If you’ve met Jim Monti, you were probably struck by his devotion to the White Sox, his “Family Guy” quotations, and his near-perfect imitation of the Temptations. However, it is unlikely that you would have guessed that, as of last November, he was diagnosed with Bipolar Type II Disorder, a mental illness that includes intense depression and hypomanic, meaning intensely confident, creative, irritable or anxious, episodes.

Next week is Mental Illness Awareness Week, and it is important to remember that this is a good time to think about the prevalence of mental illness in America. I mention Jim because, as I said, you would have never guessed that he has been diagnosed with a mental illness. I certainly didn’t, and I’ve been friends with him since my freshman year and until November, he was just another student on campus. Frankly, the insulting part is that due to the stigmas attached to mental illnesses, I feel the need to emphasize how “normal” he is, when it is obvious to anyone who meets him. Despite the stereotypes, he’s not a victim, and neither is anyone else with a mental illness.

Even so, in modern-day America and particularly on college campuses, you can’t mention mental illness without people jumping to the worst conclusions. You say those two little words, and people start to picture everything from Hannibal Lector, the man-eating intellectual, to Mork from “Mork and Mindy.” What they don’t realize is that many people with a mental illness still live normally.

Especially as Mental Illness Awareness Week approaches, we need to realize that people with mental illnesses, or disorders, are not locked in a room somewhere. Instead, they’re our friends and neighbors; you may even have a mental illness but not know it. They’re not raving lunatics, and even those of us who pride ourselves on being tolerant and accepting, need to be reminded of that because, if we forget it, we can end up causing more damage to people who suffer from mental illness.

“The biggest problem on this campus is that there’s a stigma about mental illness,” Monti said. This stigma may even be preventing the treatment of many mental illnesses. Monti continues, “The stigma causes embarrassment or fear of mental illness, and the result is students not wanting to get help for fear of being labeled, being ‘weak’, being embarrassed, etc. It’s right around our age when the symptoms start occurring, but they don’t want to get treatment because they’re scared or embarrassed. And it is a scary thing, but they still need help.”

In response, Monti started a National Alliance on Mental Illness chapter on this campus. The organization was formed in November 2004 to give the mentally ill a voice on campus. This summer, because of the success of the program here at the University, Monti was able to intern at the national headquarters for the alliance of mental illness in Washington D.C.

“Out in D.C. I learned just how much mental illness is all around us,” he said. “I mean, you talk to someone and pretty much everyone has a connection with someone who has a mental illness – them, their family, a friend. It really is everywhere and it’s everyone’s issue.”

During next week, everyone has the opportunity to learn something new about mental illnesses. The best thing to do is to be better informed: “The big thing that people can do next week is to educate themselves on the topic,” said Monti. “We want to raise awareness. If they want to get more involved, they can contact me or volunteer at the mental health clinics on campus.”

I like what Monti has done. I like that it is a direct action to confront a serious problem. We hack columnists, rather than just talking and complaining all the time, could learn something from this. In other words, I know what I’ll be reading up on next week, and I hope you guys do the same.

Craig Colbrook is a senior in Communications. His column appears every Friday. He can be reached at [email protected].