Under sunny Spring skies, 200 students, staff, and faculty raised more than $12,600 on April 13 in the third annual Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention on the Cornell University campus.

Cornell Dance Team in the Out of the Darkness Walk

Dispatched by the Big Red Marching Band, participants including the Cornell Dance Team, squash and fencing athletes, and the superhero known as the Cornell Batman trekked a two-mile route from Barton Hall along Garden Avenue, to Tower Road, and then Campus Road back to the starting point.

“You are making a difference,” said walk organizer Cheyanne Scholl, welcoming the participants inside Barton Hall. “You decided today that mental health and suicide prevention is an important issue and needs to be talked about. I applaud and appreciate every single one of you for being here and standing up in the fight against suicide and raising awareness for mental health issues.”

Walking on Garden Avenue

Audrey McDougal, a licensed social worker with Cornell’s NY FarmNet, related that she has seen firsthand how mental health challenges and emotional pain can isolate people at a time when they are in greatest need of connection. She said she loves the “Strength in Numbers” motto of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

“The Warriors use this motto to indicate their selflessness, the power in everyone having a role. It speaks to collective effort, of what we can accomplish when we are not alone. At the Out of Darkness walks, I see countless people who are willing to bear witness to pain together. I see people talking about the hard things, accepting others without judgment, and overcoming the fear that can arise with offering—and accepting—help. I see strength in numbers,” McDougal said.

Audrey McDougal of Cornell’s NY FarmNet

Closing out the program, John Grealish, a fourth-year student in the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, performed “Rainbows Over Coeur d’Alene” in memory of a friend and fellow Cornell vet student, Yiannis Stathopoulos, who died by suicide in 2022.

Grealish’s original song was inspired by his experience at a veterinary leadership retreat in Idaho, which Stathopoulos had attended a year earlier shortly before his death. During a boat ride in the rain on Lake Coeur d’Alene, the participants sang “Lean on Me” in Stathopoulos’s memory. Grealish recalled that when they stepped ashore, a rainbow suddenly appeared overhead.

“Anyone who knew Yiannis would know that this is a person who was a source of brightness and friendship to everyone. He was accepting of everyone. He was a natural born leader,” Grealish said.

John Grealish performs “Rainbows Over Coeur d’Alene”

About 600 Out of the Darkness walks are held across the United States each year by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) to raise awareness, collect research funds, give hope and show solidarity to those who struggle with suicidal thoughts and to suicide loss survivors, and send a message that “suicide is preventable and no one is alone.”

In 2023, 173 college campus walks with 26,000 participants raised $1.6 million. So far, the three Cornell walks from 2023 to 2025 have collected more than $44,000 in donations.

Among the participants in the 2025 Cornell Walk were 13 fundraising teams, with the Cornell HR Community Walk Team bringing in the most funds, $1,765. Other top teams included the Cornell Out of the Darkness Planning Committee, Cornell Athletics, and Team Hope. Leon and Jules Ginenthal were the top two individual fundraisers, with $735 and $663, respectively.

Participants were provided with “honor beads,” necklaces in vibrant colors signifying their connection to the suicide prevention cause—white for the loss of a child, red for the loss of a spouse or partner, gold for the loss of a parent, orange for the loss of a sibling, purple for the loss of a friend or relative, silver for the loss of a first responder or military member, green for personal attempt or struggle, teal for someone who struggles or has attempted suicide, blue for supporting the cause, and rainbow for the LGBTQ+ community.

A light to guide through the darkness

This year’s sponsors included: Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County; Cornell University NY FarmNet; Halco Home Solutions; Zach Clark State Farm; Be Kind Ithaca; Taste of Thai Express; and Big Red Barbershop.

Cornellians left messages on the “Why We Walk” wall:

To support the cause

For myself and my brother. You are not alone!

In memory of Nick Budney

For my best friend Holly

To give someone hope

For the friends I almost lost. There is hope beyond the darkness.

To show up for those who could not. Even for themselves.

To remind myself that I am not alone

A light to guide through the darkness—Batman

CHAOS CREATES CHANGE!!

