FRONTLINES with Harvard University Health Services’ Director, Dr. Giang Nguyen
In a new FRONTLINES article, Gerri Taylor interviews Dr. Giang Nguyen, an esteemed physician and Director of Harvard University Health Service, who was a young Vietnamese refugee—arriving in the United States with his family a week before the fall of Saigon.
Dr. Nguyen has dedicated his career to serving the health needs of college students, bringing with him keen insight into human development based on his own experiences. How at Harvard, Dr. Nguyen oversees all health services including mental health which has become a priority, particularly as students continue to experience the emotional aftermath of COVID 19. In addition to being health center director Dr. Nguyen is Harvard’s Associate Provost for Campus Health and Wellbeing and a member of the American College Health Association (ACHA) COVID-19 Task Force.
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
The Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) at Penn State University is hosting a free, live webinar on “Prioritizing Sleep: Changing Campus Culture, Improving Counseling Center Response and Interventions” with PESI on November 1, 2022 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm EST. The presentation will offer some CE opportunities for Psychologists, Professional Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, Physicians, Nurse/Nurse Practitioners, Addiction Counselors, and Social Workers; Anyone in a helping profession is encouraged to attend. Sign up here.
As new students dive into their first semester of college, they’re not the only ones dealing with the stress and uncertainty of a major transition: their parents, too, may find themselves contending with the anxiety of being separated from their kids and trusting them to take care of themselves. In WBUR, writer Bill Eville describes dropping his son off at college for the first time, capturing the difficulty of adjusting to life at home without him. Then, from The Philadelphia Inquirer and News@Northeastern, new parents of college students can find tips for managing their own mental health and their relationships with their kids in this new stage of life.
Other News
The Daily Orange, the Syracuse University student newspaper, explores mental health concerns for students who study climate change, specifically their anxiety about current and future environmental destruction.
The student newspapers from Vandebilt University and the University of Pennsylvania, The Vanderbilt Hustler and The Daily Pennsylvanian, describe an exhibit on each of their campuses honoring Suicide Prevention Week. Both schools’ respective Active Minds chapters covered a central green space with more than 1,000 backpacks—around one for every college students that dies from suicide annually.
The Yale Daily News, the Yale student paper, reports that the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy visited New Haven last week to speak to mostly graduate students about public health problems and policy, particularly relating to the youth mental health crisis.
The Cornell Daily Sun, Cornell’s student newspaper, features efforts across campus to promote mental health awareness, including a recent initiative from the Student Mental Health Collective to highlight one of the eight dimensions of wellness every month for eight months.
The John Hopkins News-Letter, the Maryland university’s student paper, spotlights “A quiet crisis in college sports:” the mental health problems that college athletes around the country and at Johns Hopikins are contending with and beginning to be more outspoken about.
In an interview with TODAY, University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban offers his perspective on the pressures his players are dealing with—not just to play well but to see results and win championships.
The Daily Collegian, Penn State’s student paper, discusses how the men’s varsity soccer players approach mental health hygiene, including by prioritizing mental over physical wellbeing and modeling good habits for younger team members.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Tensions erupted at Florida A&M, an HBCU, after administrators informed 26 members of the football team that they were ineligible to play in the fall season due to academic issues. In response, around 90 football players co-signed a letter, accusing the school of inadequate academic advising and financial support for athletes—among other complaints. Inside Higher Ed suggests the issue is symptomatic of “broader hiring woes across higher ed and budget constraints that persist at many historically Black colleges and universities.”
Various experts are also devising strategies to support historically Black colleges and universities. In an op-ed for The Chronicle, Tony Allen, president of the HBCU Delaware State University, suggests the nation’s HBCUs should form a united university system to increase funding, expand research, and create new opportunities. And in Higher Ed Dive, James Runcie, CEO of The Partnership for Education Advancement, a nonprofit, discusses his work developing innovative technologies (including an artificial intelligence-driven chatbot) to facilitate retention at HBCUs.
In an op-ed for The Hechinger Report, Alexis Ricardo, a 46 year-old chemical engineering student at Syracuse University, writes about the barriers that she’s faced as a nontraditional student (i.e., outside the typical 18-24 age range). She urges higher education institutions to address and respond to the unique circumstances of students like her, including offering targeted academic and financial support.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
The Chronicle weighs the possibility that San Diego State could have expedited its investigation after a 17 year-old girl reported to the university that two members of its football team had raped her. University president Adela de la Torre is standing by the decision to put off the investigation for several months, saying the local police department requested the delay, but other experts suggest the school could have “taken more action.”
