The Association of Student Governments and the university’s Active Minds club are working together to add a mental health reform initiative, ASG President Cameron Carswell said.

Active Minds works with students on college campuses and its main goal is to end the stigmatization of mental health, co-president of Active Minds Shannon Wright said.

“Mental health should be something that society feels comfortable with talking about, not something that is swept under the rug or viewed as taboo,” Wright said.

Wright said mental health is just important as any other aspect it students’ lives, therefore needs the same attention as academics or physical health.

With this initiative, ASG hopes to expand counseling departments and expand accessibility to students struggling with mental illness, Carswell said.

“It’s worth investing in today because you never know when you could be that person who needs those counselors or who needs those resources on campus,” Carswell said.

The legislation to add this initiative is still in the works since it was just passed at ASG’s September meeting.

“We’re trying to figure out what needs to be fixed, what needs to be changed and what students are interested in changing,” Carswell said.

Outreach and prevention efforts are vital to students, especially since most college students who commit suicide have not been to a counseling center, Dan Jones, director of counseling and psychological services, said.

Last spring, the counseling center referred out 60 percent of the people who came for help, but still had 70 people on a waiting list, Jones said.

The counseling center wants to help everyone they can, Jones said.”It breaks out heart not to be able to see someone…or have to put them on the waiting list when you know they’re hurting,” Jones said.

Story by: Lindsay Bookout, Intern News Reporter