Coronavirus Impact
NBC News reports on the “second curve” of the coronavirus — the pandemic’s mental health impact. The article quotes Catherine Grus, the American Psychological Association’s chief education officer, who said that the data show it has already negatively affected people’s mental health, particularly college students. According to Grus, they’re seeing higher levels of depression, they’re having financial insecurity, which is also leading to mental health problems.”And this is concerning because, before the pandemic, we knew that college students were increasingly having mental health concerns. So, now you add the pandemic and we have a population that’s particularly in greater need for mental health services.” Alison Malmon, founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization Active Minds, said that “schools have a responsibility to be responsive to their students’ mental health.”
In a special series, Fear and Learning in America, Teen Vogue is exploring the experience of returning to school this year, and how young people feel about learning during the coronavirus crisis. Will Kubzansky, a student who decided to take leave for this semester, discussed the effect of the pandemic on his mental health. “When I thought about going back to school this fall, I couldn’t help but remember those last few weeks at school, when my anxiety spiraled out of control and engulfed every part of my life,” he wrote. “As students begin their return to college campuses across the country, the ever-increasing numbers of us who live with mental illnesses could face an unthinkable challenge in an environment already poorly equipped to help students cope with their mental health.”
EdSource reports that counseling centers at California colleges are bracing for an expected sharp rise in the numbers of students seeking mental health services. Colleges are working to advertise, expand and improve virtual mental health services, adding workshops to reduce loneliness and stress and expanding crisis hotlines to around-the-clock coverage. Some have lifted limits on the number of one-on-one therapy sessions.
NBC News reported on the mental health of college athletes amidst t COVID-19 which many say has taken away their sense of identity and normalcy. “My whole life I’ve played soccer and used soccer as an outlet for my everyday life situations, and not having that for the past six months has really affected my mental health,” one student athlete reported. “I feel anxious all the time because I don’t have soccer. I haven’t been able to play with my team, and even though video workouts with them has helped, the combination of online school and uncertainty with soccer definitely weighs on your mental health.” College sports administrators and coaches are acknowledging the need to address the mental health crisis, while also trying to stop the spread of the virus among their players.
The University of Massachusetts’ student newspaper, The Daily Collegian, reports that various mental health organizations on campus are switching to online operations with a focus on building connections to combat the isolation that many students are feeling during the pandemic. Amanda McEnery, a staff psychologist at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health said, “Right now, I think the need for connection to other people is paramount. And I think that providing a space for that is probably one of the biggest functions and goals of what we’re doing.” CCPH is offering discussion groups over Zoom to facilitate connection among students, and workshops and therapy groups online this semester that are more targeted for specific patient needs.
New guidelines from the American College Health Association urges college officials to protect, support and engage those who are most vulnerable in the campus population as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In its Supporting Vulnerable Campus Populations During the COVID-19 Pandemic guidelines, ACHA includes recommendations for colleges in addressing the needs of African American/Black, Asian American, first generation/low income, international, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American, and undocumented students, as well as students with disabilities. The recommendations advise colleges to be inclusive and communicative in their outreach. Diverse Education spoke with Dr. Jean Chin, an associate clinical professor of medicine at Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, who sits on the ACHA’s COVID-19 Task Force and is an author of the guidelines about the guidance, mitigating a campus outbreak and whether a successful fall semester during a pandemic is possible.
New data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center showed that undergraduate enrollment for summer sessions increased at public and nonprofit four-year colleges from a year ago, but fell at community colleges and four-year for-profit institutions. Additionally, more students have enrolled in graduate programs. The data also showed that attendance by students in certain demographic groups was down. Enrollments among Black students and male students saw the largest declines.
Inside Higher Ed is tracking college outbreaks, closures and restrictions here. SUNY Oneonta and Temple University reverted to online instruction for two weeks after reporting more than 100 cases each.
