the Chalk Circle Project

Our Mission

"Stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of that circle? No, never! I’d die first." Karl G. Maeser

If you’re a student at BYU, there’s a good chance you’ve heard this quote before. I think the first time I encountered it was at President Worthen’s welcome devotional my freshman year. Something about it rubbed me the wrong way, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

And then I heard that one of my peers had committed suicide for the first time.

It seems hyperbolic, doesn’t it? “I’d die first.” Certainly no one would let themselves die simply because they promised to stay within a chalk circle, right? It turns out, they would. They do. Maybe Mr. Maeser was just talking about keeping his word, but the idea of honor has gotten a lot bigger and uglier since he made this prophetic statement. We give our whole souls to our test scores and GPA’s. We obsess over scholarships, internships, relationships, and more. We are too proud to “admit defeat” and ask for help. We draw meaningless circles around ourselves and die in them.

I don’t believe that “honor,” or any other expectation we set for ourselves, is worth dying for. No one’s pride is worth more than their life. So ask for help. Reach out to someone. Seek counseling. Admit weakness. Break the cycle by breaking the circle. Whether you’re dealing with mental illness, burnout, or just a bad day, it’s always worth it to reach out.

After all, it’s only chalk.

More Information

According to safecolleges.com

• 1000 students take their own lives on college campuses each year

• More than half of college students have had suicidal thoughts and 10% think about seriously considering attempting suicide.

• 80-90% of college students who die by suicide were not receiving help from college counseling centers.

What can I do?

According to the CDC, individuals and communities can help prevent suicide by doing the following:

Identify and support people at risk of suicide
Teach coping and problem-solving skills to help people manage challenges with their relationships, jobs, health, or other concerns.
Promote safe and supportive environments. This includes safely storing medications and firearms to reduce access among people at risk.
Offer activities that bring people together so they feel connected and not alone.
Connect people at risk to effective and coordinated mental and physical healthcare.
Expand options for temporary help for those struggling to make ends meet.
Prevent future risk of suicide among those who have lost a loved one to suicide.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/suicide/index.html