EDIT: College a very stressful time

College is an extremely stressful and confusing time for many students, and many universities are attempting to help students deal with the many issues that arise during college years. But more universities need to step up and take action to address what has become an even bigger problem on campuses across the country.

College is a time when many students feel separated from the rest of the world, confused and lost at times. For many students, college is the first time they are on their own and away from their families and friends – a feeling that can often cause additional stress and add to the already stressful environment of college. And while grades are not the only stressful area where college life is concerned, they do account for a great deal of anxiety.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology implements a two-step grading system for all freshmen to combat the pressure put on students concerning grades. MIT uses a pass/fail system that eases its students into the college grading system. Such specific attention to grades demonstrates the severity of the problem, and specifically at a university where 11 students have committed suicide in the past 10 years.

All universities must directly address this extremely important issue because it is a valid concern on every college campus. Many students avoid asking for help because of the stigma that is attached to those who visit counseling services, or at least the stigma they feel when they go – founded or not. Colleges should focus on making students not feel like they are weird or crazy for getting help, and students need to be made aware that there are places they can go for help.

While, according to The New York Times, Washington University in St. Louis has attempted such therapeutic efforts as offering chair massages, New Age music and sleep quizzes to lessen stress for students before exams, other universities have undertaken such extreme efforts as providing dogs with which students can cuddle and other such measures. Those ideas may sound over the top and odd, any effort to create a less stressful college environment for students is a step in the right direction, and other schools – including Boston University – should follow suit.

But the atmosphere at BU is very different from most other universities. Many campuses are located in the middle of nowhere and students are surrounded by a college environment they cannot escape. While BU students face the same difficulties as many other students, the urban location allows for many outlets and a less claustrophobic setting. Still, while the atmosphere at BU is significantly different, the university is not immune to students feeling stressed, as administrators hopefully know.

Every school must offer other facilities for students besides a wellness center and an infirmary. Colleges should make ample counselors available for students, and students must be made aware, and make themselves aware, that there are outlets and that going to a counselor is perfectly normal. College is an extremely difficult time when people undergo many changes. College costs and the necessity of a college education are only additional pressures, not to mention the pre-college pressure of trying to get into a good school. Student stress is a problem about which all colleges and universities should be concerned.