Colleges across the country continue to struggle with increasing coronavirus cases, and many are expressing alarm about coronavirus outbreaks as classes have barely started. More than 1,000 students have tested positive for COVID at the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa campus in Tuscaloosa since Aug. 19. Georgia College, a public liberal arts college that enrolls about 6,800 students, has become one a coronavirus hot spot, with more than 500 student cases — about 8 percent of its student body — as of Friday. Despite their carefully planned precautions, some administrators are now being forced to reexamine their ability to deliver an on-campus experience. The University of Notre Dame, which shut down in person classes after a sharp increase in cases, has seen the rate of new cases slow enough to consider returning to in-person instruction. “With these encouraging numbers, we believe we can plan to return to in-person classes and return in stages to the level of activity we had before the pause,” Jenkins wrote. The resumption will begin on Wednesday and continue through the following week.The Iowa State University reported 130 positive cases in the first week of classes, out of 957 students tested. Last week, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued an order requiring all bars and nightclubs in six counties across the state to close.
Increasingly, colleges are taking disciplinary action against students and organizations on campus for flouting social distancing guidelines. The New York Times reports that the University of South Carolina announced that 15 students had been placed under interim suspension and that six Greek houses had been charged with student conduct violations stemming from the parties. The University of Pittsburgh has barred eight students from campus and placed nine fraternities and sororities on interim suspension. After several large gatherings at the University of Miami, President Dr. Julio Frenk said, “We made it very clear, these are the rules. If you can not comply, please don’t come because if you violate the rules there could be very serious consequences, including suspension.”
NPR reports on colleges’ efforts to reign in students partying and resulting coronavirus outbreaks. Pleas for cooperation and social contracts have largely failed to curb large events, and many schools have turned to punitive measures. At several campuses, including Syracuse University in New York and Purdue University in Indiana, students have been suspended for attending and hosting large gatherings. However, public health experts don’t believe the harsher approach will be effective. “We know shaming and blaming people for public health interventions doesn’t work, whether you’re talking about sexually transmitted diseases or you’re talking about drug use and drinking,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease physician and public health expert. “You never want to do something that will drive behavior underground and make it more risky.” Some suggest offering alternative programming. Anna Song, an assistant professor of health psychology at the University of California, Merced who studies decision-making by young adults, said, “We have to figure out how to help students meet some of those socialization needs, but in a safe way.” She says offering outdoor, socially distant activities will help schools “fare way better than just to say, ‘Hey, just don’t party.’ “David Paltiel, a professor at Yale who studies public health policy says, “If you have to turn a blind eye to a game of beer pong that is happening on the quad or in a driveway, that’s well worth it. What you’re trying to prevent is the superspreader event where 150 unmasked kids get way too close to each other in the basement of some frat house with no windows open. That’s what you’re trying to prevent.”
Student leaders from 20 Texas universities have formed the College Health Alliance of Texas, or CHAT, a group aiming to motivate students to do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 on campuses. Southern Methodist University student body vice president Austin Hickle came up with the idea over the summer, realizing the significant role students play in containing the virus. “It’s going to come down to the student buy-in. Students will be asked to carry a responsibility we’ve never been asked to carry before – that is that we control the educational continuity. We control our future,” he said. The other universities participating in the effort are Texas A&M University, University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech University, Texas State University, University of North Texas, The University of Texas at El Paso, Baylor University, Texas Christian University, and Rice University. The alliance plans to publish an open source student guide with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, safe activities and tips for studying during the pandemic, and a mental health checklist. “We want to find a way to say, you know, ‘This is not only what you can’t do, this is what you can do.’ So we have some really great resources in there to really encourage students to live up to their potential and step up to the challenge,” Hickle said.
With approximately 8,000 of the university’s undergraduates moving into campus residence halls last weekend, Northeastern University has spent more than $50 million planning for a safe re-entry. The university built its own labs for frequent testing with fast turnarounds, continually sanitizes buildings, and created a flexible-learning system that allows students to move back and forth between virtual and in-person classes in a more interactive way than in a typical Zoom class. The school has booked nearly 1,500 hotel and apartment rooms to ensure that no more than two students share a room, and has leased a wing of Boston Symphony Hall for student dining and meal distribution.
