Mental and Behavioral Health
Harvard’s Student Mental Health Liaisons hosted the school’s first mental health week in the reading period before finals. One of the most popular activities was the screening of “Looking for Luke,” a documentary produced by the Clay Center about the passing of Luke Tan, a Harvard sophomore who died by suicide in 2015.
A University of Minnesota task force released a report on the school’s student mental health. Among the recommendations was a call for faculty to be more active in reducing stress, a departure for the school’s previous, more hands-off recommendations for faculty to simply send students to counseling or other treatment services.
Connecticut College’s student paper examines access to and quality of mental health services on the school’s study abroad programs.
A USA Today series on college student mental health begins with the increasing demand for services and the scramble by colleges to provide them. The second article in the series tells the stories of two students who have struggled with mental illness and now, after therapy, are managing it.
Anxy Magazine released its first issue, focused on anger. The publication, which is “for culture makers and the people inspired by them who are tired of feeling ashamed of their emotions and mental health,” features personal stories, photography, and poetry.
Diversity and Inclusion
The F.B.I. is helping American University investigate a racist incident that occurred on campus where bananas were found hanging from string “in the shape of nooses”. The incident occurred the same day that the first black woman in the university’s history took office as student government president. American University President Neil Kerwin responded to the incident, saying, “I regret this happened, apologize to everyone offended, and state emphatically that this incident does not reflect what American University truly is.” At a town hall held at the school on Tuesday, dozens of students walked out after 45 minutes, protesting what they perceived to be a slow response by administrators.
At the University of Maryland, a noose was found at a fraternity house. Police are investigating the case as a hate-bias incident.
Last week, Colgate University was on lockdown when a report was made to campus safety that a black man was carrying what appeared to be a gun on campus. It was later determined there was no gunman; the man in question was a student carrying a glue gun he was using for a school project. When they learned of the reason for the lockdown, many students were angry that a student of color working on a project was identified as a threat to the campus, viewing it as a representation of the systemic racism at the school. Of the incident, Colgate President Brian W. Casey said, “It is important that we understand the role that implicit racial bias had in the initial reporting of and responses to the events of last night. I want to make sure we speak with those who made and received the initial report to understand the role this played.”
U.S colleges and universities are seeing declining numbers of applications from overseas. Nearly half the 25 largest public universities saw undergraduate applications from abroad fall or stagnate since last year.
On Friday, President Trump questioned whether a funding program for historically black colleges and universities was constitutional, alarming some university leaders and advocates. On Sunday night, the President pledged his “unwavering support” to HBCUs, which seemed to confuse, rather than assure, those concerned.
Kathy Tran, who will soon graduate from UC Berkeley, writes about her experience as a first generation college student born in California of Vietnamese parents. “At UC Berkeley, so many first-generation students of color, such as myself, are seen as resilient by the institution when we continue to recruit and retain other students of color — work the institution is supposed to do itself,” she writes. “But when first-generation students of color ask for more adequate resources, such as space, counseling or acknowledgment, we are immediately shut down.”
Students involved in the University of California-Davis’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex Asexual Resource Center hosted a two-part Dismantling White Privilege event series. “Racism is often hidden from those who do not experience it,” co-organizer Matt Reese said. “I wanted to educate other white people on racism and clear up myths regarding the issue.”
Sexual Assault and Title IX
At Syracuse University, more students than ever are seeking help for issues related to sexual assault, even after the Advocacy Center, which housed the school’s sexual assault resources, was suddenly and controversially closed. The school has struggled with transparency and communication around sexual assault issues.
The Cornell Daily Sun takes a deep dive on a Title IX case that has been ongoing for over five months and is complicated by two conflicting narratives, with both Sally Roe and James Doe claiming one assaulted the other.
Men and women wore heels for a mile-long walk around the University of Oregon campus for Alpha Chi Omega’s third annual “In Her Shoes,” an event to raise awareness about domestic violence.
Student government members at at Notre Dame are advocating for the use of Callisto, an anonymous, time-stamped sexual assault reporting tool. Survivors wait an average of 11 months to report an assault, so having the account recorded immediately after creates better evidence should they choose to submit the report. The program also responds to the issue of repeat offenders: if two reports identifying the same perpetrator come through, they are automatically submitted to the school’s Title IX officer.
The Chicago Maroon provides a detailed history of sexual assault on the University of Chicago’s campus. The story begins in the ‘50s when administrators were found to have blamed sexual assault committed by male students, on “South Side” men preying on female students.
In an anonymous open letter to Penn State President Eric Bannon, a student writes about her assault and how the school failed to respond. Despite the Title IX requirement that cases be processed and completed in 60 days, hers was still unresolved at 178 days. Her accused rapist will walk at graduation this weekend. “People wonder why no one comes forward and says what happens,” she writes. “This is exactly what I was afraid would happen. I just created more pain for myself than he could ever do.”
Guns on Campus
A professor at the University of Kansas resigned publicly in an open letter, pointing to a new state law taking effect this summer that will allow guns on campus, even in classrooms. Of his decision, Jacob Dorman wrote, “In practical terms, concealed carry has proved to be a failure. Campus shootings have become all too frequent, and arming students has done nothing to quell active-shooter situations.
Under Arkansas’s new gun bill, faculty and staff who have a concealed carry permit will be allowed to bring firearms into dorms and Greek life residences. The University of Arkansas is rewriting its housing policies, which currently do not permit guns in university buildings, to reflect the changes.
Hazing
Eighteen Pennsylvania State University fraternity members were charged in the death of 19 year old student Timothy Piazza, who fell multiple times after consuming toxic levels of alcohol. His friends and fraternity brothers failed to get help for him for many hours. The grand jury concluded that this was not an isolated incident but that “the Penn State Greek community nurtured an environment so permissive of excessive drinking and hazing that it emboldened its members to repeatedly act with reckless disregard to human life.”
Lehigh’s chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity has been suspended for violating the school’s alcohol policies.
Substance Abuse
The Wall Street Journal examines universities’ response to the opioid epidemic and cites a study conducted by the Mary Christie Foundation and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation that found high participation of opioid use among college students and low levels of awareness on where to get help in an emergency. Schools have started training their staff to administer the anti-overdose drug naloxone, investing in sober housing, and hiring more drug counselors.
Facebook will add 3,000 employees next year to monitor the site for offensive or violent content, including its Facebook Live video streaming which has been used as a platform for broadcasting horrific events like murders and suicides. Zeynep Tufekci, an associate professor at University of North Carolina who studies online speech issues told the New York Times, “It was pretty clear to me that this (Facebook Live) would lead to on-camera suicides, murder, abuse, torture,”
