Mary Christie Quarterly Summer Issue
MCF just released the summer issue of the Mary Christie Quarterly. As schools make critical decisions about reopening and students continue to face the emotional and behavioral health challenges caused by COVID 19, we hear first-hand stories in our cover story Hope and Health by Nichole Bernier.
Other stories explore perspectives on faith’s role in college student mental health from three campus ministry leaders; a profile of the Wellness Environment at UVM, now and then; a Q and A with Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health; and more.
Mental and Behavioral Health
According to findings from Harvard University’s Task Force on Managing Student Mental Health, the percent of Harvard undergraduates who reported they have or believe they have depression and anxiety increased almost ten points between 2014 and 2018. Undergraduates who reported that they have or think they have depression increased from 22 percent to 31 percent, while undergraduates who reported that they have or think they have an anxiety disorder increased from 19 percent to 30 percent. The proportion of undergraduates who reported suicidal ideation also increased from 4 percent to 6 percent. The results come from a 15-month inquiry by the task force, which also released eight recommendations for ways the University can improve emotional wellness on campus by addressing a mix of academic, social, and institutional issues. The recommendations include: Launching a one-year campaign focused on mental health awareness and culture change; Creating a committee to explore ways to make Counseling and Mental Health Services (CAMHS) more accessible; Examining how the University can address holistically issues of mental health, sexual climate, inclusiveness, isolation, and sense of belonging; and providing clear guidance and mentoring support to faculty and graduate students to ease the potential stress caused by adviser-advisee relationships. Provost Alan M. Garber, who convened the task force, said “The needs highlighted by this report – for greater connection, for wider adoption of and help with self-care, for more accessible support in dealing with everyday struggles as well as mental health conditions, and for better coordination of mental health strategies across the University – are made even more pressing by the uncertainty and isolation that everyone experiences now. At a time when mental health and well-being demand more of our attention than ever, the report points us toward steps we can take now.”
Dr. Ketra L. Armstrong, a professor of sport management and director of the Center for Race and Ethnicity in Sport at the University of Michigan, told Diverse Education that attention to mental health for student-athletes, coaches and administrators must be a priority in this time of uncertainty. A former student-athlete, coach and administrator, Armstrong understands how the suspension of competition has impacted everyone involved in intercollegiate athletics. “Probably the most critical area of the COVID-19 pandemic is the mental health issue,” says Armstrong. She referred to a study the NCAA did in which student-athletes not only reflected on mental health challenges, such as a sense of loss, but also sleep difficulties, which can impact athletic performance and study skills.
A new Yale study found that when college students learn specific techniques for managing stress and anxiety, their well-being improves across a range of measures and leads to better mental health. The research team evaluated three classroom-based wellness training programs that incorporate breathing and emotional intelligence strategies, finding that two led to improvements in aspects of well-being. The most effective program led to improvements in six areas, including depression and social connectedness.
Coronavirus Impact
A New York Times survey of every public four-year college in the country, as well as every Division I private institution and member institution of the Association of American Universities revealed at least 6,300 cases of coronavirus were tied to about 270 colleges throughout the pandemic thus far. At least 136 residents of University of Washington’s Greek Row were infected in an outbreak this summer. Administrators are reevaluating fall plans for opening at Harris-Stowe State University after eight administrative workers tested positive. The Times identified at least 14 coronavirus-related deaths at colleges.
Public-health officials say the explosion of cases among younger people that have been recorded in recent weeks is due to “superspreader events,” including gatherings of college students in off-campus houses, fraternities, and bars. College officials are now increasing their focus on how to respond to off-campus issues including parties that defy local laws, rather than simply altering the classroom landscape. Some colleges are issuing behavioral contracts that students are required, or at least encouraged, to sign. In extreme cases, students could be suspended or expelled. Dartmouth College has threatened serious consequences for students who violate public-health laws. However, Martha Compton, president of the Association for Student Conduct Administration cautioned against a narrative focused on hard-partying students: “Ultimately what I’m most worried about is, if campuses have to close again, that students will be blamed.”
NPR reports on the College Crisis Initiative, a student and graduate-led effort at Davidson College, which tracks fall reopening plans for about 3,000 U.S. colleges and universities. Katie Felten, a recent graduate and project leader on the team, said, “Things are changing minute by minute, second by second for these schools.” She added that an examination of the early plans shows that in June and early July, schools were more optimistic about their ability to acquire tests, whereas now that start days are weeks away, they’re realizing that “there’s just no way.”