In an op-ed for The Chronicle, Tamara Rice Lave, a professor at the University of Miami School of Law, argues that President Biden’s proposed Title IX changes put the rights of victims at risk. Specifically, Biden’s approval of a single-investigator model and removal of hearings with live witnesses “strip away procedural protections that benefit both victims and the accused.” “By making the process less fair,” Lave writes, “they also undermine its legitimacy.”
Greek Life and Hazing
The Chronicle features a new study from the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, proposing that hazing during fraternity initiations does not actually bring brothers closer together. In fact, the research found, incoming fraternity members felt greater solidarity with the group when engaging in fun (parties, etc.), as opposed to hazing. And as hazing continues to concern university administrators and lawmakers alike, Higher Ed Dive highlights a bipartisan federal bill proposal that, if passed, would mandate colleges include instances of hazing in their annual public security reports.
Student Success
The Chronicle, Inside higher Ed, and Higher Ed Dive report that transfer student enrollment has significantly declined since the start of the pandemic. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, transfer student enrollment declined by 13.5%. The stark plummet may impact equity in higher education where many transfers from two- to four-year colleges are often low-income students of color.
Inside Higher Ed reports on the satisfaction from fully online learners. According to a new report, students who voluntarily decided on virtual instruction due to demanding schedules for work or family priorities are more satisfied with remote learning than prior to the pandemic. A preference for asynchronous learning and flexibility has been a major component for these students, however, almost half of respondents said they still want their online university to be located less than 50 miles from where they reside.
The Washington Post reports on the latest U.S. News college rankings. Critics say the college ranking system undervalues economic mobility for students. Metrics, however, may be changing as more college ranking lists are evaluating graduate earnings and post-graduate debt levels. “We’ve seen a steadily increasing focus on whether students are graduating, getting a decent-paying job and are able to pay down their loans,” stated analyst Michael Itzkowitz.
College Affordability
GBH News and The Chronicle report on higher education’s value and what colleges and universities may be responsible for when it comes to return on investment for student loan borrowers. According to the nonpartisan Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, over 25% of bachelor’s degree programs leave students financially worse than if they had never enrolled. “We should be asking more of these institutions, both to protect the students and also to protect taxpayer resources,” said Beth Akers, an economist and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
NPR and The Washington Post report on the possibility of states taxing borrowers in the aftermath of Biden’s student loan cancellation. Borrowers may be able to cancel up to $20,000 in student loans, yet may also be taxed in seven states: North Carolina, Indiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California. For many student loan borrowers, debt relief will exceed their expected state tax contribution, leading to the possibility of having to pay taxes for canceled student loans.
Inside Higher Ed showcases findings from a new report on high enrollment of out-of-state students at public flagship universities that have led to more student debt. According to the Brookings Institute, public state universities are incentivized to enroll more out-of-state students who pay higher tuition, particularly when state funding is cut. “Enrollment by moderate- and low-income students at public flagship state universities has stagnated because states have divested in public higher education,” wrote Ozan Jaquette, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who released a report on public flagship universities prioritizing admittance for wealthy out-of-state students.
Basic Needs
Inside Higher Ed reports on the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi with colleges and universities around the area in search of long-term solutions. Two weeks ago, the city’s water treatment plant was set off-line when Mississippi’s Pearl River flooded and left over 150,000 residents in need of safe tap water. As a result, Jackson State University moved classes online and provided the campus with portable showers and bottled water.
Physical Health
Inside Higher Ed reports on COVID cases spiking at college campuses. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign reports more cases in the past week than during the pandemic. Co-chair of the American College Health Association COVID-19 task force, Anita Barkin, says that Urban-Champaign’s trends are unexpected, recommending colleges surveil their campuses and coordinate with its community’s health departments in case of major outbreaks.
Inside Higher Ed reports on a heat wave hitting west coast campuses, affecting students and local residents. A strong heat wave began last week, prompting colleges and universities to take safety precautions and even assist local communities during power outages and wildfires. California Governor Gavin Newson declared a state of emergency on August 31st as temperatures were expected to increase past 100 degrees.
