It is valuable to understand what can cause a turn in one’s mental health and to be aware of the recent suicides that have occurred in the FUHSD community. Behind the academic achievements, many teens are grappling with pressures and social isolation. The weight of expectations have pushed some students to their breaking point.
Two known suicides in Santa Clara County from the past few years include 14-year-old Jose Zamora, a Santa Clara High School student and 16-year-old Shreyas Kelkar, a HHS student.
Zamora, a freshman part of the SCHS JV Football team, took his own life after being bullied by SCHS students, including his teammates, for being homeless and raised by a single father. The teammates found out that Jose was living at Bill Wilson Center, a nonprofit organization that strives to provide medical care for Santa Clara County’s most vulnerable youth; he was receiving counsel for his struggles with mental health. His father, Jose Bautista, found out that his son’s own teammates would spit on him and hit him on the back of the helmet. A week after Zamora’s suicide, Bautista shared his son’s story.
The other student, Kelkar, was last seen on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco at 4:45 p.m., on Dec. 13, 2022, after being reported missing to the police. He was spotted hiking on the bridge before a witness heard a splash and called 911. Kelkar’s bicycle, helmet and bag were all found on the bridge. Nothing was found in the bag except for his phone, and his body has yet to be found. His father told Indica News that Kelkar was quiet for the past three or four months, but ignored it, thinking it was a teenage phase; aside from this, his parents did not see any signs of poor mental health.
Though academics are a big stressor in students’ lives, there are many other factors that affect their mental health. These factors can range from unhealthy family dynamics and an inability to be emotionally vulnerable with friends, to anxiety and depression. FHS school-based therapist Deirdre Louie stated her observation that anxiety is very prevalent among students. Anxiety can be caused by many things: one’s genes, environment, life experiences and social media play a role. Social media can lead to feelings of low-esteem due to comparing their own lives with the lives of others.
“I think people will never get a break from having to have a persona of some sort, and then they’re looking at other people’s lives and doing that constant comparison, even though what people put online is a curated version of their life, but people don’t always see that,” Louie said.
The time when most students come in to see Louie and other school-based therapists is at the end of the school year. Around this time, students face emotions about college acceptances, rejections and when seniors realize they are leaving for college. Most seniors face many hardships of getting into competitive colleges, especially in California compared to how it was 20 years ago.
Though getting help for mental distress is integral for getting better, there are many reasons why students do not seek the help they need. Some barriers include the stigma around mental health — the notion that getting help would make one seem weak or crazy — teasing from friends and busy schedules.
Raising the FUHSD community’s understanding of suicides is essential to creating a culture where mental health is valued and freely discussed. Our FUHSD community can create a network of support by addressing these issues, advocating for easily available mental health resources, and fostering stigma-free dialogue.
