A Quadcast Series: Peer Programs in College Student Mental Health, part 1
This week on the Quadcast, we start a two-part series focusing on peer support in college settings, coinciding with the recent release of a new white paper on the subject by the Mary Christie Institute and the Ruderman Family Foundation.
On this episode, MCI Executive Director Marjorie Malpiede speaks with two former student peer support leaders who have grown their programs into national peer support organizations. Daniel Mirny is the CEO of Lean on Me, a national peer-to-peer text line for mental health support, and Samuel Orley, the co-founder and chairman of The Support Network, a peer-led support group model begun at the University of Michigan. The episode concludes with a conversation between Malpiede and Dr. Zoe Ragouzeous, MCI’s clinical director and head of counseling at NYU, on what was shared and what this means for the field.
Also, a correction: Last week, the MCFeed referred to Gerri Taylor, the author of MCI’s “Frontlines” column, as the former Director of Counseling at Bentley University. Taylor was the Associate Dean of Health, Counseling and Wellness and the Director of the Health Center at Bentley.
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed report on, “Peer Programs in College Student Mental Health,” a new white paper by the Mary Christie Institute and the Ruderman Family Foundation. Peer support, the paper suggests, has the potential to improve student mental health by helping a subset of students with certain issues. Still, concerns remain, particularly about the risks some forms of peer support may pose to students both giving and receiving the care. Going forward, more research will be necessary to inform standardized protocols and guidelines for peer support programs.
Other News
With demand for services overwhelming campus counseling centers, The Washington Post offers recommendations for parents to support their students in the transition to and once at college.
For The Conversation, a group of professors relay their research dispelling what they say is the misguided assumption that remote learning leads to poor mental health among college students.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Coverage of the lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for their use of race-conscious admissions continues. The New York Times ventures onto Harvard’s campus to ask students there what ‘diversity means to them’ and assess their thoughts on the value of affirmative action. The Los Angeles Times investigates whether Asian Americans face discrimination in the college application process—the allegation at the heart of these lawsuits.
The Chronicle and Inside Higher Ed both feature a new report from the American Council on Education, “Mapping Internationalization of U.S. Campuses,” suggesting that global engagement has waned across most American colleges. The pandemic is likely to blame for recent dips in international student enrollment and study abroad participation. Yet many higher ed leaders, though not all, have expressed optimism about the future of those numbers and internationalization in general.
Inside Higher Ed suggests that recent research initiatives at schools including Howard University, North Carolina A&T State University and Morgan State University are bringing them closer to becoming the first historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with Research-1 status. For The Hechinger Report, Almesha L. Campbell, the Assistant Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Jackson State University, and Holly Fechner, the Executive Director of Invent Together, offer their ideas for how not only faculty but students at HBCUs can contribute to innovation. Campbell and Fechner urge HBCUs to promote pathways for their students to be inventors and patent their work.
Student Buzz
The Catalyst, the student newspaper for Colorado College, covers student efforts to appeal to the administration for mental health reinforcement after the recent deaths of multiple students from suicide.
According to The Daily Northwestern, a recent speech by the university’s new president, Michael Schill, to students and their families emphasized his plans to focus on supporting student mental health.
The editorial board at The Daily Princetonian expresses its support of a recent set of mental health recommendations put forward by the student government and urges the administration to make resources “more visible and accessible.”
In an op-ed for The Crimson, one Harvard student argues that affirmative action is a necessary but only partial—in fact, “shallow”— solution to a broken American education system.
The Yale Daily News reports that Elis for Rachael, a mental health advocacy group founded by Yale students after the suicide of their peer Rachael Shaw-Rosenbaum, is now an incorporated non-profit organization.
As the days get darker, the YDN also explores the causes and symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, a type of depression that often affects people in the fall and winter.
The Editorial Board for The Dartmouth celebrates the university’s new partnership with UWill, a 24/7 online therapy provider, as a ‘monumental leap’ forward in supporting student wellbeing.
And while the university may be making other strides in mental health support, The Dartmouth also reveals that the Student Worker Collective is bargaining for pay policies that allow for mental health days off.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
Cornell University and American University are taking measures to crack down on sexual assault after a recent influx of troubling reports on their campuses. At Cornell, The New York Times reveals, officials suspended all fraternity parties after four students reported being drugged and one reported being sexually assaulted in fraternity-affiliated spaces. Meanwhile, at American University, The Washington Post notes increased police presence around the dorms after someone reportedly assaulted a student on Monday.
Reproductive Justice
After the American Public Health Association (APHA), which made its support of legal access to abortion widely known, discouraged members from attending a rally for reproductive justice, questions abounded. The APHA seems to have been warning members that attending the unofficial event could put them at risk of arrest, Inside Higher Ed suggests.
Student Success
The Chronicle covers the concerns of community colleges, which are looking for new ways to recruit students and boost declining enrollment. Although the feasibility of recovery for these schools remains unclear, Higher Ed Dive reports that one student success program out of Westchester Community College in New York managed to increase full-time enrollment, persistence and credit attainment in the first semester.
The New York Times examines a new report from the Center for an Urban Future, revealing that students at the City University of New York (CUNY) are struggling to access opportunities in the technology industry. While CUNY is increasingly awarding degrees in tech, those students and alumni then have limited success finding full-time positions or internships in their fields.
College Affordability
Forbes attempts to clear up the latest confusion surrounding President Biden’s student debt relief plan with “6 Key Updates.” Among them are the fact that the Education Department has received 26 million applications for student loan forgiveness and preliminarily accepted 16 million. However, the Department is not yet able to award any relief given the current lawsuit-inspired block on the program.
The hosts of WBUR’s “On Point” speak with reporter Eric Kelderman from The Chronicle and President Mitch Daniels from Purdue University about how colleges can work to bring down the cost of tuition. According to Higher Ed Dive, such efforts to decrease tuition is in fact trending among some colleges, including Colby-Sawyer College, which will slash its price tag by 60% starting next year.
Basic Needs
USA Today considers the heat wave that swept the West coast colleges in early September, making move-in and dorm life uncomfortable at best and dangerous at worst. The record-breaking conditions exposed structural issues at some schools, where old buildings didn’t have adequate air conditioning or any at all.
Campus Safety
According to The Washington Post, a young man may have spent nearly a year pretending to be a student at Stanford before the university caught and removed him from campus just over a week ago. The man, William Curry, posed as a premedical undergraduate, even managing to live among other students in dorms on campus.
