Earlier this semester, Voices on Mental Health sent out a survey to the student body asking for professors who were supportive or helpful with their mental illness, disability, or mental health. Below is a list of all faculty for which at least one student felt their actions towards mental health, disability, and/or mental illness were…
mentalhealth
Campus struggles in aftermath of student suicide
On Sunday, Feb. 18 at 11:18 p.m., Macalester President Brian Rosenberg sent an email to students, faculty and staff announcing that Matias “Tea” Sosa-Wheelock, a sophomore, had died from suicide. For most of the college community, that message was the first they knew of Sosa-Wheelock’s passing. However, a small number of friends, residents of Wallace Hall and bystanders had been aware of the situation for hours. They’re still dealing with it today.
mentalhealth
Administrative mental health policies frame responses
Students rarely see Macalester’s responses to their individual struggles beyond each unique, isolated moment. But as an institution, Macalester has set policies and procedures for dealing with the aftermath of campus suicides as well as the larger issues of mental healthcare and mental illness.
mentalhealth
For involuntary leave policies, colleges turn to the law
Involuntary leave policies across the nation are a result of educational institutions walking a fine line between balancing student health concerns and complying with a litany of federal obligations. Fail to walk that line, and college administrators risk violating civil rights laws.
mentalhealth
Class changes course after death
While mental health concerns were discussed in several classes after Matias Sosa-Wheelock’s death two months ago, members of the anthropology course “Anthropology of Death and Dying” have taken their class response a step further.
mentalhealth
Lack of mental health training leaves professors, students wanting more help
Despite their role on the front lines of student life, Macalester professors are often unequipped to do the work of identifying and helping students struggling with their mental health. In the current mental health climate, that unpreparedness is having serious consequences.
mentalhealth
Disability Services leaves students at crossroads
In contrast to the loud decor of the Kagin Commons, sits the Disability Services office. You’d be forgiven for not knowing that it’s there. Despite its geographic isolation, Disability Services has been busy. As of Jan. 2018, 247 students were receiving accommodations, 157 of them for psychological needs.
mentalhealth
Health and Wellness Center evolves through student criticism
On April 8, as part of the “Macalester Sunday” program, President Brian Rosenberg said colleges “were never designed to be mental health providers.” But, increasingly, they need to be. As students’ mental health concerns grow, demand for the support services in the Health and Wellness Center has become a focus of many.
mentalhealth
Mental health numbers in context: Macalester and peer colleges
As Health and Wellness Center (HWC) employees begin to look beyond Macalester’s campus to develop programming aimed at addressing various mental health needs at the school, many students, faculty and staff remain in the dark about how Macalester compares to peer institutions and the nation at large.
mentalhealth
Mental health vs. mental illness: the conversation at Mac
The campus culture is exceedingly careful and frequently indirect when discussing mental health diagnoses like bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder even where it has grown comfortable in discussing mental health challenges like anxiety and lack of sleep.