Mental and Behavioral Health
The U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement with Princeton University that encourages the school to update its policy language to better explain university procedures and options available to students with mental health disabilities. The agreement follows a compliance review was conducted after a student filed a lawsuit alleging discriminatory treatment by the school. The student claimed that after a hospitalization for an attempted suicide, the university barred him from campus, including entering his dorm room and attending classes, and told to submit a voluntary withdrawal.
As part of the ongoing “Big Questions” radio series at the University of Minnesota, four panelists discuss the question: How can we move beyond stigma in mental health? MPR News host Tom Weber was joined by University of Minnesota student and past president of Active Minds Victoria Blakeborough; the Director of Student Counseling Services, Dr. Glenn Hirschat; a professor in the Department of Psychology, Richard Lee; and the 2016-2017 student body president Abeer Syedah.
Diversity and Inclusion on Campus
In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, a Muslim youth group, which includes students from Middle Tennessee State University, held an event to promote unity after months of anti-Islam rhetoric and harassment of Muslim students in the harassment in the wake of Donald Trump’s election win. At the rally, members of Murfreesboro Muslim Youth handed out flowers, candy, and handwritten cards to local residents. At least 200 people attended the event, most of whom were not Muslim, many holding signs proclaiming love and tolerance.
An investigation by the University of Oregon found that Nancy Shurtz, a law professor at the school, committed “discriminatory harassment” by wearing blackface to a Halloween party at her house, to which she invited her students. She was placed on leave, and several of her colleagues called for her resignation.
At Christian colleges, a generational divide has appeared between students and their older professors and administrators over gay rights. According to the Pew Research Center, 54% of millennial evangelicals think homosexuality should be accepted compared with only 35% of Generation X or Baby Boomer evangelicals, 47% of millennial evangelicals are in favor of gay marriage, compared with only about a quarter of baby boomer and Generation X evangelicals.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
Buck Ryan, a University of Kentucky journalism professor was punished for behaving inappropriately during a teaching trip to a university in China. Part of that behavior was singing the Beach Boys song, “California Girls,” in front of students, but he is also accused of inappropriate touching and use of sexual language. Ryan has publicly denied the claims, and has challenged his punishment, which included a ban from receiving funds to represent the university abroad. Though other faculty members complained about his behavior on the trip, Ryan wrote in an op-ed, “If my case is any indication, then everyone concerned about discrimination and harassment should be alarmed.”
Nutrition
The Daily Pennsylvanian does a deep dive on student athlete nutrition at Penn, interviewing the school’s full-time sports nutritionist and the athletes themselves. For athletes, who are often training or competing every day, a healthy and balanced diet is key to their performance.
Alcohol Abuse
A Syracuse University Senate report found that by March of 2016, the number of intoxicated students transported to the hospital was on par with the entire 2014-2015 school year. Over 200 students were transported for alcohol-related reasons with two months remaining in the second semester of the academic year.
Disabilities
Many students with disabilities rely on note takers to complete their final exams. At Barnard this semester, there were 77 requests for a note taker through the school’s Office of Disability Services. The school’s process for recruiting notetakers places the onus on the students and has discouraged some from getting the accommodations that they need.
