San Jose State deaths raise mental health concerns

Editor’s note: The following story contains references to self harm and suicide.

San Jose State University has seen two deaths by suicide within a month this year. The tragedies have opened a window into a paradox facing Silicon Valley cities and institutions: addressing public locations that result in self-harm without sparking a “contagion.”

The university is exploring plans for deterrents at campus facilities after two deaths happened in the same location on Feb. 8 and March 9. The most recent incident affected multiple staff who later met with the school’s director of Counseling & Psychological Services, according to school officials. The deceased were not students, they added.

There have been questions over the following weeks about the university’s willingness to publicly acknowledge the two deaths.

Neither incident prompted a campus-wide email explaining what happened or resources for students in crisis. Three campus safety alerts went out over email and text to students with the Spartan Safe app regarding the March 9 incident, according to records reviewed by this news outlet. But the alerts did not go into detail or carry a more personal note from university leaders. There was no alert about the Feb. 8 death, as school officials said it did not affect campus safety or operations.

School leaders said they intentionally refrained from sharing details for fears of setting off more situations.

“The university generally does not provide details on self-harm incidents to protect the medical privacy of those involved and to minimize the possibility of ‘contagion,'” SJSU spokesperson Michelle Smith McDonald told San José Spotlight.

Abe Bravo, a fifth-year studio arts major at SJSU, said he learned more about the March 9 incident from TikTok than the university.

“It seemed like they tried to sweep it under the rug and keep quiet to not cause a breakout,” Bravo told San José Spotlight.

Dr. Shashank Joshi, a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Stanford School of Medicine, said it can be difficult for college administrators to thread the needle of informing students and staff without increasing the risk of another death. While three or more deaths typically define a “cluster,” Joshi said the two deaths at SJSU constitute a “high risk situation.”

“Mitigation strategies must take high priority now,” he told San José Spotlight.

The silence policy captures the heart of an emerging and complex issue regarding public spaces and environments that could prompt self-harm. The concern about “contagion” stems from what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls a “suicide cluster,” which is when a group of deaths by suicide, attempts or self-harm events occur close together in time and proximity.

In Palo Alto last month, scores of residents called for a formal response by local officials after multiple students from nearby Palo Alto High School died in the same area. Five teenagers have died by suicide in Palo Alto within the last year, according to Joshi. Stanford Health experts have warned the city is experiencing its third suicide cluster over roughly two decades. The deaths previously fueled a 2016 CDC study about youth mental health crises in Santa Clara County.

“It’s tricky,” District 5 Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga, whose daughter struggled with mental health issues in middle-to-early high school, told San José Spotlight. “And it’s something that I’ve been grappling with: How do we talk about the topic, deal with the physical environment to enhance safety without triggering copycat behavior?”

Joshi said institutions should keep information about a suicide in general terms when notifying the community.

“There are ways one can acknowledge what happened without drawing attention to details, such as the exact timing, method or location of the death,” he said.

Vynishia Granville, a third-year environmental studies major at SJSU, said she supports putting safeguards on campus to prevent self-harm, but questions how effective they would be without a simultaneous expansion of campus mental health resources.

“It would be good to put safeguards up, but at that point, the person has already reached that mentality,” Granville told San José Spotlight. “We need more services before someone gets to that point.”

Abe-Koga, who has championed efforts to save the allcove youth mental health center in Palo Alto from closure, said adults have a responsibility to encourage youth to speak out on their needs.

“It’s important to step into the darkness and say that adults care — even a small expression of caring can reach hearts,” she said. “We have to create that safe space. And this will keep confounding us if we don’t look in the mirror and own up to the very heavy pressure that we put on our young people.”

If you are in a crisis, feeling depressed, troubled or suicidal, you can call 988, the mental health crisis hotline, to speak with a crisis counselor. In Santa Clara County, interpretation is available in 200 languages. Spanish speakers can also call 888-628-9454. People can reach trained counselors at the Crisis Text Line by texting RENEW to 741741. 

Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.