On Wednesday, Apr. 10, the Mental Wellness Collective (MWC) hosted a community dinner in Sadove Student Center to discuss mental health issues on Hamilton’s campus. The dinner conversation was led by MWC E-board members Missy Mouritsen ’20, Samantha Tassillo ’22, and Gavin Meade ’20, as well as Lorna Chase, Associate Dean of Students for Student Support Services.
The MWC is a partnership between students and Hamilton’s administration created to bring about positive change to the mental well-being of students. Students and faculty work together to impact the policy, procedure, and culture surrounding mental health on campus. The group meets every Monday from 4–5 PM in the Chapel but also wanted to host an event they hoped would bring new faces to the table.
The dinner was structured as an open conversation for attendees to voice issues and brainstorm ideas for tangible change. One of the main concerns brought up repeatedly throughout the evening was the need for more counselors in the Counseling Center. Most students can only see a therapist every other week due to availability, which some attendees felt is not sufficient to meet students’ needs.
One response to this point pointed to the cost of hiring more counselors, since the Counseling Center’s services are free. Chase said she had previously fought for incorporating students’ health insurance into the process for receiving appointments (or at least more frequent appointments) so that students can avoid going down the Hill to be seen. That idea was turned down because of how complex insurance can be, but Chase said she is willing to bring it up again.
Both students and faculty in attendance agreed that incoming faculty should be required to attend a suicide gatekeeper training. As of now, it is only recommended for faculty.
Attendees also expressed their feeling that Hamilton has some amazing resources available to students dealing with mental health issues once they arise but that there seems to be a problem making students aware of these resources before they are in critical need of them. Attendees were in general agreement that the need for more proactive steps was necessary.
Attendees additionally suggested having a mandatory orientation event, similar to the fire safety event, that educates students on all resources available to them related to mental health.
Some said that a bigger issue they perceive is the culture around mental health at Hamilton, which seems to put mental wellness behind academics on the hierarchy of priorities. They felt that there needs to be a better balance between academic rigor and accommodating students in a productive learning environment.
Mouritsen mentioned that a significant number of students do not feel comfortable missing class for Counseling Center appointments. Thus, she said, students need to advocate for a change in this culture in order to make their peers and professors recognize the importance of mental health and to always put it before class or academic concerns.
Another issue discussed was the idea of off-campus study. Going abroad can also be a source of anxiety or depression for students. Hamilton has a 24-hour hotline that is available for in-the-moment support (315–859–4340, then choose option 2) that can also be used on breaks or when studying abroad. However, many students still are unaware of this option. Attendees believed students should be made more aware of the challenges associated with studying abroad and the resources available to them if they need help while off campus.
Peer Counselors serve as a great asset for students, especially since they work outside of the normal Counseling Center hours (Monday-Thursday at 6–9PM, and Sunday at 3–6PM). Upon request, Peer Counselors can lead one of several workshops addressing important topics, including self-care and mindfulness, sleep hygiene, and suicide gatekeeper training. Meade, the Mental Health Liaison for the Student Assembly, is currently working on finding a way to award monetary compensation to clubs that run a suicide gatekeeper training for their members as a way to better incentivize them to host this training.
“The opportunity to collaborate with faculty and members of the student body whose voices we haven’t heard was invaluable,” said Meade.
Students praised the group counseling offered by the Counseling Center but said there are limited spots for the high demand. Currently, there are eight counseling groups run by licensed psychologists but many more students who wish to join. Once more, this issue circled back to the need for more counselors available to accommodate more students.
Students and faculty generally seemed content with the progress Hamilton has made to address mental health issues, including building the new Joel and Elizabeth Johnson Center for Health and Wellness. However, they said there is clearly more progress to be made so that students feel as though they are receiving full support on campus.
Tassillo pointed out that mental health affects every community on campus, making it essential to hold open dialogue at events like this.
The MWC leaders said the group hopes to organize similar events in the future to continue with this level of engagement. Thanks to a micro-grant provided by Phyllis Breland and the Days-Massolo Center, they were able to host this initial event.
Some of the other suggestions from the dinner are summarized below:
Assess how comfortable professors are when having conversations about mental health with students and what their personal policies are regarding absences/extensions for mental health reason.
Syllabi should contain clause about mental health policy like it does learning disabilities.
Make students more aware that they can get accommodations from Dean of Students if they’re really struggling
Faculty Gatekeeper training (especially important because students need to feel that they have an advocate)
Class scheduling changes: make the deadline for dropping classes later on in the semester or make it easier for students to take classes pass/fail.
