TCU’s growth is unlikely to affect the requirement that first-year students and sophomores live in university housing.

The university instituted the requirement in 2006 in an effort to promote positive mental health. The idea was to make sure that students felt connected to a community that would provide places for students in crisis to turn.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students in the United States, according to the TCU Office of Campus Recreation and Wellness Promotion.

In 2006, TCU mandated that first-year and sophomore students live on campus as an initiative to promote positive mental health.

“It’s important to realize that college students in general are a demographic with a high prevalence for completed and attempted suicides,” said Eric Wood, director of TCU’s Counseling and Mental Health Center.

People between the ages 18 and 25 who are not enrolled in college tend to have a higher suicide rate than those enrolled, Wood said.

Despite being at university, there is still a high percentage of students who feel isolated from the campus community.

Campus living is a protective measure for the mental health of the student body.

“Students who live in community notice when others are in distress, and staff are able to respond to students who are identified as having changes in their behavior, either by observation or by another student reporting concern for their friend,” said Kathy Cavins-Tull, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.

“I think that my experience would have been significantly worse if I lived off campus,” said Jade Kassis, a sophomore communication studies major.

Kassis said he is grateful for the on-campus living requirement at TCU because it encouraged him to adapt to a new phase of life.

“Your first year is an interesting part of your life where you are super uncomfortable with yourself and the big changes in your life,” Kassis said. “Seeing people all around you who are going through the same things makes it feel a lot better.”