Newly recognized student group to host suicide prevention walk

Boston University students are partnering with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to sponsor and raise funds for BU’s Out of the Darkness Walk on the Charles River Campus to raise awareness for suicide and depression.

Swanson Ninan, vice president of BU’s Out of the Darkness group, said one of the walk’s primary goals is to raise funds for suicide prevention.

“However, [another] one of the main goals is awareness and public education on this topic,” Ninan, a College of Arts and Science sophomore, said. “There’s a lot of stigma around suicide, and we want to make sure that these are conversations that people are able to have. We all experience immense amounts of stress, and we just want to make sure that people feel supported all of the time, especially in our community.”

Although the walk was first held at BU in 2012, this year is the first that BU’s Out of the Darkness group — which organized the walk — is recognized as an official student group by the Student Activities Office, Ninan said. The walk will take place April 28.

“Last year we were not an official student group, so we did meet with the administration to figure out ways to get reservations for the space that we needed,” he said. “This year we applied to be a student group and we were approved, so we’ve been having more meetings, we’ve had a lot more input from student groups who want to be involved.”

The walk aims to equip both students and community members with the skills necessary to recognize depression and offer help to those struggling in order to prevent suicide, Ninan said.

Rosie Bauder, president of Out of the Darkness said the organization hopes to begin having a larger presence in all of Boston.

“Because we are a new group, we’re very excited about this walk,” Bauder, a CAS sophomore, said. “But for next semester, we’d like to build a presence in our community and make these resources accessible to BU students and others in the Boston community.”

Bauder said because suicide affects many students, it is important to educate the community as a whole so its members can offer help to those in need.

“Suicide is a problem particularly among college students,” she said. “It’s the third leading cause of preventable death among 15 to 24-year-olds, and it’s something we figure that we should all be able to prevent. As students with these sets of skills — and as human beings — we should care for everyone and make sure that everyone feels that suicide isn’t the answer.”

The walk will begin outside the George Sherman Union by the Fox Fountain and will loop through the Esplanade and back to the GSU, Ninan said. There will be performances and speak-outs for people to share their experiences with suicide and depression.

Bauder said the fundraiser, which ends July 1, has already raised enough money to meet the group’s goal.
“Our goal was $5,000, but we’re thinking of raising that goal to $7,000 because we’ve had so much support from our students and their families,” she said. “So far we’re at $5,000 dollars, and we have about 100 people registered in the walk.”

Organizers hope to create a network for those affected by, or at risk of suicide and depression, Bauder said.

“For someone who loses someone to suicide … what we want to do is to be there for them,” she said. “It’s a network. It’s a support network so people can communicate and share their stories with other people in this safe, empathetic environment.”