Virginia Tech Massacre has altered campus mental health systems

The three major changes that have taken place since the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University tragedies are 1) faculty is speaking up more about students who worry them, and that is accelerating a trend of more demand for mental health services, 2) changes are being made to privacy policies; a recent law in Virginia requires colleges to bring parents into the loop when dependent students may be a danger to themselves, or others, 3.) the stigma of mental illness has grown.

I definitely agree with the changes, although I can't speak from first hand experience with any of them, I think everyone is much more aware in every classroom, whether it be a professor, a student, or whomever else, to look for signs of someone with a possible mental problem or disturbance. I can see that changes are being made to privacy policies because of the example that was given in the reading, and if laws are being changed, it's because people are finally opening their eyes to what needs to be done to keep everyone safer. The stigma of mental illness, I think, has grown a considerable amount; you can tell that so many students now feel that a depressed or suicidal person may be the next school shooter, even though it informs us that people with mental illness are rarely violent.

The problem that many faculty members realized is that many students may now be hesitant to seek help because of fear of being stigmatized, and that may prevent them from getting the services and assistance they may truly need.