Men, women serve country together

I would like to commend the Theta Chi fraternity for supporting our women and men deployed overseas. As an Iraqi war veteran myself, I know how well care packages lift the spirits of the service members. I was, however, taken aback to see a quote made by Sigma Kappa sorority member Devon Houtz referring to the service members as “”the boys.””  Women make up about 20 percent of today’s Armed Forces and about 15 percent of the veteran population on this campus. On behalf of myself, other female veterans/service members and the UA student veterans, I would like to make the student body aware that both men and women serve proudly together in today’s military.

Kimberly Shroyer

Philanthropic coordinator,

UA Student Veterans of America chapter

Mentally ill more in danger than dangerous

I very much enjoyed the article on Mental Health Awareness Month (“”‘Mental health awareness’ isn’t pretty””). As a mental health professional, I am acutely aware of the stigma folks diagnosed with a mental illness face. I would like to correct one point you made that,””The mentally ill are often dangerous.”” Actually, the seriously mentally ill are more likely to be the victim of crime than the perpetrator. However, these crimes are often underreported in the media. Thank you for shining a light on this topic.

Robin Toole

Tucson resident

Domestic abuse, like mental illness, stigmatized

Nice opinion piece on Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s so true that more needs to be done to spread awareness and destroy the stigma surrounding this issue that destroys so many lives. 

Of course, the same can be said of domestic violence, and I was disappointed that there was no mention in the article of the fact that October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month. President Obama recently signed a proclamation and has been vocal in his support of spreading awareness in order to save lives.

Four women and five children die each day in the U.S. due to domestic violence. One in three women experiences domestic violence at some point. This completely blows past breast cancer diagnosis statistics. And yet, all we see this month is pink. Most people don’t even recognize what a purple ribbon stands for.

I don’t know if you’ve already done so, but I think it would be great to see you tackle the topic of domestic violence. Talk about an unpleasant topic that Americans don’t want to be aware of and want to be far, far away from.

Kristin Davis

Phoenix resident

Vote against cuts to human services

This column (“”‘Mental health awareness’ isn’t pretty””) does sum up the way most Americans feel about mental illness; “”let’s not talk about it,”” except when drug companies can glamorize it.  People with a mental illness don’t have to end up as “”suicide by cop”” because they don’t get the proper support and treatment. Voters in Arizona have a chance to make a difference by voting for lawmakers who won’t cut budgets to human services. Voters in Arizona need to vote for lawmakers who will ensure that people with a mental illness get the proper medical treatment so that these recent tragedies don’t happen again. Voters in Arizona need to vote for lawmakers with compassion.

Derry Dean

Tucson resident