3/14 – 3/20

Mental and Behavioral Health

A new study from the University of British Columbia provides evidence showing that sessions with a therapy dog can have a measurable, positive effect on college student wellbeing, particularly on stress and feelings of negativity.  Emma Ward-Griffin, the study’s lead author and research assistant in the UBC department of psychology said, “Therapy dog sessions are becoming more popular on university campuses, but there has been surprisingly little research on how much attending a single drop-in therapy dog session actually helps students.”

The 16th annual Depression on College Campuses Conference was held last week at the University of Michigan. The conference includes a series of workshops, panel discussions and sessions that pertain to mental health awareness. These sessions include information on increasing access to mental healthcare services, providing safe spaces for LGBTQ students, promoting wellness on campus and fostering international student mental health.

During its Mental Health Awareness Week, Missouri University hosted an event called “We Cannot Be Broken,” during which students stopped in the student center to add links to a paper chain. On the links, students wrote words like “self-care,” “love myself” and “asking for help”. Counselors were also at the event to answer students’ questions about wellness and coping mechanisms for mental health struggles. View a video about the event here.

Earlier this month, The Daily Princetonian published an anonymous column by a student diagnosed with schizophrenia, alleging that the University disregarded their psychological and academic needs. The student described a disturbing incident where two public safety officers assaulted, handcuffed, and dragged [him] to an ambulance waiting outside the dormitory. In a subsequent op-ed, Princeton student Samuel Aftel argues that the column “exhibits how the University is unequipped to meet the needs of students with severe psychiatric conditions.”

In the University of California student newspaper, Kaila Mattera writes about the high levels of stress students experience during academic finals, and the resulting mental and physical health deterioration this can cause. According to Catrina Chan, a fourth-year psychology major and a former member of the Student Health and Wellness Committee of ASUCD, UC Davis students are not aware of the various services and resources offered at the school to help students deal with stress. “Even I’ll admit, I’m in my fourth year now, and there were resources that I did not know about until Winter Quarter last year.”

MIT senior Isabella Pecorari is the President of Peer Ears, a student-run organization that fosters conversations about mental health and provides resources to students facing mental health crises. Peer Ears representatives are trained extensively by MIT mental health clinicians on how to reach out and respond to students facing mental health crises. Under Pecorari’s leadership, the organization is creating a booklet for incoming freshman that presents information about mental health issues and the resources students can go to for help.

Last week, Michigan State University held its Mental Health Awareness Week which aims to lessen the stigma around seeking help for mental health issues and increase awareness of on-campus resources available to students.

Time Magazine reports on the innovative solutions colleges and universities are using to address increased wait times at their counseling centers. The article cites a number of examples. For the first time last fall, UCLA offered all incoming students a free online screening for depression. More than 2,700 students opted in, and counselors followed up with more than 250 who were identified as being at risk for severe depression, exhibiting manic behavior or having suicidal thoughts. Virginia Tech University opened several satellite counseling clinics, one above a local Starbucks and others embedded in the athletic department and graduate student center. Ohio State University launched a counseling mobile app that allows students to make an appointment, access breathing exercises, and contact the clinic in case of an emergency. Pennsylvania State University allocated roughly $700,000 in additional funding for counseling and psychological services. Student government leaders at several schools have enacted new student fees that direct more funding to counseling centers.

Diversity and Inclusion

Christian Picciolini, a former “white power” skinhead who spent his teens and early 20s handing out hate literature at punk-rock concerts, spoke recently with The Chronicle on the reasons racist extremists are now so interested in colleges.  Picciolini leads a very different life today. He is the co-founder of the peace-advocacy group Life After Hate and author of a memoir called White American Youth: My Descent Into America’s Most Violent Hate Movement – and How I Got Out. He uses his story to explain what attracts people to extremist groups and what can be done to dim their allure.

Over the past several years, women colleges and universities have grappled with how to include various gender identities in their admissions policies. Mount Holyoke, for example, now accepts applicants from students who self-identify as women, stating, “We recognize that what it means to be a woman is not static. Traditional binaries around who counts as a man or woman are being challenged by those whose gender identity does not conform to their biology.” Wellesley College officially considers transgender women and non-binary applicants, but not transgender men after students and faculty questioned in 2014 whether admitting a transgender student who identified as male conflicted with a women’s college mission.

Sexual Assault and Title IX

The U.S. Department of Education has stopped providing details on sexual-violence investigations resolved by its Office for Civil Rights, representing a another radical shift occurring under President Trump’s secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. Since 2014, the department has kept an updated list of colleges under investigation over their handling of issues related to sexual violence, providing the list to the news media upon request.

Sexual Health and Contraception

Talia Parker argues in the Georgetown University student newspaper, The Hoya, that emergency contraception – also known as the morning-after pill – is an important aspect of sexual health, especially for survivors of sexual assault. Parker writes that the Student Health Center, which does not currently supply emergency contraception, must start doing so for sexual assault survivors.

Substance Use

The Boston University Collegiate Recovery Program, open to any member of the University community who is in recovery or wants to begin it, aims to help students stay sober and thrive at college. The program, only a year old, grew from two to thirty attendees in its first few months.
This week, the University of Connecticut’s Student Health Services (SHS) is kicking off a year-long initiative to prevent drug and alcohol use-related issues. A conference called “Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Stakeholders Call to Action,” used expert information and national practices as framework for a strategy aiming to prevent and reduce harm related to drug and alcohol use at UConn. Health Services Executive Director Suzanne Onorato said, “We are hoping that the AOD Stakeholders conference will create a foundation and common understanding of national AOD issues and successful strategies that might be applicable to the UConn environment.”

Guns on Campus

Maximilien Reynolds, a former Cornell student accused of possessing bomb-making materials,  other weapons and combat gear, has waived his right to a detention hearing and will receive a psychiatric evaluation.  A Walmart employee called the police after Mr. Reynolds purchased ammunition, knives and other tools the employee deemed suspicious. Authorities raided his apartment and found a military-style rifle, a homemade bomb and other tactical equipment in his apartment, blocks away from the Ivy League campus. Reynolds was on leave from Cornell.

College Affordability

The Wall Street Journal produced a video about the New York-based ASAP initiative, which helps students pay for higher education without the burden of debt. The ASAP program, which aims to lift students who are most likely to default up the economic ladder, was started 10 years ago.