Last week dozens of little white wooden stakes with a pale yellow ribbon tied around them were placed on Eckman Mall as a sobering reminder of all the people lost in the United States each day to suicide. Each year the Tau Mu Tau sorority at Gustavus plans a series of events dedicated to suicide awareness, one of these being the placement of those little stakes outside of the campus center; each one represents the life of someone in the US who decided to take their own life. This week takes place every year, but this year I was particularly aware of the problem of suicide in this country, especially amongst young adults. Earlier this spring I read an article in the New York Times about Cornell University and the numerous suicides that take place on their campus alone. It was extremely sad to read but at the same time it made me extremely thankful that the Gustavus community hasn’t suffered through that and hopefully never will. That article and this past week made me realize how important it is to just be aware of others whether you know them or not. Gustavus is a wonderful community committed to helping others as well as providing help for fellow Gusties whether it be financial aid, career planning and of course free counseling services dedicated to helping students with whatever problems they might be facing.