On Friday, April 16th around 12:00 pm a fellow WVU student tragically took his own life. Understandably, this has upset the entire West Virginia University community as the student body grieves this loss and reflects on how it could have been prevented.

On Saturday, April 17, a wide-known Instagram account that represents students on campus and has 60,000 followers asked for people to come forward if they had a mental health experience. Over 30 students responded detailing their mental health experiences. Many voiced concerns over the lack of support they received from West Virginia University and the inability of the WVU Carruth Center to meet their needs.

The mission of the West Virginia University Carruth Center is to be "Dedicated to fostering a supportive learning environment for all members of the WVU community". While it has helped many students, the increased need for mental health services— especially one-on-one counseling— has left the resource with no option other than to turn away students, put them on a waitlist, or direct them to outside services they cannot afford. The counselors are also unable to help students with certain complex situations.

The student body and everyone who signs this petition is asking for West Virginia University to reevaluate its approach to student mental health and improve the services it has at the Carruth Center which are meant to combat mental health crises.

We have identified three main problems regarding the services the Carruth Center offers students:

1). The Carruth Center is not able to meet the needs of students at WVU

-They frequently push students into group counseling when a student would prefer individual counseling. 

-Many students were told by the Carruth Center that "they had too many problems for them to help" and did not adequately support the students in finding other options.

-After 12 visits they charge a high amount of money per visit for students. Students should be entitled to unlimited mental health services. We need to prioritize people's lives over money!

2). Counseling appointments are not accessible

-The Carruth Center requires that students physically call their number and say "I need counseling" to be able to make an appointment. They do not allow students to email them about appointments or use an online scheduler. When you are depressed it is hard to admit to someone over the phone that you need help. 

-The Carruth Center left students who were in need of mental health help stranded because there were not enough appointments. They also did not follow through with continuing to schedule other student's appointments.

-Many students found that they were in need of mental health services and were told there were no available appointments as the Carruth Center is "first come, first serve".

3). There is a lack of communication between the Carruth Center, the students, and WVU professors. 

-The Carruth Center does not raise awareness to professors about the importance of mental health. It does not guide professors to help students who may be suffering from mental health inhibitions. 

I am planning on writing a formal letter detailing these issues to E. Gordon Gee and university officials. I would like the letter to include personal statements coming from students' actual experiences so the university knows how serious this issue is. 

If you have an experience and would like to be included in the letter anonymously, please email your statement to stc0008@mix.wvu.edu; all experiences will be provided in the letter.