Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
After the U.S. Surgeon General released his report on the harmful effects of social media on youth mental health, The New York Times turns to teenagers to hear their thoughts on the internet and warnings against it. While many teens admit to struggling with or resenting social media, they also say it’s unavoidable in their lives—to an extent adults may not be recognizing. In an op-ed for The Times, Molly Worthen, associate history professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, suggests colleges need to make a “bold move” to limit tech use in the classroom in the interest of mental and emotional relief. “Universities,” she writes, “Should be more like monasteries.” And at least one student may agree with her: For The Washington Post, 19-year-old Jenna Bloom writes about how her growing obsession with social media inspired her to step away from it and find some mental relief in the process.
Other News
Inside Higher Ed reviews the results of its latest Student Voice survey, finding half of college students reported fair or poor mental health but only half of those with a mental health condition reported using campus counseling services.
Inside Higher Ed features Aresh Assadi, director of counseling at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, whose new research highlights how to encourage men — who tend to be more resistant to therapy — to seek mental health support.
The most recent episode of the Inside Higher Ed podcast, The Key, explores how colleges can try to address the academic as well as mental health needs of students who learn online.
Also in Inside Higher Ed: Researchers at Indiana University suggest an intervention providing first-year students a forum to discuss their concerns about college can promote “persistence, course taking and sense of belonging.”
For Higher Ed Dive, Marcus Hotaling, president of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors, warns against replacing campus counseling directors with outsourced mental healthcare.
The Stanford Daily explores the persistence of “duck syndrome” — which refers to how students may appear fine but be struggling immensely ‘below the surface’ — on campus and the challenge of breaking down the phenomenon.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Texas is the latest state to push forward efforts to restrict funding for diversity, equity and inclusion-related programming at public colleges and universities. The bill in question has made it through the Senate and House, heading now to Gov. Greg Abbott, who The New York Times says “will almost certainly sign it.” On the one hand, The Chronicle reports, anti-DEI legislation is stoking up intense fear among faculty and students in Texas about their safety and their livelihood. On the other hand, University of Virginia president James Ryan writes for The Chronicle, perhaps “there is more room for common ground than might appear from news accounts” — and those who want to protect DEI should consider critiques of it more carefully.
The White House released its first ever national strategy to counter antisemitism — one President Bident called the “most ambitious and comprehensive U.S. government-led effort to fight antisemitism in American history,” according to NPR. Meanwhile, the Education Department, Diverse Education adds, launched an Antisemitism Awareness Campaign to protect Jewish students, as well as all others, from identity-based discrimination at school.
As many anticipate the Supreme Court to disallow race-conscious admissions, The New York Times reveals the Common App — responsible for the “universal application” of more than 1,000 colleges — will offer admissions officers the option not to view the race of the applicants they evaluate starting Aug. 1.
The Times also highlights Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent address as the first woman graduation speaker at West Point, where she emphasized “the American military’s evolution into a more diverse institution that is open to women and minority groups.”
The Washington Post reports George Washington University has changed its moniker to the Revolutionaries after its old one, the Colonials, inspired controversy for being perceived by many “as a proxy for European imperialism.”
Student Success
For college enrollment, there’s good news and bad, Higher Ed Dive suggests. While the decline in enrollment appears to be slowing — falling only 0.2% between this spring and last — it remains “well below” levels predating the Covid-19 pandemic. Community colleges also experienced a slight increase (0.5%) in enrollment.
Amid concerns about the growing role of artificial intelligence in higher education, The Chronicle assembles testimonies from a dozen experts — some wary, others optimistic — about what’s to come. Of course, the impact of AI on campuses may already be apparent, Diverse Education notes, given a recent survey suggesting 30% of college students used ChatGPT for schoolwork in the last year.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
While the Education Department planned to finalize new Title IX regulations this month, Inside Higher Ed says it has pushed back the release to September. In a blog post, the Department revealed staff need more time to review the more than 240,000 public comments to the proposed changes. Advocates worry the delay will keep students from receiving proper support come fall.
Basic Needs
During his graduation address at the University of Massachusetts Boston, billionaire Rob Hale announced he would be gifting $1,000 to each of the year’s graduates, WBUR finds. While Hale added students would need to give half their check to another person or organization in need, the money lifted the spirits of more than 2,500 graduates, almost 60% of whom were first-generation college students.
College Affordability
According to The Washington Post, the House voted last week to overturn President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which also awaits a verdict from the Supreme Court. The House will then vote again this week, Politico says, on the new deal made by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin KcCarthy, proposing to raise the national debt limit but restart student loan payments, which are currently on pause. (The deal would not affect Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.)
Higher Ed Dive reviews the results of a new survey from the Federal Reserve, finding more than half of adults who went to college believe the financial benefits outweigh the costs. For The Hechinger Report, Aneesh Sohoni, CEO of community college support provider One Million Degrees, also counters growing skepticism around the value of college by emphasizing how it “translates into a positive impact not only in the short term but for generations yet to come.” Still, many recent high school graduates seem to be swayed by the promise of a strong job market and are choosing to pursue a career over higher education, The Wall Street Journal reports.
