STORY BY MONICA BADOLIAN, STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF CYPRESS COLLEGE HEALTH CENTER
Cypress College President JoAnna Schilling discussed the rising concern of students’ mental health with staff in a recent meeting.
According to the faculty meeting, the recent mental health issues include concerns about social isolation, COVID-19-related anxiety and grief, and imposter syndrome, which means self-doubt about intellect, skills, or accomplishments.
Josih Nelson, an undecided major, battles with anxiety and ADHD and said isolation is a significant factor in his mental health. “I try to cope with it by going to school and finding friends online, but I fail most of the time.” One of the key points students mentioned on the Healthy Minds Survey is that the majority of them indicated that they felt isolated from others, left out, and that they lacked companionship either “some of the time” or “often.”
According to Schilling, 70% of students reported experiencing stress/anxiety in the last 12 months. And nearly 86% of respondents reported feeling that emotional difficulties had hurt their academic performance at least one to two days in the past four weeks.
“The big thing is helping people socialize again. People are just weird and quiet most of the time. COVID-19 had the biggest impact on people like me who are 20 because that’s when you’re supposed to socialize and talk to people,” said Nelson.
Dr. Schilling discussed major key points about the latest surveys from students on Cypress College. She mentioned the Focus Group of Equity and Mental Health that go over the Campus Climate, Mental Health Concerns, and Prioritizing Mental Health on Campus.
“Within the last year we have partnered with a national organization called the Steve Fund, and it’s called Equity and Mental Health on campus. By participating with them, they are helping us do a needs assessment for our students so that we can really identify what services are needed and what we can ask for funding,” said Schilling. “They’re a non-profit organization, so it’s not that they’re just going to hand us money, but by participating in this 18 month study with them, we’d be eligible for funding.”
According to the survey, when students were asked about the ways that mental health was prioritized on campus, they highlighted campus programs such as clubs, physical space, counseling services, and financial support. Also specific programs that were also mentioned were Legacy Program, the Veterans Resource Center, the LGBT Safe Space, and the Charger Experience.
“Too often people feel like they’re alone and hold it in, and someone won’t understand but I think we have a lot of people on campus who not only will listen, but also point them towards the resources that can assist them,” said Schilling.
