Mental and Behavioral Health
The Amherst Wire, the University of Amherst’s student paper, is running an in-depth series on depression called The Weight They Carry, featuring a mix of informational and personal stories about mental health.
Two seniors at North Carolina State University are launching Qualia, a digital magazine about experiences with mental health. Students can submit poetry, prose and visual art for the publication, which the founders hope will encourage other NC State students to express themselves and start conversations about mental health.
According to the UN World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. The majority of people affected are women, young people and the elderly
Honolulu Community College hosted its first College Mental Health Conference this month.
Northwestern University junior Isabel Schwartz introduced a resolution to the student senate that calls on University administrators to create a wellness advisory board comprised of students, faculty and staff. It also supports creating a mental health training program for faculty and staff to help identify and assist students in distress.
In the Daily Campus, University of Connecticut’s student paper, UConn students share their experiences with stigma and tell how mental health has shaped their development.
Tufts’ President Anthony Monaco’s Mental Health Task Force has begun a series of “listening sessions” to inform their report and recommendations. The sessions will be held with different groups on campus, including the Asian American Center, Africana Center, and Latino Center.
Yale junior Jessica Magro writes about how her experience with online communities that encourage anorexia enabled her eating disorder. “These websites foster friendships of mutually assured destruction,” she writes.
The Penn State fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu is banned for two years from campus after it “knowingly violated every rule that was imposed,” said Damon Sims, Penn State vice president for Student Affairs. Penn State recently imposed sanctions on Greek life following the death of a fraternity member during a pledging event.
Diversity and Inclusion
Oklahoma University student Mikaela Hall writes about the racism implied in wearing Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) letters on campus. The fraternity was banned after a video of its members singing a racist chant went public. “We are a campus that should pride itself on diversity and improvement, not the degradation of an entire group of people,” Hall writes. “This is precisely why we kicked them off our campus.”
In a letter to the editor, Auburn freshman Dylan Clark writes about his disappointment that LGBT+ rights were never mentioned during a campus talk on diversity and inclusion with Apple CEO Tim Cook. In 2014, Cook became the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to come out as gay. While his accomplishments as a champion for for LGBT+ rights are well known, his formal introduction and the subsequent prepared questions contained no mention of them. “I believe there was a potential for a very meaningful message to an especially relevant group that was unfulfilled,” Clark writes.
Western Kentucky University’s Student Government Association passed a resolution to provide free education to black students as reparations for the history of “systemic denial of access to high quality educational opportunities” to black students. The student authors were inspired by the Associated Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who passed legislation for all black students to receive free education.
In an analysis of federal data, The National Center for Learning Disabilities found that students with learning disabilities drop out of high school at nearly three times the rate of students overall, and that the rate is even higher for black students. Robert Balfanz, a professor at Johns Hopkins’ School of Education and director of the Everyone Graduates Center, says that black students with learning disabilities face the double stigma of academic challenges and racial bias that become key factors in their dropout rate. In the 2014-2015 school year, about 37 percent of black students with a disability left high school without a regular diploma, a rate that is 14 percent higher than white students with a disability.
Title IX and Sexual Assault
The F Word, a feminist student group at Cornell, hosted a panel discussion to correct misinformation about gender and sexual violence. The discussion covered the difference between sex and gender, the LGBTQ community’s high risk of assault, and dealing with gender conformity.
The Daily Beacon, the University of Tennessee’s student paper, covers the history of Title IX through its modern-day interpretations and protections.
In a letter to the editor in the Brown Daily Herald, senior Carin Papendorp writes against reintegration for campus rapists, arguing that most rapists are repeat offenders. “If Brown is serious about preventing sexual assault,” she writes, “the University will keep past offenders away from campus.”
Gender Equality
The Daily Universe, Brigham Young University’s student paper, reports on the results of a campus survey on perceptions of campus culture and gender equality. At the predominantly Mormon school, many women reported facing the stereotype that they are in college to find a husband. BYU electrical engineering student Katherine Coombs recalled hearing a male student say to a female student, ‘Just do an easy major. You’re just going to be a mom anyway.’ ”
Guns on Campus
Following a change in policy that will allow concealed carry at the University of Kansas, students protested a Board of Regents’ meeting to draw attention to the link between more permissive gun laws and sexual assault.
Free Speech
Last week, The University of California, Berkeley cancelled a scheduled speech by Ann Coulter, a controversial conservative author. Berkley became a flashpoint in the national debate over free speech when a protest against alt-right speaker Milo Yiannopoulos became violent earlier this year. University administrators said in a statement that they could not let Ms. Coulter speak due to security threats. Though the school officials said they had found a suitable, safe location for the speech to be held on May 2, Coulter has vowed to show up Thursday and has suggested that she will sue the school for insisting that she appear on a different day. Student groups including the Berkeley College Republicans have filed a lawsuit against the school, saying that the university’s actions smother the free speech of conservative students whose opinions are a minority at Berkeley.
Marijuana
Michigan State University’s student paper covers attitudes toward marijuana two years after its hometown, East Lansing, legalized pot.
At the University of Vermont, April 20th, or 4/20, is traditionally known as a celebration of marijuana smoking, but this year, the day was marked by a 5K run for wellness, hosted by the Wellness Environment, a substance-free healthy living community on campus. “The UVM Wellness Environment takes kids during a very important time of development, brain development — college — and puts them in a position to build healthy brains,” said Jim Hudziak, the program’s director.
Sleep
A recent study found that undergraduate college classes have start times that are too early for young adult brains. While most colleges have start times around 8:00am, researchers suggest an ideal time would be closer to 10 or 11:00am. While research has shown that teenagers’ body clocks are set at a different time, there has been some evidence to suggest that this continues into your 20s. The Mary Christie Quarterly discussed the dangers of college sleep deprivation with sleep expert, Dr. Charles Czeisler.
Student Veterans
The Atlantic reports on a review of federal data that show that an average of only 15 percent of full-time students receiving GI Bill money graduated with a two-year degree in 2014. The reason may be the fact that student veterans face different challenges than their peers; they are often older than traditional students, more likely to be juggling school with the competing priorities of families and jobs, and can arrive at college with service-related disabilities. As an example of how to better support student veterans, the article cites San Diego State University which offers a variety of support services, including student lounges specifically for veterans, and advisors and counselors to help them address barriers to completion. The result? Veterans at San Diego State graduate at a rate nearly double the national average.
