Student Stress and Suicide in India

In 2006, 5,857 students — or 16 a day — committed suicide across India due to exam stress. And these are just the official figures. Shimla superintendent of police (crime), Punita Bhardwaj, said incidents of children committing suicide because of examination stress often did not get reported as traumatized parents wanted to keep the issue under wraps.

Health care challenges fire up U.S. students

One measure of the troubled state of U.S. health care is the hordes of idealistic young people lining up to fix it. . . . students are pouring into health policy classes in economics, political science, history, and public health departments. Many plan on making health policy their career.
"I tell some of my friends that are a few years younger then me, if they are interested in politics and what is going on -- take policy courses. Health policy is something that affects us and it's going to affect us in the long run," said Chang, who hopes to attend law school.

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.