Julie Scelfo Suicide

Each year, thousands of lives are lost to the most preventable cause of death: suicide. The alarming rise in rates of suicide in young adults prompts an investigation into the root of the problem. Society’s reluctance to discuss suicide and mental illness plays a large role in the public being notoriously unaware of the pervasiveness of suicide in young people. In her essay, “Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection,” Julie Scelfo, a frequent contributor to The New York Times, analyzes the demanding lifestyles of college students and the stress factors on their lives. Scelfo strives to educate parents and students on the influences of parental control and the importance of mental health in young adults. She asserts this claim by implementing
Scelfo provides, “Anxiety and depression, in that order, are now the most common mental health diagnoses among college students, according to the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State”. By including precise data, Scelfo presents concrete evidence to her audience that is incontrovertible, thus enabling the reader to recognize the prevalence of mental health issues on college campuses. This information expands on the seriousness of such situations and stresses how more emphasis should be invested into making sure college students are emotionally healthy. Furthermore, Scelfo asserts, “In 2003, Duke jolted academe with a report describing how its female students felt pressure to be ‘effortlessly perfect’ :smart, accomplished, fit, beautiful and popular, all without visible effort”. By including this statistic, Scelfo further develops her thesis pertaining to the expectations of college students, specifically, how their mental states can be adversely affected by such pressures. By displaying legitimate feedback directly from college students, she effectively addresses the preconceived notions surrounding college life. In order to further convince her audience of the validity of mental health concerns, Scelfo incorporates reputable individuals in her essay, including, “William Alexander, director of Penn’s counseling and psychological services... Meeta Kumar, who has been counseling at Penn for 16 years…”. Although Scelfo might not be an expert on all subjects of mental health, she reinforces her assertion by including shared viewpoints from professionals, therefore making her own ideas more credible. Scelfo’s addition of logos and ethos emphasizes the factual evidence of of mental health issues among younger generations, prompting her audience to recognize the magnitude of such