Occasional updates, comments, and reflections from President Feridun Hamdullahpur
The University of Waterloo has come together as a stronger community after our community, especially our students, asked for a stronger system in place for mental health about 18 months ago. Since then, we have made strides on many fronts in our journey to strengthen student mental health and wellness supports at our institution.
Earlier this year, we took important steps to transform the support we provide to students who are dealing with mental health challenges while also creating conditions that support the mental health of all students.
This column also appears on the Insight page of today’s Waterloo Region Record.
Millions of Canadians, including celebrities, sports teams, governments and universities, made it a point to show their support for people struggling with mental health challenges at the end of January.
Hitting the retweet button is an easy way for any of us to show our support for mental health wellness. It is a lot harder when we're asked to do more than click a button.
On Monday, March 5, our campus lost a student to suicide. In the hours that followed this tragic event, our campus expressed shock, anger and grief at the loss of another young life.
Words cannot express my sadness upon hearing this news. Like many of you, I am asking what was going on in this young man’s world where taking his life seemed the only way out. I am thinking about his parents, his family, and his friends and the terrible impact this will have on their lives.
As I look outside, I can feel the winter in my bones. I know the atmosphere of short days and cold weather can contribute to feeling down this time of year. This time of year also brings with it a great deal of work and pressure. It’s human to feel stress as it is a common part of life that can come and go with shifts in commitments and workload.
We have all worked hard through the first half of the Fall term and now it’s time to take a breather. Fall Break offers us a pause to reflect on what we need to be successful for the remainder of the term.
