Mental and Behavioral Health
The University of Michigan’s Athletes Connected program is a collaborative effort between the School of Public Health, the Depression Center and the athletic department. The program allows UM athletes to take advantage of a variety of services, from “wellness groups” led by licensed social workers to individual sessions with clinicians as well as access to the growing library of in-house videos with messages from fellow UM athletes about coping with stress or injury or depression.
The University of California Santa Barbara student newspaper, the Daily Nexus, published several vignettes written by UCSB students about their experiences with mental health. The stories touch on topics like depression, suicide and drug addiction.
The Editorial Board of the UC Davis student newspaper, The Aggie, argued in an op-ed that the Crisis Text Line, which has been recently promoted by the school’s administration, is not a substitute for improved counseling services. The Editorial Board writes that while it recognizes that the Crisis Text Line is an undeniably valuable resource and that it could function as a stepping stone for other forms of counseling, it is not a substitute for in-person counseling and does not diminish the importance of having more counselors available through Student Health and Counseling Services.
Diversity and Inclusion
The U.S. Education Department has opened investigations into whether programs supporting women at Yale University and the University of Southern California violate federal law by discriminating against men. The probes were launched after Kursat Christoff Pekgoz, a 30-year-old Ph.D. student in the English department at USC, submitted a complaint claiming discrimination. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Pekgoz said that since men are a minority on campuses, women-only scholarships “feel unfair.” He said he filed the complaint against Yale after determining that the school had among the most offerings explicitly for women.
In March, students and alumni at Brigham Young University spoke on a panel about what it’s like to be LGBTQ or “same-sex attracted” at the Mormon institution. The panel was the first time in the Mormon campus’s history that LGBTQ people could have a university-sanctioned platform to speak publicly about their experience.
While many argue that elite colleges and universities fail to enroll a significant number of low-income students, there are some institutions, such as Cal State and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County that have strong track records of improving the socioeconomic status of students. At the Education Writers Association’s annual seminar last week, a panel that included Marvin Krislov, the president of Pace University; Dianne Harrison, the president of California State University, Northridge; and Allan Golston, of the Gates Foundation, recommended strategies for improving students’ social mobility. One recommendation was to actively recruit and enroll low-income students. Another recommendation was to support students with resources when the students get to campus, with writing centers, generous financial aid packages, or simply empathetic academic advisors from similarly low-income backgrounds. Finally, the panel recommended that schools focus on preparing students for jobs after college and building relationships with businesses that ease the process of finding post-graduation employment for students, especially for those whose parents don’t have their own professional networks.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
University of Southern California President C.L. Max Nikias agreed to step down Friday, just over a week after allegations were made public that a longtime gynecologist had been the subject of numerous claims of sexual harassment and misconduct, only to receive a private settlement and be spared any report to the state’s medical board. While initially, USC trustees defended Nikias, Rick J. Caruso, chairman of the subcommittee of the executive committee of the school’s board of trustees, said in a letter to the school community Friday that Dr. Nikias and the board had agreed to “begin an orderly transition and commence the process of selecting a new president.” He wrote, “We have heard the message that something is broken and that urgent and profound actions are needed.”
College Affordability
In the spring of 2014, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam announced a plan to make community college free for graduating high school seniors, part of a broader plan to dramatically increase the number of adults in the state with college credentials. It was called the Tennessee Promise. Four years after Haslam’s announcement, education officials have released data that begin to prove, tentatively, that providing two years of free community college ultimately translates into more degrees. However, experts warn not to read too much into a single year’s outcome.
Disabilities
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, as many as one in four students at some elite U.S. colleges are now classified as disabled, largely because of mental-health issues such as depression or anxiety. This classification entitles these students to a widening array of special accommodations like longer time to take exams. Under federal law, students can be considered disabled if they have a note from a doctor. The rise in disability notes for mental-health issues has led to a surge in the number of students who take their exams in low-distraction testing centers, are allowed to get up and walk around during class or bring a comfort animal to school, among other measures.
Hunger and Homelessness
The UCLA Community Programs Office has received $603,000 from the 2016 Social Justice Referendum, and is using some of the funds to address food insecurity on campus by improving both the quality and quantity of food in the CPO Food Closet.
It’s difficult for college students to qualify for federal food-assistance benefits under current law. However, in some states, officials are interpreting the existing federal rules to help make more needy students eligible for SNAP benefits, even as some worry that, in the current political climate, drawing attention to those efforts will invite a clampdown. Last week Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, both Democrats, announced that the Government Accountability Office had agreed to their request for a national study of food insecurity among college students.
