Mental and Behavioral Health
Sharon Kirkland-Gordon, the director of the University of Maryland’s Counseling Center, wrote a column in University of Maryland’s student newspaper, The Diamondback, seeking to correct some misinformation on social media regarding wait times at the counseling center. She wrote that students with urgent needs were always seen immediately, and that new approaches such as online therapy have been added to their roster of services to alleviate the wait. The Diamonback’s editorial board commended the university for working to improve it’s mental health resources, but argued that the university has a responsibility to meet the fluctuating needs of the entire student body, not just students in crisis. According to the staff writers, “Students who are unable to assert that their situation is urgent or that their needs outmatch those of other students – even if that is the case – should not be put at a disadvantage.” The editorial board urged UMD to remember that students, no matter where they are in their mental health recovery process, deserve to be cared for on time.
As part of it’s Mental Health Week, the University of Mississippi chapter of the student mental health advocacy group Active Minds hosted an exhibit called “Humans of Ole Miss”. The exhibition showcased students who have dealt with mental health issues, intense struggles and stressors. Students shared their stories, detailing the obstacles they have faced and how they have and continue to overcome them. Pictures and stories were shown on a rotating display.
Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean, an associate professor of Political Science at Quinnipiac University, argues in Diverse Education that students are suffering “under the weight of a crushing social context that constantly challenges their worth” and a “collective ignorance toward the scope of mental health conditions and the underfunding of effective resources to address them.”
The Student Engineering Council at the University of Texas hosted its first week-long campaign to encourage awareness of mental health, self care and diversity, as well as to promote student engagement with one another. The council worked with other organizations to plan a series of events, including yoga and mental health workshops. Some professors within the engineering school offered extra credit to incentivize higher attendance.
University of Texas Austin student Grace Leake wrote in the Daily Texan that although the University is working towards improvements, current mental health services are inadequate and argued that the student body must continue to identify problems in the system and pressure the administration to find solutions. UT’s Counseling and Mental Health Center provides individual counseling (offering up to six free in a recent change) and group counseling. Dr. Marla Craig, the associate director for Clinical Services at UT, said that demand for services has been increasing, and that the free individual counseling sessions pushed demand even higher. Craig told the Daily Texan that CMHC is searching for solutions. “We’ll actually be looking at our system over the summer – how we can use technology to make it more effective.”
The Editorial Board at the student newspaper at Central Michigan University, CM Life, argues that as the school undergoes an Academic Organizational Review which looks at campus support systems and assesses their validity, mental health services must take top priority. The Counseling Center regularly keeps a triple digit waiting list, which the Editorial Board calls unacceptable.
University of Michigan held Fresh Check Day, a gathering of student organizations and University programs aimed at raising awareness of mental health issues on campus. It was led by Call for Humanity, a newly created student organization that promotes dialogue and awareness of mental health. Fresh Check Day gave students the opportunity to visit booths and learn about available mental health resources.
Pending final approval by the Yale College Dean’s Office, Yale freshman will participate in a new mental health workshop this coming fall. The program, designed by the student-led initiative Mental Health Educators, will feature a moderated discussion that covers mental health culture at Yale, stigma, stress, recognizing signs that someone may be suicidal and the mental health resources available to Yale students. Mental Health Educators aims to generate conversation on campus about issues related to mental health.
The Editorial Board of the Daily Bruin takes issue with how schools may interpret the recent California State Supreme Court decision that found that California universities have a duty to protect their students from foreseeable violence. The decision, they argue, opened the gates for universities to marginalize students with mental illnesses in the name of protecting other students’ safety. The board writes, “When universities like UCLA start to consider hallucinations and paranoia as red flags for future violent behavior, they must recalibrate how to treat students’ mental health entirely.”
This week, George Washington University announced a series of changes to be implemented to its health center starting next academic year. These include doubling the number of free mental health sessions, mandating that undergraduates buy into the student health insurance plan or provide proof that they already have insurance, and moving to an electronic record-keeping system. The administration and student leaders said the change will make the health centers’ services more accessible to students.
Princeton University’s Peer Nightline is an anonymous peer listening service created and run by undergraduates that provides supportive listening to other students who “wish to share a problem, are in need of information, or just want to talk about whatever is on their mind.” The nightline does not offer professional counseling.
Diversity and Inclusion
Paul Quinn College in Dallas is dedicated to ending poverty. The Chronicle covered it’s President, Michael J. Sorrell, speaking at SXSWedu about that movement.
