Muhlenberg College "sends silence packing"

A nonprofit group is carrying a message it hopes will make a difference on college campuses nationwide.



Active Minds promotes mental health awareness and takes its "Send Silence Packing" exhibit to more than a dozen schools each year.



On Thursday, it brought 1,100 backpacks to Muhlenberg College in Allentown.



The 1,100 backpacks represent the 1,100 college students who die of suicide annually.



"I think it probably starts with wonder," said Lee Duffy-Ledbetter, with Active Minds. "When it starts to sink it what all the backpacks mean, that's when the progression of different emotions start to happen."



Duffy-Ledbetter lost his brother Chris to suicide, less than two weeks after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.



"That pushed me to doing something I was firmly rooted in," Duffy-Ledbetter said.



Now, he travels to campuses to share his brother's story and the stories of the thousands of others.



Some of the backpacks have pictures of people who took their own lives and their stories.



"I saw some tears, and now I'm going to get teary-eyed, I saw some tears. Very somber day," said Jane Schubert, Assistant Dean of Students.



Four years ago, Muhlenberg lost Michael Kursar.



"When I think of Michael, I see this smiling red-headed young man," Schubert said.



The 19-year-old was a sophomore and expected to graduate in 2014.



"He's deeply missed," Schubert said.



Active Minds is scheduled to take the exhibit to Penn State University next week.

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