See It: The Community being helped

"Expressions: A Therapeutic Medium for Breaking the Silence" is a literary magazine created, organized, designed, and published by Students Against Silence (SAS), a Columbia University organization dedicated to preventing suicide and raising awareness about mental health related issues in the Columbia community. One of our club’s first orders of business for the spring semester was to create this magazine, or what we like to call a "medium for breaking the silence." In an American culture that promotes internal strength, or at least the outward appearance of it, mental illness and particularly suicide are viewed as personal weaknesses, taboo subjects not to be mentioned in polite society. However, suicide is the third leading cause of death for young adults between 15 and 24 years of age, and a staggering 90% of suicide victims have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time of their deaths. Another point of interest is that science has proven that creative individuals, or artists, are disproportionately prone to depression and suicidal tendencies. Everyone in a university setting is brilliant and creative in his or her own way, so it is only natural that the university should be the place where mental health is fostered and issues are dealt with in an open environment. Yet historically, it hasn't been. That's why we channeled all of our resources into creating this first annual literary magazine. It is a way for students and other members of the community to voice their experiences relating to mental health in a medium that is best suited to their individual talents. Poetry, essays, drawings, meaningful quotes, and photographs were all featured in Expressions. We designed and published fliers and posters to promote the magazine, collected submissions, designed the cover and layout of the magazine, and had it published; it was an entire group effort that made our success possible. We began promoting the magazine and asking for submissions in January, and by early May, we distributed 500 copies of our finished product to dorms all across campus, just in time for the most stressful week of the year--finals! We received numerous compliments on our project, but the most gratifying reward was seeing many of the talented individuals who contributed to the magazine actually become members of our club. We plan to publish Expressions each year, and we will continue to work towards our goal of making our university and our community and mentally healthy and happy place to be.