On March 5, the University of Waterloo confirmed the loss of a student via their website.
According to Cherri Greeno, media relations coordinator for Waterloo Regional Police Services, police responded to calls from the university around 5 a.m. at which point they found the body of a 22-year-old male student.
Police are still investigating, but the death is not currently being considered suspicious.
UW released a statement confirming that the student was a 22-year-old in his fourth year of study. The statement also noted that “Early indications are that the student took his own life.”
Feridun Hamdullahpur, president & vice-chancellor at UW, released the following statement addressing the incident as well as the ongoing concerns with mental health on university campuses:
“On Monday, March 5, our campus lost a student to suicide. In the hours that followed this tragic event, our campus expressed shock, anger and grief at the loss of another young life.
Words cannot express my sadness upon hearing this news. Like many of you I am asking what was going on in this young man’s world where taking his life seemed the only way out. I am thinking about his parents, his family, and his friends and the terrible impact this will have on their lives.
As a community, I believe we need to talk about what happened. We need to talk about this young man and we need to continue to talk about mental health. And we need to turn talk into action to make sure we are doing everything in our power to remove stigma and connect people with the help they need.
Over the past several months, many people have gone to great lengths to start these discussions to give us ideas on where we can improve life at Waterloo for students. In the coming days, I will receive a final report and recommendations from the President’s Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health. I plan to share that report broadly with our campus community to hear feedback and to announce how we will move forward in support of student mental health.
We have suffered a terrible loss. As we reflect on what has happened, let us come together as a community to not only share our grief, but to ensure that those who are suffering know that there is a place for them to go, people for them to talk to, and support for them in their time of need.“
The Cord encourages students to utilize resources such as the Laurier Wellness Centre or Waterloo Regional Suicide Prevention Council if they are seeking resources at this time.