Quadcast Ep. 42: Taking LGBTQ+ student support to the next level with David P. Rivera, PhD
This Pride Month, Mary Christie Institute’s coverage of the unique needs of LGBTQ+ student continues with our latest episode of the Quadcast, featuring David P. Rivera, PhD, associate professor of counselor education at Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY) and special advisor to the Steve Fund. Dr. Rivera’s career in higher education has spanned counseling, teaching and administration, always with an emphasis on serving LGBTQ+ students and students with other marginalized identities. With MCI executive director Marjorie Malpiede, Dr. Rivera explains his latest work, Affirming LGBTQ+ Students in Higher Education, which addresses the unique stressors that LGBTQ+ students face and guides administrators toward constructive solutions. The “trillion dollar question,” he says, is how to ensure that all students feel they belong on their campuses.
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Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
A new study from the University of Michigan Collegiate Sleep Disorders Clinic reveals transgender college students are more likely to suffer from insomnia and other sleep disorders, as well as suicidal behaviors. Specifically, transgender students who responded to the study’s survey were 245% more likely to have been diagnosed with a sleep disorder than cisgender students, and they were 421% more likely to attempt suicide.
A new partnerships between the United Negro Collge Fund (UNCF) and The Steve Fund will target the mental health needs of students at historically Black colleges and universities and predominantly Black institutions, Diverse Education reports. Over the next two years, the program will address the unique mental health concerns that plague Black students — including racial trauma and pandemic-related issues — on 40 different campuses. Goals will include not only promoting mental health resources but dispelling the stigma that often surrounds seeking them out.
For WBUR, Kathleen McCartney, psychologist and president of Smith College, adapts her recent commencement address to the Class of 2020 to offer universal words of wisdom about living with uncertainty. While the human instinct may be to avoid uncertainty, McCartney encourages her students, and everyone else, to embrace it. “If we can accept the fact that living with uncertainty is part of the adventure,” she says, “perhaps we can lessen the shocks along the way.”
Other News
Parents are suing Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, for allowing its products to negatively impact their children’s mental health, the Washington Post reports. The lawsuits arrive after leaked company documents reveal the company knew its apps were harming young people’s mental health.
Teachers were already facing pandemic setbacks and heated debates over course content when the recent school shooting rocked Uvalde, Texas. The New York Times investigates how teachers are coping, as they struggle to maintain normalcy, and sanity, under extraordinary conditions.
In another effort to improve student wellbeing, California is trying to address the issue of sleep deprivation by pushing back school start times, according to The Atlantic. Although school pressures disrupting student sleep still abound, this measure poses to bolster the physical and emotional health of exhausted teens across the state.
Illinois is one of the latest states to allow public school students to take mental health days off — up to five per year, in this case. Yet, NPR questions whether the excused absences are enough to combat the growing youth mental health crisis, highlighting a continuing lack of school services in the state.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The New York Times considers why Black high schoolers are increasingly choosing to attend historically Black colleges and universities, specifically over some of the most elite universities. For many Black students, HBCUs — relative safe havens from racial tensions plaguing the country and predominantly white institutions — offer more welcoming spaces to grow and thrive.
Diverse Education spotlights the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities: a recent coalition formed among 20 different research universities whose Latinx student populations surpass at least 25%. By 2030, the Alliance resolves to increase the number of hispanic graduate students twofold (from its current 6% of all graduate students) and increase Latinx faculty representation by 20%.
Diverse Education reports on Juneteeth celebrations and scholars’ commentaries on why it matters for higher education institutions to reflect on their historical ties to slavery. The Universities Studying Slavery (USS) consortium include close to 100 colleges and universities and focuses on research and “atonement regarding institutional ties to the slave trade, to enslavement on campus or abroad, and to enduring racism in school history and practice.”
The Chronicle reports on the unique challenges faced by international students pursuing work opportunities in the United States. Navigating an unfamiliar professional terrain — sometimes with little to no guidance from their schools — international students face visa restrictions that further restrict the job options available to them.
The Chronicle flags growing efforts to block critical race theory in schools around the country. According to the advocacy group PEN America, congress introduced 70 bills over the course of 2021 to restrict discussions of race and racism in schools, with 56 more introduced so far in 2022. Seven of last year’s bills passed; 42% of this year’s bills address course content on college campuses.
An opinion piece for The Hechinger Report argues that in order to train the next generation of entrepreneurs, HBCUs should emphasize business experience and building strong networks. “To truly diversify entrepreneurship, we must dismantle the perception of an entrepreneur as young, white and male and foster a more inclusive view so everyone can visualize themselves within the entrepreneurial ecosystem,” writes Qyana M. Stewart, CEO and principal consultant of GlobalForce Tech Consulting, LLC. Stewart argues that preparing HBCU students to be leaders in their communities will help with national economic expansion.
