Security staff at British universities are increasingly being called upon to handle mental health emergencies rather than drunken behaviour, according to a senior officer at Brunel University London. Terry Vass, head of security, said that while his work two decades ago mainly involved breaking up fights outside campus bars, he now spends hours accompanying suicidal students to A&E. The worst periods are the start of term and holidays, when students feel isolated.
The crisis is reflected in national figures: the 2015 intake saw 26,000 students drop out in their first year, the third consecutive annual increase. In the 12 months to July 2017, the suicide rate among university students in England and Wales was 4.7 per 100,000, equating to 95 deaths.
Bristol University became a focal point after 12 students were believed to have taken their own lives between October 2016 and April 2018. In November 2018, student protesters gathered in the city demanding better access to psychological support. Ruth Day, an organiser, said she had been suspended for eight weeks under a rule allowing universities to send home students considered unfit to study or a risk to themselves.
In April 2018, 20-year-old physics student Natasha Abrahart died on the day she was due to take an oral assessment, which she reportedly found unbearable. Her parents said they would pursue legal action, arguing the university failed to provide an alternative to the test.
Protests have also taken place at University College London and Goldsmiths, where students demanded improved counselling services. Meanwhile, media coverage has often dismissed students as 'snowflakes', and some staff worry that teaching is being overshadowed by emotional support duties. Goldsmiths lecturer William Davies said many students are 'terrified of failure' and view assessment as an unforgiving ordeal.
With roughly half of young people now attending university, the pressures reflect a wider trend: one study suggests six times more young people in England have psychological problems than in 1995. Budget cuts to youth services, the NHS and state schools are believed to be contributing factors.
