Members of the Boston University community have called on the administration to improve its mental health resources for students.
Alessandra Kellermann, the mother of a senior at BU as well as the founder of the BU Parents United Facebook Group, said many parents are aware of students’ need for help.
“We were hearing more and more … about a need for more emotional support and well-being,” Kellermann said, “much more than you normally would need in a regular school year.”
Kellerman recognized Student Health Services Director Judy Platt’s open communication with parents and BU Hillel’s promotion of mental health and social activities. Kellerman added that Sarah Lipson, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Law Policy and Management, is “fantastic.”
Kellerman said there hasn’t been sufficient communication from the administration to the BU community.
“Especially this semester, the silence is deafening,” she said. “That’s not okay.”
She said she believes the number of students returning home after living on campus reflects BU’s inability to meet their mental health needs. She said a lot of students are “left with a miserable experience.”
“That’s a failure on BU’s part,” Kellerman said, “not on the students’ part.”
Kellermann said one way the University could assist students is by adding mental health questions and resources to the daily COVID-19 symptom survey.
“As silly as it sounds,” she said, “the one day that somebody might be having a really tough day, they might pay attention to it and they might know it mattered enough to put in a self survey.”
Director of Behavioral Medicine Carrie Landa wrote in an email there have been fewer therapy appointments requested by students now than at this time last year.
“We also have, on average, a < 48 hour wait time to get an initial appointment,” she wrote.
Students can call to speak with a mental health professional at any time they need, Landa wrote.
“Of course, we always have a clinician to speak with in the event of a mental health emergency,” Landa wrote, “which is available 24/7.”
Rosa Rodriguez, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said students’ mental health could be improved if professors adjusted their course work.
“College is a workload, but it shouldn’t be as much of a workload during a global pandemic,” Rodriguez said.
CAS junior Savannah Majarwitz, co-chair of the Student Government Mental Health Committee, said students are still struggling to get used to the circumstances of the pandemic.
“No one really signed up for virtual learning, we’re all kind of adapting still,” Majarwitz said.
Majarwitz helped write the petition that led BU to grant students two Wellness Days in March after the cancellation of Spring Recess.
“We all kind of hear, ‘this is an unprecedented time,’” she added, “but there’s kind of a disconnect between what’s being said to students and what’s actually being done for students.”
Majarwitz suggested that counselors be staffed in residence halls so students can have direct assistance in case of a mental health emergency.
Christine Yoh, a freshman in the College of Communication, said BU could implement a buddy system for people who are adjusting to life on campus.
“It could make that transition easier,” Yoh said, “because I think that plays a role in their well-being and feeling a sense of community.”
Kellermann said the University should give mental health resources the same effort it puts toward its COVID-19 response.
“BU’s done such a fantastic job with the testing, and managing to keep COVID from spreading on campus,” Kellermann said. “That’s the kind of energy and passion we want to see in terms of the well-being of the students.”