Inside Higher Ed reports on a written apology on past use of conversion therapy from The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. The letter has been criticized for not naming past practitioners of the practice, especially those who have signed the statement. The apology letter states the consequences of conversion therapy: “research indicates that so-called ‘conversion therapies’ and attempts to change sexual orientation and/or gender identity are associated with increased internalized stigma and discrimination, self-harm and -hatred, decreased self-esteem, depression, anxiety, isolation from social support, and suicide attempts.”
Sexual Assault and Title IX
The Chronicle reports on a bill introduced in Congress that would grant student-loan deferrals for sexual violence survivors who are on temporary leave. Students would be eligible for up to 3 years of federal loan deferrals after reporting incidents of sexual violence to their Title IX coordinators, according to the Student Loan Deferment for Sexual Violence Survivors Act. The Association of American Universities found that 13% of undergraduate and graduate students have reported rape or sexual assault, with higher rates amongst women and LGBTQ+ students.
Higher Ed Dive reports on the Education Department delaying new Title IX regulations. The Biden administration has postponed changing a Trump-era rule, but plans for the new proposal are expected this month. Advocates for sexual assault survivors say rules under the Trump administration discourage reporting. The delays may have consequences considering changes may not take effect for up to a year or longer. The new proposal may be controversial, such as protections for transgender students, which could be affecting the delays.
Student Success
An op-ed for The Los Angeles Times argues that the pandemic is changing higher education for the better. “Today, leaders in higher education are using lessons learned during the pandemic to reshape their institutions in ways that otherwise might have taken years to implement,” state Stephen Handel, senior program officer with ECMC Foundation in Los Angeles, and Eileen Strempel, inaugural dean of the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA. “Beyond the classroom, higher-education leaders are also reimagining the way they deliver pivotal student services.”
The Chronicle reports on the disproportionate decline of college male student enrollment. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, male enrollment declined by 8.6% in the last two years. There were three million more women who enrolled in higher education this year than men. Women outpacing men in graduation rates may affect the economy, unemployment rates, and marriage patterns. In 2021, 36% of men ages 25-34 have college degrees, compared to 46% of women in the same age group.
Inside Higher Ed reports on a new Economic Mobility Index showcasing post-graduate outcomes from colleges that serve a majority of low-income students. The top 10 colleges providing the greatest economic mobility, or ROI, were hispanic serving institutions in California, Texas, and New York, according to findings by Third Way, a public policy think tank. The Third Way report aims to examine different metrics, looking at “inclusive data, instead of exclusive data,” says Deborah Santiago, CEO of Excelencia in Education.
College Affordability
The Washington Post reports on the delay on student debt cancellation and anxious borrowers awaiting the announcement. White House officials are planning to cancel $10,000 in student debt for Americans earning less than $150,000, and for joint couples earning less than $300,000. The loan moratorium is set to end this summer on August 31st, affecting 41 million borrowers. A WBUR commentary suggests forgiving student debt, but only for “the hardest luck borrowers.” Other activists and labor groups have been lobbying President Biden for a bolder approach to student debt relief, including forgiving more than $10,000 for borrowers and eliminating income limits.
Inside Higher Ed reports that state funding for higher education increased in 2021. A new report by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association found that state funding in 2021 rose by 4.5%, contrary to previous economic recessions. Findings also showed that full-time enrollment declined by 3% from 2020 to 2021, mostly at community colleges. Experts note that when states received more revenue and stimulus funding than initially expected from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic, funding was able to be allocated to states’ budgets, which did not affect higher education as deeply.
The Chronicle interviews the U.S. Department of Education’s first-ever chief economist. Jordan Matsudaira, deputy under Secretary Miguel Cardona, says the department is putting together a new team to redesign new programs and current policies. The Department is collaborating with social-science researchers and investing in data collection to help inform policy that could lead to improved student success. Furthermore, Matsudaira explains that creating an accountability system and learning how borrowers’ income outcomes evolve can help the department restructure income-driven repayment programs.
Campus Safety
Inside Higher Ed reports on colleges stepping up efforts to prevent gun violence on their campuses. In recent news of the mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, colleges are working to protect their students by implementing threat assessment teams, active shooter drills and partnerships with law enforcement. “What we know from the research is that the people who carry out school shootings in K-12, as well as in higher ed, typically follow a detectable progression of behavior, meaning that they first come up with some idea to engage in harm,” said Marissa Randizo, executive director of threat management at Ontic. After Uvalde, researchers created an evidence-based eight-point plan to reduce gun violence, which could be utilized in higher education.
