From Riley to RAMHA Anonymous

On the sofas in my home theater, I watched Riley struggle to come to terms with her new home in Inside Out, John Nash contribute to game theory in spite of his frequent hallucinations in A Beautiful Mind, and Nina differentiate reality from fantasy as she grappled with perfecting her stage presence in Black Swan.

I am by no means a film-buff, familiar with the every decision of directors and screenwriters. But I understand the power of films in exposing their audiences to new, provocative subject matter.

The Rice Alliance for Mental Health Awareness (RAMHA) also must have understood the capacity of movies to teach as they had chosen to play Silver Linings Playbook to bring more attention to mental illness. Rice was recently ranked first in the nation for happiest students by the Princeton Review, but there are sure to be cases of students who may not feel completely content. Especially in the midst of a “happy” campus, students may be discouraged or self-conscious about seeking help since they may feel as though they are the only ones suffering.

Rice’s situation regarding student mental health resonates with that of an issue plaguing my own high school at home. One of the best in state, my high school often unintentionally...