[Student Reporters] College Suicide Rates Targeting Asian American and Asian Race

Jay Kim / <11th, Granada Hills Charter High School>

Suicide is the second leading cause of deaths for college students. Untreated depression is the number one cause for these suicides.

"I was never aware that college suicide rates were that high" Ben Kim 18 from Granada Hills Charter High School said. "Maybe it's because I'm still in high school but I honestly don't understand why college students would end their lives after all the hard work they put in to get to college in the first place."

Environmental factors such as intense educational competition isolation from family members substance abuse rejection from friends etc. all contribute to the depression and suicide consideration of undergraduate college students.

What's even more disturbing about these premature deaths is that a large portion of the students committing suicides are Asian-American or Asian.

"It doesn't surprise me at all that most of the college suicides are Asians and or Asian-Americans" Ji Kim 15 from Granada Hills Charter High School remarked. "Asians are stereotyped to be extremely hard working towards a successful educational career so that pressure may push them off the edge."

Asian American and Asian students are generally believed to have surplus pressure from their parents to pursue traditional careers such as doctors lawyers and engineers. First generation children may feel an even more burdening pressure because of the stereotypical "sacrifice" the whole family and parents made in order to secure a brighter educational future for them.

"The competition at my school is intense. I'm trying my best to focus intently on school but it discourages me to see my other ethnic friends partying and having fun using the excuse "we're in college now"" Alex Jung 19 from Yale University stated. "Although most everyone here is constantly stressed it seems like Asians feel pressure not only from themselves but from countless other outlets like our parents back home."

Along with this notable difference of educational aspiration the Asian culture in general is noted for their emphasis on extreme respect towards elders. Thus students find it difficult to communicate with their parents about their issues and problems. They may also refrain from questioning any parental authority.

"I do feel restricted against talking to my parents explicitly about my education issues or the pressure I feel from them and even when I attempt to they just end up pushing me again and telling me to keep up my good grades" Soo Kong 16 a first generation immigrant from South Korea explained.

With a combination of all these external internal and most importantly cultural factors there has been incessant contribution towards the depression and mental issues that Asian students typically those in college feel.

Asian students parents and authorities must collaborate and work together to lessen the cultural pressures placed on students as a preventative measure against future suicides.