As the University of Connecticut prepares to reopen in the fall, The Courant reports that students are grappling with a desire to return to campus amid COVID-19, which will significantly alter college life. University of Connecticut’s Social and Behavioral Sciences COVID-19 Workgroup, convened by UConn leadership and the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, surveyed about 2,700 undergrads and conducted focus groups on issues related to reopening including how to motivate young adults to comply with safety guidelines. They also organized an “Ideas Lab” that brought together students, faculty, administrators, and staff to help with problem-solving. Dr. Amy Gorin, a professor in the psychological sciences who directs the institute, said, “We need to move away” from “the idea that young adults are selfish for wanting what is developmentally appropriate and needed.” She added, “For the university to come down hard and say, ‘You’re going to get in trouble if you behave against these standards,’ means we don’t trust the goodwill of our students and their ability to care for one another,” she said. Eleanor Daugherty, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, said that by connecting research and knowledge on how to modify behavior, the university can work to create new social norms around health and safety. “I think authentic, realistic communication with students about what I have been calling the ‘normal for now’ is absolutely critical,” she said. “Everything we’re doing is informed by research efforts like this.”
Senate Republicans unveiled a $1 trillion coronavirus relief bill that would not extend the suspension of federal student loan payments beyond September. Consumer advocates are urging Congress to offer more help to the 43 million Americans holding $1.6 trillion in education debt. “There is a pandemic still happening. Workers are still unemployed. Schools and child-care programs are still closed. It is not yet safe for our economy to fully function,” said Persis Yu, a staff attorney and director of the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project. “This is not relief and fails the 43 million student loan borrowers counting on Congress to act.”
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Trump administration announced that it will reject new applications to DACA, the Obama-era program that protects undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. The administration says it will consider renewals on a case-by-case basis but limit them to one year instead of two while it conducts a legal review of the program. This move defies a federal judge’s ruling that the administration must start accepting new applications to the program that has shielded around 700,000 immigrants from the threat of deportation and allowed them to work.
In an op-ed in the Hechinger Report, Lucy Lang, a former prosecutor, college-in-prison educator and director of the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Vivian Nixon, executive director of College & Community Fellowship, a nonprofit that helps justice-involved women earn college degrees, argue that prioritizing higher education for those involved in the justice system as defendants is a necessary safeguard for social and economic success, both during and after incarceration. “Our country must prepare for the post-pandemic economy – one that will continue to favor people with college degrees – and it would be a mistake with devastating consequences to overlook huge segments of our population,” they write, adding, “Now more than ever, we cannot afford to divest from higher-education opportunities for vulnerable populations. And that must include people caught up in the U.S. justice system.” Research shows that incarcerated people who participate in education programs are 43 percent less likely to return to prison.
Last week, the Chronicle brought together presidents from historically black institutions, a tribal college, and community colleges serving Hispanic and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander students to discuss how they are prioritizing the academic success, basic needs, and activism of students of color. Michael J. Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College, and Sarah Brown, a senior reporter at The Chronicle co-hosted the discussion, a transcript of which can be found here. The presidents offered advice for other leaders, particularly those from predominantly white institutions, on moving ahead with goals on diversity, equity, and inclusion after the current social and political reckoning over systemic racism.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that new international students, unlike current international students, will not be able to enter the U.S. for college if they are taking only online classes. The announcement comes after ICE said it would rescind the much-criticized policy that threatened to deport any international students who didn’t take at least one in-person class. “This is basically a student ban 2.0,” said Jenny Lee, an education policy professor at the University of Arizona.
Last week, a group of state attorneys general from more than a dozen states told a federal judge that federal officials have not yet followed through with their pledge to allow international students to remain in the U.S. or return despite their classes being online. They warned that international students are still being told they will not qualify for visas, despite the agency rescinding their earlier policy.
Substance Use
A Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling expanded colleges’ “duty” to protect students from harm, to include when they are “voluntarily intoxicated.” The lawsuit discussed in the ruling was brought in 2016 by a Northeastern University student who said she was sexually assaulted by a male student after drinking heavily at an off-campus party hosted by a resident assistant. The female student claimed Northeastern was negligent under state law because the university failed to protect her from the sexual assault. The court ruled against the female student’s claims, but the court did uphold that the “duty” colleges have to protect students from harm applies to instances where a student is voluntarily intoxicated.
