Special Quadcast Series, Episode 1: Conversation with NYU Professors Alan Schlechter, MD and Dan Lerner
Here is the first in a series of conversations on “Creating Environments for Flourishing” based on the report released last week by the Mary Christie Foundation and Georgetown University. Our guests were the keynote speakers at one of the “Higher Education Leadership Convenings on College Student Behavioral Health,” held at Georgetown, from which the report was derived. Hearing them describe the Science of Happiness course they teach at NYU would make anyone want to sign up.
Our next episode is a conversation with Dr. Corey Keyes, who many consider “the godfather of happiness” who will explain his theory on flourishing, the basis for his popular class on happiness at Emory University.
Coronavirus Impact
The Healthy Minds Network, JED Foundation, and Active Minds released a toolkit to support student advocacy for enhanced mental health support on campus. It includes key data points, resources and tips to empower students to advocate for policies, systems, and environmental changes that will improve mental health and well-being.
According to NPR, experts are concerned about a potential increase in suicide among young people, as recent studies have suggested that teen and youth anxiety and depression are worsening since the beginning of the pandemic. Data from a CDC survey shows young people have been the hardest hit group with regards to increases in anxiety and depression. One in four young people (ages 18-24) surveyed reported that they had “seriously considered” suicide in the past 30 days. Experts are worried that, since COVID lockdowns, teens are more cut off from their peers and other caring adults, feel their futures are uncertain, and have more access to lethal weapons while spending more time at home.
Inside Higher Ed reports that mental health advocates and providers are concerned about colleges’ ability to meet an elevated demand for mental health support amid a growing volume of research about rising mental health issues among college students. Kelly Davis, director of peer advocacy supports and services for Mental Health America told IHE that she is worried many college counseling centers are unprepared for an influx of students who have not previously sought mental health support. “Around October, there tends to be a dip in mental health, and that’s in students who are on campus and not during a pandemic,” said Davis, who leads MHA’s Collegiate Mental Health Innovation Council. “That’s going to be a really intense time … I think we’re going to run into a larger version of the same problem we’ve seen on campus — people are struggling, we tell them to reach out for help, but we didn’t build the help.”
The Steve Fund published recommendations from a multi-sector task force of thought leaders that offer advice on mitigating the mental health risks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Steve Fund Crisis Response Task Force outlined ways that higher education and stake-holders including nonprofit organizations, mental health experts, students, philanthropy, the private sector and policymakers can and should step up to help students of color.
Indiana University’s Pandemic Health Disparities Committee unveiled a set of recommendations designed to more effectively support vulnerable members of the university community by broadening their access to important health and wellness resources such as mental health counseling and financial assistance to cover basic needs. The committee’s recommendations include: Recruiting, training and retaining a diverse and culturally competent counseling staff; partnering with regional agencies and service providers to offer alternative counseling options; promoting mental health and well-being for students of color as a university-wide priority; and providing funding for the basic needs of vulnerable students, such as access to food, housing, utilities, technology, child care and employment.
Oberlin College’s student newspaper reports that the school is working to increase access to mental health resources to students off-campus this semester. One program, the Student Help and Resource Exchange (SHARE), connects students with staff at the Dean of Students Office, who can provide support and direct students to relevant resources. SHARE, which is available to all students on or off campus, is working to help mitigate mental health problems caused or exacerbated by COVID-19 safety measures. Kourtney Arcaba, assistant dean, deputy Title IX and equity coordinator, and director of SHARE, said, “We are intentionally reaching out to all students in isolation and quarantine to check in and provide support,” Arcaba wrote. “We have not done this type of ongoing outreach in the past and hope that students who need it will find it helpful during what can be a challenging time.”
In an open letter to the Tufts University community published in the Tufts Daily, Erin Seaton, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Education, expresses concern about “a looming and unaddressed crisis in students’ mental health.” Seaton writes that he has witnessed students’ stress and anxiety as they grapple with the pandemic and continued racial injustice. He offers suggestions for addressing the crisis, including mobilizing the support systems already in place on campus including the Steering Committee on Student Mental Health, investing deeply in strategies that build community and amplify students’ strengths and resilience, and reexamining the academic policies and practices that increase stress for students.
The New York Times reports on the way that colleges and universities have become hot spots for virus transmission. Over one week this month, a Times survey found that American colleges and universities have recorded more than 36,000 additional coronavirus cases, bringing the total of campus infections to 88,000 since the pandemic began. “This is completely predictable,” William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health told the Times, saying that he and his peers have been “talking to each other since July, if not before, about what’s going to happen when the colleges open up.”
CNBC reports that mental health professionals agree that publicly blaming and shaming students for outbreaks, seen in the press and university responses across the country, is not helpful. They say that many of them are taking the virus seriously, but bringing thousands of young people back to campus will inevitably face challenges. Experts are calling for more empathy and less blame. Marcia Morris, a psychiatrist at the University of Florida, says that students are struggling, as “face-to-face socializing is critical for mental health and wellbeing.” She added that, “What needs to happen is that campus leaders should work with the student organizations to educate students and provide safe ways for them to have social contact, whether that’s a socially distanced movie night, a walk with a friend, or a virtual event.”
The University of Alabama posted a university police officer to monitor students in quarantine dorms, and Notre Dame University hired guards to monitor the quarantine hotel, after students placed there violated isolation rules.
