According to a study conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, only 50 percent of college students disclose their mental health to the school that they attend. Two of the main reasons for not disclosing mental health conditions include fear of judgment by peers or staff and a lack of opportunity to discuss their conditions, according to this study.

The Conscious Student Alliance is a new organization seeking to eliminate such roadblocks in order to spread suicide and mental health awareness throughout the community of Colorado State University.

“Suicide and mental health issues have touched many of our lives in some way, shape or form and the people who are involved with the organization genuinely want to help as a result of that,” said Jackson White, CSU English student and CSA contact.

Mental health is just as important in our lives as physical health, according to the CSA website.

“I think spreading awareness about mental health is important on a college campus because people are still trying to figure themselves out,” White said.

The CSA seeks to reduce the stigma surrounding individuals that seek counseling or assistance with their issue.

“Our organization can focus on the positive aspects of improving anyone’s mental state, be it during times of stress, anxiety or hardship,” said Rachel Miller, CSA secretary.

The leaders of CSA hope to get more people involved this semester, and look forward to seeing what they can accomplish with more people and more time.

Members of the group plan to host events such as Random Acts of Kindness and hope to welcome speakers of the To Write Love On Her Arms organization to campus. Events of a similar nature are common among campaigns seeking to raise awareness about mental health.

“We work in close quarters with the CSU Health Network, and want to encourage student familiarity with all of the resources they have already paid for, such as the free counseling sessions,” Miller said. “Essentially, we feel that the culture on campus surrounding suicide and mental health is not as effective as it could be.”

Both Miller and White look forward to the group’s future at Colorado State University.

“Right now our organization is pretty small, but if I had to choose a word to describe us it would probably be passionate,” White said.

Collegian Reporter Jessie Trudell can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @JessieTrudell.