Since the April 16 massacre at Virginia Tech perpetrated by a student whom classmates, professors and administrators realized, in retrospect, displayed signs of mental instability, the problem of how to keep students safe while respecting privacy weighs heavily upon colleges. Universities face a tough challenge when trying to reconcile the personal nature of emotional instability or mental illness with institutional services and safeguards for students thought to be a danger to themselves or others.

Boston University’s program for referring students about whom professors or residence life staff have concerns to counseling services is good, but perhaps not well enough advertised or understood by the entire community. For concerns about emotional problems to be addressed, they must be recognized at the most personal level — by students and resident assistants — even though administrators make decisions about student policy. The university should educate classmates, floormates, RAs and teaching fellows about what behaviors portend destructive actions – from eating disorders and depression to criminal actions.

As Student Health Services Behavioral Medicine Director Margaret Ross said, dark poetry or violent creative work is not a definite sign of mental instability. Rather, other signs like isolation and changes in academic performance, which may be recognized in painting students, engineers and social scientists, are better indicators of a need for professional intervention. When different members of the university community recognize disconcerting behavior, they should feel comfortable and know how to report these concerns.

Coordination of reports about possible student emotional instability is imperative if community awareness about mental health is to have any meaningful effect. Patterns of suspicious behavior reported by many sources must not be ignored, as was the case of Seung-Hui Cho at Virginia Tech. A policy to force treatment in emergencies must exist, but students must also not feel forced into treatments unless they present an imminent danger to anyone or forget that behavioral medicine services are for their benefit.

Increased awareness about emotional health problems must not lead to something that seems like a witch hunt. Rather, if BU better advertises and explains the intentions of existing support services, students would be more inclined to seek support for themselves and their acquaintances.