Michael Mangum | Special to the Tribune Issa McKnight, top right, and Adam Meadows, second from right, sing hymns with other students during a candlelight vigil held outside the N. Eldon Tanner Building on the campus of BYU in Provo, UT on Wednesday, December 5th, 2018.
A BYU student who attempted suicide Monday on the school’s campus has died in a hospital.
The 19-year-old woman died Tuesday, said university spokesman Todd Hollingshead.
She was critically injured when she fell to the first floor of the massive atrium at the center of the Tanner Building on Monday and had been in intensive care. A GoFundMe page is raising money for medical and funeral expenses.
After Monday’s incident, Brigham Young University students questioned wait times at the campus counseling center. The school said it will propose adding more therapists when its trustees meet in January. Currently, it has one counselor per 1,000 students.
The counseling office released a statement Wednesday saying the incident “has generated an important discussion about the availability of mental health services on campus.” It reiterated that it has a therapist on staff at all hours that can be reached at 801-422-2222.
The university, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has opened its counseling office for crisis and walk-in consultations.
Students held a vigil outside the Tanner Building Wednesday night. The 19-year-old woman was American Indian and of some Polynesian heritage, and a second vigil was organized Friday night by a handful of multicultural clubs. At a school with a student body that is overwhelmingly white, the group leaders said they wanted to gather and sing together to grieve a loss that has deeply affected their small community.
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Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts is asked to call the 24-Hour National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Utah also has crisis lines statewide.
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