, designers, architects, and sociologist should collaborate together, to clarify this problem and tackle it as soon as possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment