Q&A on Supporting Trans Student Mental Health
As a feature Q&A article for Pride Month, MCI interviews two trans mental health clinicians on the difficulties trans college students face generally and throughout the pandemic. Data from The Healthy Minds Study shows that gender minority students are significantly more likely than their cis-gender peers to experience mental health issues. According to The Trevor Project, more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth have seriously considered suicide.
We interviewed University of Massachusetts’ Trans mental health clinicians, Aspen Alterkun and Bradley Landon, the first Trans clinicians to be hired at the school. They spoke of their experiences supporting students and gave advice on how colleges and universities can provide better environments and support for trans student mental health. Read the full Q&A here.
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
Forbes reports on whether colleges are prepared to support the mental health of college students this fall. While university leaders have begun preparing reopening plans for students returning, investment towards increased counseling centers are at the forefront. Based on data from the Healthy Minds Network, 83% of the 33,000 college students surveyed reported that the COVID-19 pandemic and their resulting mental health issues have negatively impacted their college education. Amidst ongoing fears of safety and health for themselves and their loved ones, college students are also having a difficult time imagining their future given the past year of trauma and uncertainty. Nevertheless, Sarah Ketchen Lipson, Boston University faculty and co-Principal Investigator of the study, says the study did shine a positive light on the increased discussion of mental health and students’ willingness to reach out to one another. Laura Horne, chief program officer of Active Minds, agreed, noting that students are now more likely to seek help.
The New York Times reviews the results of a recent study that assesses how the pandemic has affected teen wellness and plans for after high school, finding that 72% of 13 to 19 year-olds faced mental health problems. The survey, conducted by America’s Promise Alliance which evaluated over 2,400 high schoolers, also reports that almost 80% of juniors and seniors have shifted their post-grad plans because of the pandemic. Of those who indicated changes to their plans, one-third have chosen to attend school closer to home, while around a quarter have decided to go to a two-year instead of four-year school. Inside Higher Ed covers the America’s Promise survey, in addition to another report by Strada Education Network of around 1,200 high school seniors “whose plans had been disrupted by the pandemic.” This second survey suggests that around one-third of respondents shifted plans to pursue a program that was less expensive or closer to home, with Black students especially subject to these changes.
Other News
My Twin Tiers reports that the SUNY system will be revamping its mental health programming for all 64 of its schools. The primary goals of the new program include breaking down mental health stigma, expanding the counseling staff, outsourcing for additional resources, and establishing “permanent mental health and wellness positions.”
A new “Center for School Mental Health” planned to launch at the University of Iowa will offer services not only for college students but residents across the state, according to The Gazette. The construction has been made possible with $20 million in pandemic aid and hopes to be a long-term destination for mental health research and training.
Mercy Ogutu, a rising junior at Trinity Washington University, created a website that helps people find mental health resources. As a teen who struggled with body dysmorphia, stuttering, and depression, Ogutu turned to poetry to find healing and hopes to uplift others on their own mental health journeys.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The valedictorian at a New Jersey high school Bryce Dershem was presenting at his graduation when his microphone cut out — just as he started to discuss his experience coming out as queer. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the school principal then walked on stage and crumpled Dershem’s printed speech, instructing him to “read this, or nothing else.” While the district superintendent denied allegations of trying to censor the speech, Dershem says that the school had previously ordered him to remove mention of his queerness as well as his mental health struggles from the address.
Higher Ed Dive examines the struggles international students may face for the upcoming academic year, in regards to remaining perceptions of the United States as being unwelcoming and difficulties crossing borders. With visa and policy-related challenges hindering the path to return to U.S. campuses, international students may not be able to arrive prior to the semester start. In countries with increasing infection rates of coronavirus, consular offices are limiting or halting U.S. visa appointments altogether. Steven Bloom, Assistant Vice President of Government Relations at the American Council on Education, says the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant and border-restrictive policies have likely caused worry and disdain from international students, as many have also reported fearing the rise in gun violence and anti-Asian hate crimes. John Wilkerson, Indiana University’s Assistant Vice President for International Services, says, “It will take years of messaging and proof through actions for the United States to regain the shine that it lost during recent years.”
Last week, a virtual event on Anti-Asian hate and mental health was forcibly shut down when a zoom-bomber verbally attacked the webinar, screaming racial and ethnic slurs. With the increasing reports of anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic, the Steve Fund and the University of Michigan’s National Center for Institutional Diversity planned on co-hosting the panel “Anti-Asian Hate and Mental Health on College Campuses,” featuring expert speakers to discuss strategies on college campuses to support members of the AAPI community in academia.
In an op-ed for The Heighinger Report, Catharine Hill and Meagan Wilson, director and analyst of Ithaka S+R, write about the overdue decision to reinstate Pell Grants for incarcerated students. Still, they stress that policymakers should have greater access to information about prison education programs, suggesting that “the lack of understanding about what constitutes a quality program and how to evaluate options means that these Pell resources may not be used wisely, benefiting the providers but not the students.”
In an op-ed for The New York Times, the chairman of Hillel International’s board of governors, Matthew Bronfman, discusses how colleges can better respond and support their Jewish students during the recent wave of anti-semitic incidents. Bronfman suggests that communities have not adequately spoken out against anti-semitism and suggests some administrators and faculty are disregarding or contributing to Jewish students’ bias concerns. “University leaders must summon the moral integrity to speak out against these assaults on the diversity of viewpoints and protect vulnerable students and junior faculty members in these departments who wish to express other perspectives,” Bronfman says.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
Higher Ed Dive considers the US Education Department’s announcement of new Title IX regulations planned for May, 2022. The changes reject those enacted under former Education Secretary Betsey DeVos, widely criticized for attempting to protect people accused of sexual assault. And while the proposed rules are currently in the works, some advocates remain critical of a continuing lack of protections for victims.
Inside Higher Ed highlights the importance of the Clery Act, a 1990 law that is less known than Title IX but similarly poses to protect victims of sexual misconduct. As the Clery Act encompasses assaults to students that occur off campus, it may help reopen those cases previously closed under Title IX. Advocates for the Clery Act therefore hope to increase awareness around it and encourage the new presidential administration to make improvements to it, especially by adding accountability measures.
Student Success
Lee Skallerup Bessette, learning-design specialist at Georgetown University, and Joseph P. Fisher, executive director of the Academic Resource Center at Georgetown University, outline the ways faculty and student-support departments can work together to achieve fall semester student success goals. Methods include expanding orientation programming, consulting with disability staff members for accessibility in curriculum design, and designating a top-down approach from department chairs to lead department meetings on how to approach student-support needs.
The New York Times notes that high school students have been failing courses at higher rates over the last year than before the pandemic. Experts are now concerned about the long-term impact of learning loss, anticipating not only a lack of preparedness for subsequent years of high school but consequences for the longevity of their academic careers. Schools have struggled to decide the best way to support students throughout remote learning, and this work continues even as programming seems to be returning to ‘normal.’
The Chronicle highlights the experiences of rising sophomore students, many of whom missed out on the traditional freshman year experience and are hoping to make up for what they feel is a lost year, socially. Sophomores detail not wanting to be treated as freshman students but also wanting to feel connected with their peers more so than last year. Student affairs offices at various universities are strategizing to connect students and develop a sense of community given many did not have an opportunity to form friend groups or socialize together.
The Washington Post features the policy work of David L. Kirp, author and professor at the graduate school of University of California at Berkeley, on how to improve community colleges nationwide. Examining the success of Atlanta Perimeter College, a community college that paired with Georgia State University, Kirp demonstrates the use of evidence-based practices to improve graduation rates for underserved communities. The key to Atlanta Perimeter College was its focus on enhancing students’ sense of belonging. Researched by psychologists Greg Walton and David Yeager, students experiencing “belonging” at their institutions achieve long-term benefits and positive outcomes in their academic success.
In an op-ed for The Hechinger Report, social psychologist Debra Mashek suggests that many college students may not be ready for post-grad jobs because their schools fail to teach them how to collaborate. While employers rank collaboration as the most critical skill for employees, 87% of graduating students seem unprepared in this domain and almost half have a negative view of team-based work. Given that the pandemic exacerbated challenges to collaboration, Mashek encourages school faculty and employers to offer instruction in collaboration.
College Affordability
Inside Higher Ed reports on a wave of colleges and universities opting to freeze tuition for the upcoming academic year as a way to retain and attract students post-pandemic. Other universities are planning to increase tuition by 2% to make up for lost revenue.
The Los Angeles Times reports on California’s recently proposed budget that would allocate over a billion dollars to UC schools to decrease their annual rate of enrolled out-of-state students. At UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC San Diego, the budget would require the portion of nonresident students to fall from 22% to 18% over five years, while providing funds to increase the number of in-state students — even beyond the number of spots traditionally held by nonresidents. The plan also includes expanding the Cal Grant to support more community college students and providing millions in non tuition scholarships for middle class recipients.
Basic Needs
On Monday, the Oregon Senate passed legislation requiring that the state of Oregon’s public colleges hire staff to help students find aid for food and housing. “Benefits navigators” will help college students apply for need-based assistance throughout the state’s consortium of 26 public colleges and universities. The bill would designate $5 million worth in funding to hire university benefits navigators for the next two years. According to a 2019 report on Oregon’s community college students, 41% said they experienced food insecurity within the past 30 days and 52% reported housing insecurity in the prior year. The bill now awaits a pending signature from Democratic Governor Kate Brown.
Coronavirus: Safety and Reopening
With particular attention to the political implications of the decisions, The Washington Post considers the strategies of different colleges as they strive to ensure a covid-safe campus this fall. While some schools announced vaccine mandates, others are highly recommending — and even incentivizing — but not requiring their students to receive the vaccine. The Post suggests that each school’s approach is influenced by the political climate of its location, especially as many Republican governors have recently banned public institutions from instating vaccine mandates.
Higher Ed Dive reports on eight students who are suing Indiana University, claiming its vaccination requirement for students to take part in campus life is illegal. The lawsuit alleges that the university’s vaccine mandate is unconstitutional and infringes on the 14th Amendment and Indiana state law prohibiting its public institutions from inquiring proof of vaccine passports. With the mass number of public and state universities also issuing vaccination requirements for students prior to their fall reopening, the case is being closely monitored nationwide. Regardless, legal experts state that colleges are justified in their student vaccination protocols, similarly to pre-COVID-19 vaccination requirements for other diseases.
The New York Times explores why young adults are among the most likely not to be vaccinated at this point in the rollout. Reasons for their hesitancy range from fear of potential side effects to confidence in their own youth and good health to keep them safe. As the US works toward vaccinating 70% of the population before July 4, as well as anticipates the danger of new strains of the virus, politicians are exploring ways to incentivize or otherwise convince those in their late teens and early twenties to revisit getting the vaccine.
According to Diverse Education, New America and the State Higher Education Officers collaborated to publish a report for policy makers and school administrations, offering recommendations on “college affordability, accountability, transparency, access and student support systems.” As colleges face the uncertainty of reopening this fall, the report poses to facilitate their transition while staying attentive to student problems predating or exacerbated by the pandemic. Some guidelines include expanding the Pell Grant, subsidizing internet access, bringing back students who left school during the pandemic, and instating pandemic safety measures and emergency plans.
In an op-ed for the Daily Bruin, UCLA student Karina Seth states that UCLA must introduce COVID-19 training for all students, arguing that a “46,000-student campus requires an informed student body.” Seth argues expanding COVID-safety and public health training, such as emphasizing the importance of hygiene and sanitary practices, should extend beyond the pandemic. “These are solid steps but more can – and must – be done, especially with new strains of COVID-19 arising,” Seth says.
