Many students may opt for tattoos during their college years, but on Wednesday, a temporary piece of body art might bring hope.
Bobcats for Suicide Prevention Campaign partnered with Psi Chi Honor Society and Post-it to bring the message of To Write Love On Her Arms, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention, to campus. There will be six tables set up throughout campus where students can have volunteers write “love” on their arms and learn more about self-mutilation, self-inflicted wounds and suicide prevention.
The two program chairs for the group, Louise Barr and Alique Topalian, came up with the idea during the summer.
Barr, a fifth-year senior studying psychology, said she learned about TWLOHA her sophomore year of college and thought it would be a positive way to raise awareness about a somber topic.
“It’s a really beautiful way to portray support,” Barr said.
Barr contacted TWLOHA through its Web page and received tips and ideas of different speakers and resources to contact.
“In future years, when we have more funding, I’d really like to get a speaker from (TWLOHA),” Barr said.
Claire Bens, president of Bobcats for Suicide Prevention Campaign and a senior studying political science and global studies, said this event allows for the message to spread throughout campus quickly.
“If you see somebody with something actually written on their body, it’s more likely to cause you to ask, ‘What is that?’ or ‘Why do you have that?’ and really delve into the issue,” Bens said.
Suicide affects college-age students disproportionately, and part of the event’s goal is to encourage a “Bobcat Family” on campus, she said.
“Even if somebody doesn’t pass by one of our tables that day, it doesn’t mean they can’t have ‘love’ written on their arm,” Bens said. “It’s something they can do themselves to say they support this and they support the people around them and that they’re part of this Bobcat Family.”
To wrap up the day, Delfin Bautista, director of the LGBT Center, will be speaking about suicide prevention.
“With the LGBT community, there is a lot of suicide risk so it seemed like a perfect pairing,” Barr said.
The hope is that people realize there is a lot of support on this campus, Barr said.
“A lot of times mental illness is wrapped around the thoughts that suicide is a possibility and so it’s really nice when there’s an external force from the environment showing support and care,” she said.
sm559111@ohiou.edu
@sophie_mitchem
