Throughout the spring, Washington-D. C.-based nonprofit Active Minds has toured the nation seeking to raise awareness of suicide among college students with its powerful and poignant “Send Silence Packing” exhibit, which made its final stop in Philadelphia May 7. Passersby in LOVE Park were greeted Monday by 1,100 backpacks, symbolizing the number of college students who die each year by suicide, the second-leading cause of death among college students. The backpacks were donated by families of suicide victims and covered with notes and messages by loved ones, while Active Minds staff, supporters and suicide survivors distributed information on mental-health resources among exhibit-goers. ìThe exhibit provides a valuable opportunity to raise awareness, letting every student, parent, brother, sister and friend know if they are depressed or suicidal, they are not alone and that there is help,î said Active Minds founder and executive director Alison Malmon. Malmon founded the organization in 2001 at University of Pennsylvania in honor of her brother Brandon, a fellow Penn student who committed suicide the previous year. The organization quickly went national and now works at college campuses across the country to promote discussion about mental-health issues and suicide risks. Scott Drake