The rotunda was filled with eager students waiting to be tattooed with “Love” on their arms, Monday afternoon for Residential Life’s first Bring Love to QU event.
Bring Love to QU was hosted by residential assistants and students writing “Love” in henna and glitter paint on attendees in order to spread awareness about suicide, self-mutilation and depression.
Residential assistant and president of Bring Love to QU, Patrick Duffy, started the movement after hearing about To Write Love On Her Arms, an organization that deals with suicide, self-mutilation and depression; to bring love, support and spreading the word that there’s help for those who need it.
“I don’t think a lot of people know about [suicide] or think about it and there are a lot of people affected by it,” Duffy said. “This is just something to counteract that.”
Duffy wants to bring a chapter of To Write Love on Her Arms to Quinnipiac. He plans to go to the To Write Love on Her Arms conference during the summer to learn more about how to start a chapter on campus.
“I feel like there are a lot of people on this campus who don’t really understand suicide and how many people are affected by it,” Duffy said. “Just this year, with the death of Nick [Lucaj]. Nick passed away this year due to suicide. I didn’t feel there was much of a reaction on campus and that’s what motivated me to start this.”
Most students who attended the event wish to have a To Write Love on Her Arms chapter at Quinnipiac, including sophomore psychology major Angela Romano.
“I’ve heard of ‘To Write Love on Her Arms’ from other schools,” Romano said. “I know about the movement and I just think it was a really nice thing to do. I wanted [To Write Love On Her Arms] to come to Quinnipiac. I wanted a henna tattoo as well to show awareness.”
Sophomore occupational therapy major Rachael Kuhn has been a longtime supporter of To Write Love on Her Arms and finds suicide awareness important to have on a college campus.
“Current statistics say that one in four college students in the United States fits the criteria for a mental illness,” Kuhn said. “One thousand one hundred college students are lost to suicide every year, making it the second leading cause of death in our age group. However, because of all of the stigma surrounding these mental health problems, many students are not getting the treatment they need. With an event such as ‘Love, Bring It’ we are trying to spread awareness about depression, addiction and suicide prevention, in hopes that nobody has to feel alone in these struggles.”