Your life is more precious than money, grades, human determinations of success. There is only one you and you are irreplaceable.

The things that make you are beautiful

You deserve to be here

Talk about it! PLEASE!

For Jack. I miss you!

You are loved!

Ask for help

Why We Walk

How are you feeling right now?

Hope Walks Here

A beautiful day for a walk

Along Tower Road

Organizer Cheyanne Scholl addresses the walkers

Participants in Barton Hall

Honor Bead ceremony

Cornell Health

NAMI Finger Lakes

Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County

Advocacy Center of Tompkins County

#StopSuicide

Cheyanne Scholl and the AFSP Team

Photo Credits: Basie Bagnini Nagel/AFSP and The Sophie Fund

If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.

Surveys show that poor mental health can hit college students hard. Many struggling students feel that they are alone. I am part of a dedicated group of mental health advocates at Cornell University proving that is not the case. We are working hard to raise awareness about suicide and fight the stigma that keeps many from getting help.

Photo credits: Cornell AFSP

On Sunday April 13, our Cornell volunteer committee of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will host the third annual Out of the Darkness Campus Walk at Cornell.

The 2023 and 2024 walks brought participation from hundreds of students, faculty, and staff and raised more than $40,000 for AFSP research and programming. Our ambitious goal this year is to collect $25,000 in donations.

More than 500 AFSP Out of the Darkness walks are held across the country each year. Besides raising funds, the walks send a message that “suicide is preventable, and no one is alone,” and help build a community around mental health. They show solidarity and bring hope for suicide attempt survivors or loss survivors.

Click here to register, create a fundraising team, or donate to the Walk

This year’s Cornell Walk begins in Barton Hall and follows an accessible two-mile route through the center of the beautiful Cornell campus. It is for people of all fitness levels and abilities. Participants may also walk/roll on Barton Hall’s indoor track.

Fundraising or donating are not requirements to take part in the Walk; everyone from the Cornell community and beyond is welcome.

Walk check-in begins at 11 a.m. in Barton Hall. The event starts 12 Noon with a brief kickoff ceremony; a mental health resource fair featuring local and campus health providers; yard games; a raffle with donated items from local and campus businesses; a memorial and positivity sticky note wall; snacks including cotton candy and popcorn; and a selfie station with Cornell’s own mascot, Touchdown the Big Red Bear.

Speakers include Audrey McDougal, a family consultant with NY FarmNet at Cornell, and Cornell students Disha Mudener and John Grealish.

Sponsors of this year’s Cornell Walk include: the Cornell Work/Life Team; Suicide Prevention and Crisis Services of Tompkins County; NY FarmNet; Halco Home Solutions; Zach Clark State Farm; Be Kind Ithaca; Free Hugs Ithaca; Sumo; and Taste of Thai Express.

For me, as for many other volunteers, Out of the Darkness walks are deeply personal. Just as I was starting college in 2017, I was introduced to AFSP in a traumatic period after my longtime friend Jack Noonan took his own life. The loss of Jack permanently changed who I am. I miss him every day and started my volunteer work in his memory.

Our organizing committee consists of more than 20 members: passionate undergraduates, graduate students, post-graduate students, staff members, faculty members, and local community members. Our goal is to let everyone know that, you matter, you are important, your mental health matters. We don’t want anyone to feel like they are the only ones struggling. So many of us are struggling and we can struggle together and support each other.

Another goal this year is to share mental and physical health resources as far and wide as possible. As mental health and minority groups are under attack right now, we want to spread a message of belonging. We want everyone to know that they are loved, they are wanted, and they matter.

If our countless hours of Walk organizing means just one person seeks and receives help, it is worth every second.

—By Cheyanne Scholl

Cheyanne Scholl is the founder of the Cornell University Out of the Darkness Walk and chair for the 2025 Walk. If you are interested in joining AFSP’s local efforts, please contact Cheyanne at cornellafsp@gmail.com.

If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.

For AFSP support and/or other resources, please visit www.afsp.org/get-help and www.afsp.org/resources.