Washington State University Associated Students senators passed a resolution urging faculty, staff, multicultural committees and administrators to meet and create a plan for fighting issues faced by marginalized people. Minority student retention rate is about 10 to 20 percent lower than WSU’s average. All Campus Senator A’Jenae Hardwell, the resolution’s author, said the bill will bring accountability and transparency to the administration’s actions regarding campus climate.
Student Activism
Several hundred students have lined the halls of the main administration building at Howard University as part of a sit-in aimed at forcing administrators at the prominent historically black institution to respond to a list of demands. The sit-in followed news that six university employees were fired last year for stealing money from university grants intended for needy students, the latest in a series of scandals that have embittered students struggling to make tuition payments. But the students’ demands extend beyond the scandal to include guaranteed housing, a voice in university decision-making, an overhaul of how the university responds to sexual assault on campus and more transparency when it comes to university finances and administration salaries. The students are calling for the removal of President Wayne Frederick, saying it is not negotiable and that they would not leave until his resignation was confirmed. Frederick, a surgeon and Howard graduate who was appointed president in July 2014, issued a statement last week telling students, “I am listening to you and I am challenging my team to make the changes you are expressing a dire need to see.”
Guns on Campus
Law enforcement officials in central Florida say they may have thwarted another school tragedy after arresting a 26-year-old student who bought two rifles and was exhibiting troubling changes in his behavior. Wenliang Sun, a Chinese national enrolled at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, did not make any threats against the school or other students, but between late January and early February, bought two weapons as well as a couple hundred rounds of ammunition. He also bought a $68,000 Chevy Corvette months earlier, dyed his black hair blond, gained weight, and had been rarely coming out of his room. Campus Police Chief Richard Beary said that “red flag after red flag” led investigators to believe that Sun could be a danger.
Student Success
Colleges are increasingly being judged by how well they retain and graduate students, especially those who are first generation or low income. The Chronicle created a collection of articles that highlight efforts to better serve those populations and have made strides in improving student outcomes.
Student Safety
Last week, the National Center for Education Statistics released its “Indicators of School Crime and Safety” report, a study of trends in crime at schools and colleges. Key takeaways include: The number of reported forcible sex crimes has more than tripled from 2001 to 2015, arrests for drug-law violations have increased, and nearly 40 percent of hate crimes are related to race.
Hunger and Homelessness
A survey published this week by researchers at Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab found that more than a third of college students don’t always have enough to eat and lack stable housing. The study concluded 36 percent of college students say they are food insecure, 36 percent say they are housing insecure, and 9 percent report being homeless. The results are largely the same as last year’s survey, which included fewer students. The numbers are higher when broken out to include only community college students. Of that group, forty-two percent indicated they struggled to get adequate food. Nine percent said they had gone at least one day during the last month without eating because they could not afford it. And 46 percent said they had difficulty paying for housing and utilities. Researchers blame ballooning college costs, inadequate aid packages and growing enrollment among low-income students – as well as some colleges’ unwillingness to admit they have a hunger problem.
Hazing
A judge has tossed out the most serious allegations against 11 Pennsylvania State University fraternity brothers who were arrested following the death of fraternity pledge Timothy Piazza last year. Piazza was 19 when he died in February 2017, after a party for students who had accepted bids to join the chapter. That night, Piazza fell down a flight of stairs after drinking excessively, but no one called for help for almost 12 hours, according to police, who found him unconscious the next morning and took him to a hospital. His death led to changes at the flagship state campus, which banned the chapter and implemented stricter rules on Greek life. During the first hearing last summer, Judge Allen Sinclair dismissed felony aggravated assault and involuntary manslaughter charges against eight fraternity brothers. Last week, the judge dismissed charges of involuntary manslaughter and dozens of others, including reckless endangerment and hazing counts, against the Beta Theta Pi brothers, significantly narrowing the scope of criminal prosecution in the hazing-related death.
Health Policy
The University of Virginia’s Health Center has implemented numerous changes in healthcare policy over the past two years, including improvements to transgender patient care, and testing for sexually transmitted infections. The new transgender health care team is composed of staff from numerous specialties, including psychological services and care managers to address insurance or financial concerns. Testing for sexually-transmitted infections is now offered at a reduced cost, and new tests have been made available to students.
According to a new analysis by the Lookout Mountain Group, the Affordable Care Act has helped reduce the number of uninsured college students in the country, though nearly 1.7 million students still remain without coverage. Since 2010, the proportion of students without health insurance has dropped from a little more than 19 percent to 8.7 percent, as of 2016. However, college students remain the largest cohort of Americans without insurance. The Lookout Mountain Group is comprised of university health officials and other experts who came together after Barack Obama’s first election.