COVID-19 cases at colleges and universities across the country have been linked to Greek life. For Here & Now, Robin Young spoke with Judson Horras, president and CEO of North American Interfraternity Conference who defended the Conference’s response to the pandemic, which has been criticized as too lax.
CNN reported that six students at Miami University in Ohio were cited by police for holding a house party in violation of a city ordinance, despite at least one of the students having tested positive for COVID-19. The officer scanned the student’s ID and saw a flag the student had tested positive for COVID-19. The student told the officer he had been tested a week before, as seen on body camera footage. The officer asked him if he was supposed to be quarantining; the student said that was why he was at home. “Do you have other people here and you’re positive for COVID? You see the problem?” the officer asked.
A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the U.S. Department of Education’s interim rule that excludes certain noncitizens and other students from coronavirus aid. The Education Department had argued that emergency grants funded under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act should only go to students who qualify for Title IV aid.
Education Dive reports that several colleges have started releasing plans for opening campuses and teaching classes this spring. The schools making announcements are largely offering online or hybrid instruction.
Diverse Education reports that as colleges double back on their reopening plans, low income students are often hardest hit. Breanna Holbert, president of Chico State University’s Associated Students said, “Students are going to have less access to things we usually would have provided, like Internet, printing, tutoring in person, access to the library, just to have a quiet study space not cramped with roommates or family …” she added. “I think that’s what a lot of our low-income students are going to miss out on.” Edward Conroy, associate director of research communication at Temple University’s Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice said “We know there’s a significant portion of students who don’t have somewhere else to go, who if they’re not living on campus are couch surfing or living in their car or are in very precarious situations,” Conroy said. “There are obviously real challenges, particularly if they came back to campus and now all of the sudden [have] to move off again.”
Mental and Behavioral Health
Harvard University Health Services will combine several undergraduate peer education groups into a centralized program this year: Consent Advocates and Relationship Educators Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors; Health Peer Advisors and Liaisons; and Sexual Health Awareness and Relationship Communication. HUHS Senior Director of Nursing and Health Promotion Maria Francesconi said the program will train members to “promote a multitude of important public health topics, including substance abuse, emotional and physical wellbeing, spirituality and more.” Iman G. Lavery ’22, director of operations for CARE said the formulation of the new program would rely on student input. Lavery said they “want to make sure that it’s open for people who are excited about it, for people who do want to make sure that their passion for the work that CARE does gets translated to this new group.”
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Diverse Education reports that black students protested at Kent State University, criticizing the school’s response to repeated racist messages painted on campus, one of which read, “Blacks have no home here.” A group called Black United Students issued a set of demands that called on university officials to address systemic racism.
Inside Higher Ed reports on “test blind” admissions, where colleges do not consider SAT and ACT scores, even if a student submits them. Kevin Myers, a spokesman for Reed College, which used to require the tests, said going test blind seemed to be “the most equitable decision. If we really wanted to level the playing field, it seemed like the way to go.” Dickinson College, which has gone test blind for one year during the pandemic, collected data that show that minority and international students are more likely to apply without test scores. Last year, 76 percent of applicants who identified as white submitted SAT or ACT scores. Only 69 percent of nonwhite students did so.
In an op-ed in the Hechinger Report, Autumn Green, who leads the Higher Education Access for Student Parents Research Initiative at the Wellesley Centers for Women, writes that colleges must consider how new procedures and policies affect student parents, who make up more than one in five of today’s college students. She writes that these students have been stretched thin during the coronavirus crisis- child care arrangements have been disrupted, and part time jobs rarely offer telecommuting – and that colleges should be thinking about how to address their particular challenges.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
Education Dive reports that Republican lawmakers recently championed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ new rule governing how colleges must investigate and potentially punish sexual violence. During a subcommittee hearing, GOP House members lauded the Title IX regulation, saying it restored fairness to colleges’ processes. The rule has faced significant criticism by advocates of sexual assault survivors.
Policy
In an op-ed in the Hechinger Report, Biddy Martin, President of Amherst College called for continued investment in public colleges and universities, which offer a ladder to social mobility. Martin, who attended a public university herself, writes, “These institutions benefit not merely those who attend or are employed by them; whether directly or indirectly, they benefit the society as a whole.” She concludes, “I owe the great gifts of my life to forms of education that were unimaginable to me growing up. I know and see every day the difference that education can make for the least, as well as the most privileged, among us – and for everyone in between. And I know that many fewer young people will get what they deserve if we fail to support public higher education in the United States.”
Student Success
The U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges rankings are out, with some new changes to how the publication assesses institutions. U.S. News increased the weight of student outcome measures including graduation rates and social mobility from 35% to 40%. It also started ranking schools that do not consider SAT or ACT scores for admission.
The “guided pathway” approach aims to help community college students create a roadmap to program completion, further education and employment. Common guided pathways practices include advising incoming students on their educational goals and monitoring that they’re taking the classes needed to graduate on time. According to studies from the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE), community colleges across the nation are making progress adopting guided pathways practices. On average, two-thirds of students at surveyed colleges said they were required to meet with an advisor before registering for classes. A similar share said they had to follow an academic plan specifying which courses they needed to take.
Substance Use
Survey results from the 2019 Monitoring the Future show that vaping marijuana and vaping nicotine rose sharply in the past three years among college-age (19-22 years old) adults. The percentage of college students who said they vaped marijuana in the past 30 days rose from 5.2% in 2017 to 14% in 2019.
