Mental and Behavioral Health
College mental health centers have seen a drastic increase in students seeking treatment, some of which they have brought on themselves through aggressive outreach. Health centers have hired more staff, screening students through phone sessions to determine which need treatment, and offering more programs and workshops like Ohio State’s “Beating Depression” or “Yoga for Mental Health.”
Penn State student Cecilia McGough launched a non-profit organization for students with schizophrenia that aims to start a conversation about the mental illness. The group also hopes to provide scholarships, loans, housing and textbook cost assistance to students who need it. McGough told the Daily Collegian, “On college campuses when people talk about mental health, it’s usually about anxiety, depression and stress. While those are very important to talk about, other mental illnesses like schizophrenia get shied away from because they make people feel uncomfortable.”
An op-ed in the Chronicle argues that student orientation is far too late to be discussing mental health for the first time, suggesting schools should start having conversations about these issues in the year leading up to students’ arrival on campus. The op-ed argues that colleges and families must be able to honestly talk about what support a student will need and what services the school is able to offer.
Scientists at the University of Iowa have identified a single gene mutation that indicates a higher risk for developing an eating disorder.
Diversity and Inclusion on Campus
A non-profit organization based in one of Boston’s lower-income neighborhoods aims to break the cycle of poverty in the community with an innovative recruitment strategy. “College Bound Dorchester” seeks out young people who have previously led their peers towards criminal behavior, hoping that a college education will inspire “core influencers” to use their motivational skills and leadership to become positive role models in their communities.
Ronald A. Johnson, President of Clark Atlanta University, argued for the value of historically Black colleges in an Washington Post op-ed, citing the continued demand among African Americans for a quality education in a nurturing environment.
Douglas Muir, an adjunct professor for the University of Virginia, apologized after he called the Black Lives Matter movement “the biggest racist organization since the KKK” on Facebook, comparing the group to the Ku Klux Klan. He has since taken a leave of absence from the school.
Several East Tennessee State University students peacefully protested on campus in response to a police shooting of a black man in Charlotte. On the second day of their protest, a white freshman, Tristan Rettke, confronted the students: barefoot, wearing overalls and a gorilla mask, and carrying a burlap sack with a Confederate flag on it. He made monkey noises and used a racial slur. When Rettke took a rope with a noose out of his bag, police stepped in and arrested Rettke, charging him with civil rights intimidation, a felony in Tennessee.
Evidence shows that when student parents have access to childcare on campus, they are more likely to graduate, but, as the Atlantic reports, current on-campus childcare for student parents only meets five percent of the need. A recent Institute for Women’s Policy Research report found that the availability of campus child care has declined over the last decade at community and public colleges in 36 states, and that 95 percent of childcare centers at two- and four-year colleges have an average waiting list of 82 children.
In an op-ed for the Michigan Daily, Ali Safawi writes about the experience of being a Muslim on campus in light of the recent racist events at the school. “I cannot stay silent about the serious grievances against minority students here on campus,” he writes, calling for more definitive action from the administration to bring the student body together.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
Students at the University of Maryland are facing an additional fee after the Title IX Director complained that the school was failing to adequately fund services to combat sexual assault as mandated by the Obama administration.
For the first time, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) found a college in violation of Title IX for infringing on the rights of students accused of sexual violence. The OCR investigation at Wesley College was the result of a complaint filed on behalf of a male student expelled only seven days after being accused of sexual misconduct. The complaint alleged that the accused student, along with several other male students, were not given due-process rights during the sexual assault investigations – a provision covered under Title IX.
Last year, Michigan gave out $500,000 to a mix of public and private colleges to fight sexual assault on their campuses. The Chronicle checked in with three schools, Grand Rapids Community College, Finlandia University, and Eastern Michigan University, to see how they spent the money. Some created or expanded bystander-intervention training, consent education, and awareness campaigns.
Guns on Campus
East Carolina University professor Tracy Tuten planned to bring her firearm to campus after members of the University’s marching band kneeled during the national anthem to protest police shootings of African Americans. Tuten has not done so as this is a violation of North Carolina law.
