In a University of Iowa park last week, 1,200 small yellow flags aimed to bring awareness — if not voice — to the shrouded problem of suicide.
“I’m so proud of everything you’ve overcome,” read one of the hundreds of messages inked on the flags, which in total represented the national annual average of students lost to suicide on college campuses. “Keep fighting.”
Another read: “You are missed.”
As vice president of the UI student organization “Active Minds,” aimed at providing mental health education and advocacy, senior Temyia J. Holcomb said she’s keenly aware of the struggles her peers are experiencing — and ways they’ve been aggravated amid lockdowns as the pandemic continues.
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