A campaign group has been launched to oppose use of the term 'Suicide Sunday', the name given to mark the Sunday at the end of week 8 in exam term, the traditional start of May Week.

It's organisers are seeking to remove the "harmful" term because of its contribution to the "trivialisation of mental illness". 

The name 'Suicide Sunday' is often attributed to its significance as a celebration for people who haven't committed suicide as a result of exam stress, but concerns have been raised that this may have a harmful impact on perceptions of suicide, and trivialise the experiences of those suffering from suicidal thoughts and feelings.

The Facebook page 'De-Stigmatise Sunday', which provides a space for anonymous testimonies of experiences and harmful events, currently has over 500 likes.

Guidelines on the page are provided to ensure it is a safe environment in which to share experiences; they include content warnings, not questioning the experiences of others and a zero-tolerance policy on abuse.

The description states: "For much of the Cambridge community, suicide is not meaningless. Suicide Sunday is not an empty name, but a loaded term. It suggests people do not believe suicide is likely, that the possibility of such thoughts within the minds of students here should not be taken seriously.

"The concept of 'Suicide Sunday' not only erases the reality of suicidal thoughts for many students in Cambridge, but it also perpetuates the culture of trivialisation, the idea that suicide is an abstract phenomenon that only happens in the media and should not be treated seriously in real life.

"We, as students, have the power to fight against this."

Agora, the Cambridge events website, recently posted a message of support, stating that it will no longer use the term "Suicide Sunday" in any of its posts or updates.

Laura-May Nardella, president of Student Minds Cambridge, suggested that while the campaign may be too late to stop people using the term 'Suicide Sunday', she fully supports the move.

"We fully support the campaign in its aim to raise awareness," she told Varsity.

"There would be absolute outrage if the word 'suicide' was replaced with 'cancer' or 'diabetes', yet when it's metal illness, people suddenly lose their sensitivity."

"We encourage people to unwind after such a mentally draining term. However, there is absolutely no justification for the name attached to the celebration."

The campaign is currently gathering suggestions for a new name for the Sunday in question, with those received so far including "Solidarity Sunday" and "Tactical Chunday".

The move comes after a growing number of students are pushing for greater awareness of the problems surround the "under-discussed" issue of mental health in Cambridge.

In Michaelmas, CUSU launched its consultation on the provision of counselling services across the university, while in April, Cambridge Speaks Its Mind, an information sharing project set up in 2013 that provides a platform for students to share their "personal negative experience[s] of the flaws in Cambridge University's welfare system", launched its own survey. 

Earlier this year, Cambridge Defend Education ran a campaign to #endweek5blues calling for a reading week in the middle of Michaelmas and Lent Terms, aiming to put a stop to the trivialisation of mental health problems they allege notions like 'Week 5 Blues' encourage.