Dylan Guillory
Inside a corridor in the learning commons, the Hallway of Life is filled with inspiring messages. This was one of the events PALs organized for Yellow Ribbon Week.
In honor of Suicide Prevention Month, the school’s Peer Assistant Listeners (PALs) hosted Yellow Ribbon Week last week, including a Suicide Prevention Walk that took place on Saturday. The goal behind this event was to raise suicide awareness and help struggling students feel less alone. According to a study done by The Jed Foundation, 9.5% of high school students attempted suicide in the past year.
PALs members strived to create a positive environment across campus by holding events such as time with therapy dogs and free lemonade. PALs member Remie Schnurer (10) points out what PALs did to ensure this week left a lasting impact.
“PALs not only has a positive impact but a memorable one,” Schnurer said. “We’ve conceived a myriad of different events that ensure a positive foundation that allows students to feel safe about their mental health.”
In today’s society, mental health can be viewed as a weakness, and many students are ashamed to acknowledge it. In a 2022 study done by the UK’s YoungMinds Charity, 51% of young people are ashamed to seek mental health support.
“It pushes forward the notion of normalizing mental health and speaking out about one’s experiences,” Schnurer said. “We want to make sure students on campus feel safe about sharing their mental health.”
Yellow Ribbon Week has created a positive environment across campus. Kaitlyn Paglia (9) shared how Yellow Ribbon week contributes to her overall impression of the school.
“It makes me feel like I am not alone and that the school cares about how we’re doing mentally and not just in a physical aspect, such as grades,” Paglia said.
Paglia felt that the week served to bring greater attention to mental health within the community.
“I think the importance of this event is to help students not feel ashamed of their mental health but to instead bring awareness and make sure everyone on campus is feeling included and getting the support they need,” Paglia said.
People who have a personal connection with mental health can understand what it looks like for teenagers. PALs adviser, Honors Chemistry and AP Chemistry teacher, Angela Willden, emphasized the importance of students being educated on mental health topics.
“Someone who has that emotional understanding and connection can then support people and raise awareness of the subject,” Willden said.
Every student or faculty member may be affected differently by the topic of mental health because of personal experience.
“I think students who maybe haven’t had some of these tragic experiences connected to them will be touched more informatively and less by the emotions of it, but more, what can I look for?,” Willden said. “How can I get help? It’s more of an intellectual experience, raising awareness and understanding.”
Willden understands that some lessons can have a stronger effect on those with prior experiences related to the subject matter.
“I think it will impact each student very differently depending on their life experience,” Willden said, “I think students who have been touched by suicide in their life are going to be much more emotionally impacted by the events and the information and I think it can be very triggering, but also very reassuring that it’s not something that we’re just ignoring.”