An LSA sophomore died after jumping from a parking structure on South Forest Street yesterday morning.
Police said the death appeared to be a suicide.
“We are deeply saddened by the news of this tragic event,” Dean of Students Susan Eklund wrote in an e-mail yesterday. “We offer our deepest sympathy to the young man’s family and friends.”
The suicide is the second in a little more than two weeks at the University.
A Law School and Public Policy student died after jumping from the same parking structure on Feb. 1.
John Greden, chair of the psychiatry department, said signs that someone may be suicidal include persistent sadness, sleeplessness, changes in appetite, feelings of hopelessness and increased use of alcohol or other drugs.
“Most people who commit suicide don’t just wake up and decide today is the day – there are some warning signs,” said Det. Richard Kinsey of the Ann Arbor Police Department.
Vicki Hays, associate director of University Counseling and Psychological Services, said those concerned about someone should “look for dramatic changes in someone’s way of being . a withdrawal from social contact or other interests.”
However, Hays stressed that every individual is different.
“There is no quick and easy list of things to look for,” she said. “The important thing to get across is that we really need to reach out to one another and be connected and be noticing the people around us.”
The University offers a variety of services to students who are experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts and those who need help to support someone close to them.
CAPS offers confidential counseling and support to students. It also accommodates emergency appointments from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday in its offices on the third floor of the Michigan Union.
For emergencies outside of business hours, students can call the Psychiatric Emergency Room at 936-5900 or dial 911.
Students can also contact the University’s Depression Center for an appointment at 936-4400 during business hours.
After experiencing a spike in student suicides with seven to eight in the 2003-2004 school year, New York University implemented and heavily marketed a private hotline for students.
NYU’s Wellness Exchange operates 24 hours a day and connects students to professionals who can help them address day-to-day challenges as well as other crises. The hotline is also available to students who just need to talk with someone.
NYU spokesman Josh Taylor deemed the program a success and said several thousand students dialed the line in 2005.
In Ann Arbor, Ozone House operates a hotline from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. The line can be reached at 662-2222.
Volunteers are trained in suicide counseling, but the line is primarily a crisis hotline for runaway youth and the homeless.
After hours, the line is run by the state Department of Human Services. Volunteers are trained in crisis intervention techniques, including suicide counseling.
Michelle Riba, associate chair of the psychiatry department, said the most important thing for students contemplating suicide to know is that they should speak to someone who could help.
She suggested counselors, family members, friends, professors, resident advisors, clergy members or hotline volunteers.
“Suicides are rarely impulsive,” Riba said. “Often people try to reach out to others in the days or weeks before . it’s important that we pick up on this.”
Statistics published by the Jed Foundation, whose mission is to curb suicide among college students, reveal that suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students.
The foundation projects nearly 1,100 students will take their own lives on college campuses this year.
People need to “expand their circle of concern to others so that people don’t slip through the cracks,” Hays said.