Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students in the United States.

This statistic, which comes from a 2005 study, may seem surprisingly high. To combat suicide among college students and in general, the American Association of Suicidology established National Suicide Prevention Week, running this year from Sept. 6 through Sept. 12.

The week serves as an annual effort to raise awareness “on the science of prevention, treatment, and recovery,” according to the association’s Web site. In its 35th year, National Suicide Prevention Week is scheduled around World Suicide Prevention Day, which this year fell on Thursday.

While the Counseling and Student Development Center stated they have no plans for events to specifically coincide with Suicide Prevention Week, they do have plans to reach out to students this semester. The counseling center plans to focus its outreach efforts on National Depression Screening Day, which is Oct. 7.

It’s important to know and recognize possible warning signs for depression or suicide, especially if a friend or loved one might be at risk. The AAS offers the mnemonic “IS PATH WARM?” This mnemonic points to increased substance abuse, withdrawal from loved ones, drastic mood changes, feelings of hopelessness and more as red flags to potential suicide risk.

“If you’re at all concerned about someone, open your mouth,” said counselor Sandra Carey. “The first step is to reach out to someone.”

Despite the fact that there are no plans specifically for the week, the center screens all clients in order to determine if they might be a suicide risk.

“When students come to us, there’s a process to asses the risk of suicide,” Carey said. “We ask a series of questions to determine the risk. We screen everyone that comes in.”

The counseling center also offers a number of support and discussion groups, most notably Healing Huskies, a group designed to help students cope with loss of various kinds.

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