Mental and Behavioral Health
The number of college students with autism is growing on campuses across the country. However, without comprehensive support, many of these students will not graduate. At Western Kentucky University, the Kelly Autism Program helps autistic students adjust to academic and social life on campus, providing them with tutors, discussion groups, and counselors who communicate often with dorm supervisors, professors, and the career center. Forty colleges around the country have developed such programs.
Inclusion and Diversity on Campus
Since Donald Trump’s election victory, reports of bias-based incidents and harassment have risen, many with links to the president-elect’s name. The New York Times looks at five cases in which people have been directly accused of such harassment, and their varying responses.
At the University of Kansas, four cheerleaders were suspended from performing at games after they posted a photo on social media of three male cheerleaders wearing matching sweaters with the letter K in red, captioned “Kkk go trump.”
While it is still unclear whether President-Elect Trump will follow through on his promise to eliminate President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, known as DACA, and deport the undocumented people protected by it, many of the college students who are currently allowed to stay in the US legally now fear their immigration status may be in jeopardy. Hundreds of college and university leaders have mobilized in recent days to defend undocumented students, signing a statement urging US leaders to preserve and expand DACA.
Over 70 leaders in Catholic higher education pledged solidarity with undocumented students, urging protection for those currently shielded under DACA. The presidents of Villanova University, DePaul University, Boston College, and Catholic University were among the signers of the solidarity statement.
Students at colleges around the United States are asking their administrations to establish “sanctuary campuses” to protect undocumented students who feel especially threatened by Trump’s victory. These campuses would refuse to willingly assist with government efforts to deport undocumented students, faculty, and staff. Some schools are attempting to define and adopt the policy; Wesleyan University was one of the first in the country to adopt the identity of a sanctuary campus.
Harvard University President Drew Faust pledged this week to take steps to protect undocumented students, writing an email to Harvard affiliates explaining that the University would expand the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program at the Law School and bring immigration experts to the school to provide legal resources.
Moody’s Investors Service anticipates that the flow of international students into the United States will diminish if Trump follows through on his promise to limit or end the H-1B visa program for high-skilled foreign workers.
George Washington University is reporting its most racially diverse freshman class in the school’s history after switching to a test optional admissions policy in 2015, no longer requiring applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores.
Undocumented immigrant and Ivy Tech Community College student Miguel Molina contributed an op-ed to the New York Times, describing his fear for his future under a Trump administration.
Substance Abuse
The results of a survey of University of Michigan female students found that 16 percent of respondents don’t drink at all. The women cited religious beliefs, family history, and personal preference. “I have alcoholism that runs in my family and so I have seen the other side that isn’t just light dancing and a little giggling,” freshman Gabrielle de Coster said. “I have seen people have to go to jail and the dark side of alcohol. College is definitely the stepping stone for that type of alcohol consumption.”
Concussions
The University of Iowa has the lowest rate of athletic concussions in the Big 10 and Ivy Leagues according to a recently-released report. Only 1.02 athletes per 1,000 at IU sustain concussions, which sports medicine specialists at the school chalk up to high awareness among coaches and athletes, and institutional comfort with athletes taking the time to fully recover after an incident.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
In a federal lawsuit against Kansas State University, two female students accuse the school of “deliberate indifference” for refusing to investigate a 2014 report of rape off-campus, which they claim enabled the alleged assailant to commit a subsequent rape the following year. The two women, who both claim they were attacked by the same man, say that the university gave the man a “free pass.”
To help address the significant underreporting of sexual assault on campus, a new website Central College in Iowa, allows students to report an assault online or anonymously. The site, called “Callisto” also acts as a hub where students can find campus-specific resources, file signed reports to administrators, and make private notes.
Columbia recently revised its policies to prohibit students who bring misconduct complaints from recording the proceedings and meetings. Columbia University students are demanding the right to record be reinstated as a tool to hold administrators responsible and ensure the institution will comply with Title IX.
Following incidents of sexual assault on campus, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Homecoming Committee hosted an educational panel on the topic. The panel included information about how to report assault and cited statistics such as a recent poll where one in four of those responded reported having been assaulted in their time on campus.
