The UCA Police Department responded to two suicide attempts in August, days before Suicide Prevention Month.

Michael Hopper, public information officer for UCAPD, said six suicide attempts have been reported on campus since January 2023.

“I came up with six reports that either indicated or used the word ‘suicide’ or had the words ‘pills’ that were related to an attempt,” Hopper said.

He said all UCAPD officers are trained in “basic crisis intervention.”

“Our officers are always here to listen to and try to provide whatever help that we can for our students,” Hopper said. “Sometimes that may be just having somebody for that student to talk to, or staff member or faculty member to talk to. It may be that we’re gonna bring the Counseling Center in to provide some additional support and resources.”

On Aug. 25, officer Hunter Glover responded to a student who was “conscious and breathing but refused to talk or respond” outside of Snow Fine Arts, according to a police report.

According to the report, the student was surrounded by a group of people who said the student had a bottle of over-the-counter pain reliever, and they were unsure of how many pills were taken, if any. The student was transported to Conway Regional Emergency Room.

On Aug. 30, officer David Stone responded to a medical incident in a resident hall.

In the report, Stone said the student admitted to trying to harm themself, so they were transported to the Conway Baptist Health Medical Center, and a UCA on-call counselor was notified. 

Susan Sobel, the director of the Counseling Center, said the Counseling Center has a “calling tree,” where the entire staff can be reached after hours in case of an emergency. 

“If police are called out, if housing staff is called in, or notices somebody’s really struggling, then they will initiate,” Sobel said. “When UCAPD contacts us, basically they just call down the list till somebody answers. If it’s three in the morning, you don’t always get it on the first ring. Then they give us a little bit of what’s going on, and we handle it by phone if we can. Sometimes we end up coming back on campus.”

Sobel said students can also request to talk to the on-call counselor after hours by calling the UCAPD dispatch number, 501-450-3111.

Sobel said the counseling staff evaluates the students’ needs, whether it be the student needs someone to talk to or needs medical attention.

“Most of them, we kind of talk to them about what’s going on, problem solve some ways that they can feel better in the short term. Then we set up a follow-up of some kind,” she said.

Sobel said there is a different response for each individual student in order to meet their needs.

“It might be follow up with us and or it’s food insecurity, the food pantry,” she said. “If it’s financial, talk to financial aid or our Student Support and Resource Center. 

“When police have the contact, and then when Housing does, they will file a student of concern report, and then that goes through the care team,” Sobel said. 

Sobel said spikes in suicidal thoughts can be tied to life transitions.

“Sometimes you’ll get a rise tied to adjustment, to college and things that go along with that, because it’s a big life transition,” she said. “Some years, we’ve seen more of a spike around February, which may be because it’s winter, it’s cold, and we’ve moved away from winter break, but we’re not close enough to spring break. It’s also Valentine’s Day, which is great for some, not for others.”

Hopper said that based on the reports, there does not seem to be a concrete pattern between reported attempts.

“As far as the time goes, there’s no real pattern that I was able to nail down,” he said. “As far as stress level goes, I would think the beginning of the semester, certainly with, how hectic it gets. The introduction of classes and some students away from home for the first time, getting used to new surroundings — those sorts of things can be, can be very stressful on students.”

Hopper said UCAPD has seen an increase in sexual extortion cases, which could lead to suicidal thoughts.

“We’ve seen a couple this semester already, so pretty quickly,” he said. “Those sorts of things definitely could lead to suicidal thoughts.”

Sobel said thinking about suicide is often a response to the ideation of short-term relief.

“When those things occur, and when you’re feeling hopeless, much of the time, you’re not going to continue to feel like that,” Sobel said. “So it’s pretty short-lived in its intensity. Hopefully, people will access resources in some way, and realize that if you can just hang on a little bit, and figure out some things to do short term and longer term, you’re not always going to feel like that.”

Sobel said UCA also provides support groups, aiming to target factors that might cause suicidal thoughts.

“We know that one of the factors is loneliness, feeling a lack of connection. So we’re hoping that with these groups that it gives people a chance to connect with people, they will have at least an area in common with,” Sobel said, “One we have on the election. Obviously, we don’t do that every year, but it’s an election every year, and we know that emotions have been running pretty high around that.”

Sobel said, “The bulk of what we do is individual counseling, but we do offer a lot of other things, like the groups and the outreach.

“We want people to look to us as a resource for mental health issues at whatever level you’re at. We encourage people to take care of mental health like you take care of physical health,” she said.

UCA also partners with Hendrix College for the Campus Out of the Darkness walk through the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which Sobel said is typically held in April.

“We are part of the group that helps organize and put that together,” Sobel said. “We have a strong presence at that which just increases awareness and it raises money for research.”

More information about the Counseling Center and the resources available to students can be found at uca.edu/counseling.