Mental Health support within The AUC.... student opinion.

Health and wellness aspiring journalist and Clark Atlanta University student,  Reign Mosby examines the mental health support issue that students at the Atlanta University Center experience. 

Written by Reign Mosby

When questioning students, I chose to interview a girl and a guy who go to school immediately across the grass from each other. As a Clark Atlanta student, I wanted to learn more about female perspectives on mental health challenges that college students encounter at Clark; therefore, I chose a female. However, it was also necessary to speak with a male student at Morehouse to obtain insight into how someone of the same gender in the same grade as the female I interviewed perceives how their respective institutions treat mental health. 

I gained a lot of insight from both interviews due to both students being able to provide knowledge on what they know about the topic at hand but also true and honest vulnerability. I then went on to conduct further research by posting an Instagram poll and Q&A. I asked students via my social media story, "How can the institutions in the AUC support their students's mental health?" I received a multitude of answers. These answers will be shared but kept anonymous as to who said them. 

• "Give us break days with no classes/include mental health days," was stated by two Morehouse College students, one rising junior and one rising senior. 
• "Actually providing a good counseling service and training teachers to support students." -Morehouse College student 
• "Consistent mental health efforts with psych and social work department"—Clark Clark Atlanta University student 
• "I think that the fact that Cau has mental health services is great but I believe they could be better. I think one way to improve would be consistency with their students. an example would be having more events to let people know there is mental health support on campus. " - Clark Atlanta University student 
• "They could allocate more money to fund more counselors. They usually only have 4-5 on the clock and we have a population of more than 5,000 students. We need at least  10-15 ppl staffed and ready to serve. Also, rather than doing puppy therapy once or twice a year, they need monthly sessions. Also, mental health seminars and retreats throughout the year that are covered through our tuition. We shouldn’t have to pay for any mental health services. They should be accounted for in our tuition. Also leveraging alumni connections to provide mental health support, whether it be through a partnership or inviting alumni from psychology or social work departments to facilitate group sessions or community-building events, we need to be leveraging connections! They want to help but the school has to reach out and make known their value and what they are contributing to the culture of students at Clark." - Clark Atlanta University student 
• "They can get more training on how to engage with students, wellness training, and educator training because everyone needs a refresher on how to do things. They also need to get help themselves. No one in a position of impact should be causing harm. These teachers need to build their empathy and understanding. I also believe smaller class sizes will help them build connections with students genuinely as well. —Clark Atlanta University student 

Poll results  from the question " do you feel supported mentally by your institution?"

Results 

Yes—12% 

sort of -38%

Not at all—50%

These results demonstrated that this is a widespread institution, since students from all three institutions voted, with the bulk of votes going to the No and Sort of categories. These findings indicate that each school must improve its student assistance services.

 

Although I did not receive any responses from Spelman College students on the questionnaire, the responses I was given provided me the insight I needed.  I believe all institutions need to do better at hearing their student body out because, without the students, no institution will be run properly. It's important that students feel heard because topics such as mental health are very big topics that aren't talked about enough within the collegiate community. It starts with us first in order for there to be change. For all of the college students reading this, I see you and I hear you. I'm hoping that by reading this students can understand the issue at hand and also know that there are students out there that do care about this topic and want change.