Crisis on campus

Now, with the overall number of mentally ill college students rising, college administrators, mental-health professionals and students across the country are weighing that right to privacy against the need to assist those students who are deeply distressed or mentally ill. Several recent high-profile cases have pitted parents against colleges that refused to divulge details of students' mental-health status. A federal lawmaker has introduced legislation that could pave the way for colleges and universities to more easily share information with family members. And the April 16 massacre at Virginia Tech has provided a real-life worst-case scenario for what can happen when students don't get appropriate help and information is not shared among college officials and the student's family.