Parents push for ‘Harry’s Law’ following death of Exeter student

Aarti Malhotra Executive Editor Klara Woxström News Editor

Content warning: is article discusses sensitive topics such as suicide.

In June 2021, Exeter University student Harry Armstrong Evans took his life a er receiving “devastating” third-year exam marks. His family is now pushing for the adoption of ‘Harry’s Law’, calling for coroners to inform universities when the suicide of an enrolled student is registered, and for universities to release yearly statistics of student suicides.

An inquest into Harry’s death was carried out and concluded on 31 October, which condemned Exeter University for failing to respond to Harry’s demonstrated need for help. e inquest further stated there was “a risk of further deaths” at the University. e inquest found that the welfare service at Exeter University had not done enough to respond to Harry’s attempts to reach out to the university. e parliamentary petition for Harry’s Law has nearly 700 signatures and expires in May of next year.

According to e Guardian, Harry is one of 11 Exeter students who have taken their own lives in the past six years. Harry’s family is also urging for the Department of Education to be given the power to investigate universities where suicide rates exceed the national average. e O ce for National Statistics estimated this gure at three deaths per 100,000 students in the academic year ending in 2020.

To garner further support for the petition, Exeter’s student newspaper, e Exposé, reached out to various other student publications across the UK. As of 2 December, 19 UK student publications have expressed their support for the cause, including e Beaver (LSE), e Oxford Student (Oxford), Palatinate (Durham), Roar News (KCL), and e Saint (St. Andrews). e LSE Spokesperson further stated, “On the very sad occasion when a student passes away, for whatever reason, we provide appropriate shortand long-term support to the student’s

When asked for data regarding student suicides at LSE, an LSE spokesperson responded, “LSE records the fact that a student has died, but not the cause of death. We would only be aware that a student had died as a result of suicide if noti ed that this was the case by a Coroner’s Court and, as such, we do not hold this information.