TO THE EDITOR:
Monday’s article, “Peers discuss mental illness,” disappointed me. I am saddened that the intent of Rethink: Psychiatric Illness’s pilot training on mental health was diminished by an attempt to tackle multiple angles. It seemed to aim to raise awareness about the prevalence of mental illness on campus, budget cuts, our training and my personal story. That’s a lot to cover in a 400 word story.
In regards to the speech I gave at the training, I was upset that Monday’s article did not reflect the message I wanted people to gain from it. The goal of my speech was to disprove the stigma surrounding suicide and show how I’ve grown from the experience.
It was also intended to show that my community gained an understanding about suicide through my story. What happened to my father was a terrible tragedy that impacted my life greatly, but in the last three years I’ve been speaking out about it to turn a negative into a positive. While I believe that Monday’s article misrepresented both Rethink and myself, let’s turn this into a positive and rethink that article.
This event is something that my mentors, our group and I have been working hard on for the past year to produce. Our efforts paid off as 30 UNC students participated in the event and about another 30 people were put on a wait list to attend. We couldn’t have asked for better results. The feedback we got from participants was extremely encouraging. At the end, many participants said they learned how to become supportive peers and mental health advocates. That was our intention — this event exceeded our expectations. I’m thrilled by the results and I’m so proud of our group.
I hope the UNC community can recognize that Rethink put on a successful event. The Connected Learning Program may be ending, but from the start we knew it wasn’t a permanent source of funding. We are grateful that CLP has served as a launchpad. Thanks to the overwhelming participation and support of our participants, we will find a way to put on an event next year. Be sure to look out for Rethink: Psychiatric Illness next year, we’re dedicated to eliminating the stigma that surrounds mental illness and determined to be a long-term organization.
Taylor Swankie ’15
Pre-pharmacy
