The following story was broadcast by WAND-TV on Sept. 25, 2023.
"Dozens of backpacks hung on display in the quad at the University of Illinois Springfield on Monday.
Each backpack had pieces of paper attached to it, which shared the story of someone's experience with suicide. Some of them were written by family members after they lost a loved one to suicide, others were written by those who attempted to take their own life.
'It just really speaks to how impactful and how relatable mental health issues are on college campuses,' said Professor Frances Shem, who is also the faculty advisor for the Active Minds chapter on campus, who organized the event. 'Oftentimes you don't necessarily realize that people are struggling with mental health issues, and that they all they seem like they're doing very well and very put together on the outside.'"