Posted: 03 March 2008
‘Please Talk’ student support campaign goes national - Irish universities join forces to encourage students to seek support
Young people between 18 and 25 are statistically vulnerable to depression and suicide. So with a combined student population of approximately 100,000, the seven Irish Universities have joined forces to adopt a nationwide ‘Please Talk’ student support campaign, to encourage students who are struggling with anxiety to begin to perceive seeking help as a sign of strength rather than a sign of weakness and to make contact with the support services available.
The ‘Please Talk’ campaign was initially introduced at University College Dublin in early 2007 with the help and support of GAA star, Seán Óg Ó hAlpín. Due to its success at UCD, all seven Irish universities have decided to adopt and promote the campaign.
Coordinated by the Chaplaincies, the Students Unions, and the Student Support Services from across the seven Irish universities, the campaign is the first of its kind to be introduced nationally.
Students Union representatives from all seven Irish Universites joined forces to encourage students to seek support through the 'Please Talk' student support campaign.
“I am pleased to re-launch the ‘Please Talk’ campaign particularly as a national collaboration between all the universities in Ireland,” says Dr Hugh Brady, President of UCD.
“The campaign’s principal aim is to create awareness among the student population of the importance of students communicating their concerns and the myriad of student services that are available to provide support.”
The Students Union Presidents from all seven Irish universities are clear what the message from the ‘Please Talk’ campaign is: “Asking for help is a sign of strength, not of weakness. There are support services available to help.”
“Through the ‘Please Talk’ campaign we hope that students will be made aware of all of the support services that are available to them,” says Fr Tony Coote, who initiated the campaign at UCD. “And that they will come forward and see asking for help as a sign of strength.”
The campaign is led by a website, www.pleasetalk.ie, which provides links to the whole array of support services available across Irish university campuses. The campaign’s messages are also carried on badges, t-shirts, pens, pencils, and posters and other printed materials which are distributed en masse. The campaign’s success lies in its simplicity.
“Since the initial launch of the Please Talk campaign, more and more students have used the website as a way of encouraging their friends to talk about their anxieties,” continues Fr Coote.
“The reason the campaign has been successful in UCD is because everyone wants to be a part of it, both staff and students, and the message is so simple, but very effective,” says Barry Colfer, UCD SU President.
“Students at all the universities in Ireland experience problems they need help with while at university, and the Please Talk campaign going national is just what is needed to provide a one stop shop for students to access vital information.”
The ‘Please Talk’ student support campaign went national on 03 March 2008, following an official launch event in Newman House, Dublin.
Among the guests at the event were: Dr Hugh Brady, President of UCD; Professor Ferdinand Von Prondzynski, President of DCU; Dr David Redmond, Registrar of NUI Maynooth; Dr Bernadette Walsh, Director of Student Affairs, University of Limerick; Fr Diarmuid Hogan, NUI Galway; Fr Paddy Gleeson, Trinity College Dublin; Students Union Presidents of the seven Irish Universities; and Geoff Day, Director of the National Office for Suicide Prevention.
