#Wpi screensteps archive how to#

'We definitely need to kind of work on that,' Starr said. 'iving each other the grace and respect and understanding that, you know, we're all going through this together, and checking up on each other, is of utmost importance.' He said some professors are doing this already, but more of that kind of response is needed. Starr also urged professors to give students extra time and space to complete their work. But giving each other the grace and respect and understanding that, you know, we're all going through this together, and checking up on each other, is of utmost importance.' 'It's a tough situation for anyone to go through - or any group of people to go through. 'We do need to come together and to show love and care for each other,' Starr said.

#Wpi screensteps archive how to#

He had worked on previous peer mental health support efforts on campus.Īs the task force works on recommendations for how to better address mental health on campus, Starr said he hopes students, faculty and staff in the WPI community will ask each other how they're doing. Starr is now serving on a mental health task force the WPI administration formed in the wake of the student deaths.

'And you know, we all just came together, and we laughed about all the good times and shared all the stories that we remember and that we'll miss.

'We're just trying to check in on each other and really try to ensure that, you know, everyone else is doing okay,' Starr said. It was like an extra gut punch,' Starr said, adding that the fraternity immediately became a source of solace and support. 'That was incredibly tough to take, knowing that it was not just the first student death - or student suicide - this year. He was the fraternity brother of a WPI student who died by suicide in September. Robbie Starr graduated from WPI in May and is now a first-year graduate student there. We've got to look at it as a more systemic issue that we've all got to be involved in addressing.' 'If we put this entirely on the backs of mental health professionals, we will never have enough of that. And that's really where we're focusing our energies,' she said. 'Everybody on this campus needs to be a part of that culture of care. WPI is also sponsoring gatherings for students to express their grief about the recent student deaths, and it's launched an effort to foster connection and wellness campus-wide, Leshin said. According to Leshin, it takes one to three days to get an initial appointment. Some students in a social media forum expressed concern about long waits for appointments at the counseling center. Leshin said the on-campus mental health center added to its staff recently, including two full-time counselor positions this fall - one of which still has to be filled - and staff to better respond to students' mental health challenges in times of high need. 'In the immediate aftermath of the tragedies, we have been working very closely with students who were closest to our students who passed away.' 'So as you can imagine, we are reeling,' Leshin said. Prior to the recent deaths, there had been just two suicides among students since 2006. WPI President Laurie Leshin calls the loss of four students in just four months unprecedented for the school. Two of those deaths have been confirmed as suicides. Three other WPI underclassmen have died since July. The cause of death is under investigation. WPI officials say a first-year student was found dead in his dorm room Monday night. Worcester Polytechnic Institute is confronting a crisis on campus following four student deaths in four months.