Hopkins is charting the right course in mental health

This week, University President Ronald J. Daniels and Provost Robert C. Lieberman announced a University-wide Task Force on Mental Health and Wellbeing, the culmination of many months of work by the administration and SGA. I am, quite frankly, thrilled by the University’s commitment to ameliorating the issue of mental health here on campus and eagerly look forward to working with them on this important task.

When the SGA began its conversations with the University administration about student mental health in early October, we were excited to see that Dean of Student Life Terry Martinez was already studying the mental health climate here at Hopkins. When we subsequently raised the issue with the President, Daniels had no hesitation in committing the full weight of his administration behind improving mental health for every student at Hopkins. This is exactly the kind of leadership we need on this issue.

Mental health is something that touches every student here at Hopkins, whether we know it or not. Statistically speaking, one in every four college students suffers from some form of mental illness. These are our neighbors, classmates and friends. And yet, just as there is all across the country, there is here a stigma — as sophomore Simon Barnett pointed out in an Oct. 8 op-ed in this very newspaper — that exists on campus. Mental health here is not treated like other medical conditions: It is invisible; professors are reluctant to issue extensions for mental health reasons when an extension would be automatic for physical maladies of the same intensity; going to the Counseling Center is often viewed as taboo whereas going to HelWell is perfectly acceptable. We need to begin to view mental health issues just as seriously as we would any physical malady.

Student culture is an impactful part of the shared student experience here at Hopkins. We, together, must take responsibility for the culture we cultivate and must make self-determinations about how we want to live together for four years — we, alone, have the power to create a healthier environment at Hopkins. We must ask ourselves: Do we want to emphasize how busy we are or emphasize the amazing fruits of our labors? Do we want to turn conversations about how stressed we are into competitions or show empathy and support for one another? And yes, do we want to view depression, anxiety and all other forms of mental illness as issues that we need to hide for fear of judgment and stigmatization or those that can be brought to the surface for our peers to help support us through. We, The Students, have the power to change our institution to make it a more welcoming and healthy place for us to live and study, and the signs for progress are encouraging. We are seeing evolutions on the way we view our peers. When an editorial discussing mental health struggles was published, the school came together to support its author. When a student leader stepped down citing mental health reasons, students didn’t criticize or ostracize him; they embraced and supported him. We must embrace this supportive culture into our daily lives here.

Additionally, we as an institution all too often focus our conversations around symptoms and resources rather than underlying causes. It is not enough to add more counselors to the Counseling Center or to add more presentations on time management to Orientation Week; we must take a hard look at some of the underlying systems at this University that can contribute to an unhealthy environment. Aspects such as the academic calendar and length of the semester, grade deflation, access to and stability of financial aid, time for extracurricular activities, school spirit and campus culture must all be analyzed, and nothing should be off the table.

And yet, the bright side of this is the University administration’s openness to viewing campus mental health holistically. When the SGA asked President Daniels and Provost Lieberman to tackle this issue head-on, we insisted that a holistic approach be undertaken. Through my conversations with the President, Provost and others, I am confident that this is exactly the path charted for the Task Force.

Let’s be clear: There is certainly no silver bullet nor are the suggestions here by any means exhaustive, but we need to make every effort we can to provide for the mental wellbeing of all students. It is in this vein that I forcefully commend the University for its efforts on these issues in establishing a Task Force and ask every student to become a part of the conversation going forward so that we can, together, make our campus and shared student experience here at Hopkins a safer, healthier and more enjoyable one.

Jack Bartholet is a senior political science major from Kingstown, R.I. He is the SGA Executive President.