Rachel Jane Allen
rallen19@uwyo.edu
“In 2011, the American College Health Association–National College Health Assessment… found that about 30 percent of college students reported feeling ‘so depressed that it was difficult to function’ at some time in the past year.”
Since that year, the number has gone up to 44%.
It’s time to face facts people- college is hard. So is depression. Putting them together is just asking for trouble.
The University of Wyoming does its best to accommodate students who suffer from clinical depression and other mental illnesses that affect a huge majority of the population. The University’s Counseling Center is open to any student who needs some assistance or someone to talk to and University Disability Support Services (UDSS) can work with students with chronic illnesses that are ever present or flare up unexpectedly to make adjustments so that the student can succeed. However, these services are not always necessary. UDSS can be an extreme measure, and in some cases, does not apply. A bad day is sometimes just a bad day. It doesn’t always require counseling, just a little TLC.
There will be days where students simply cannot think of facing the day. A late night stressing about school, a difficult confrontation or just a bout of depression that demands one to be kept in bed and never see the light of day. Unfortunately, the University of Wyoming’s attendance policy (which varies from professor to professor) doesn’t allow for much wiggle room when it comes to staying home based on the reasoning that taking on the world is just. Not. Going. To happen.
The University of Wyoming needs to add mental health days. Let’s face it- one to two unexcused absences without consequence is just not cutting it. Even if those days aren’t used for physical illnesses, one to two absences just aren’t enough. Throw in a couple of days due to tardiness, missing the bus, sleeping through your alarm or, heaven forbid, being hung over, and you’ve got a recipe for crippling your GPA.
One of my professors has a policy called “pillow days.” The class has a high level of physical activity and she also understands that it can be a little too strenuous under certain circumstances. As a result, if a student is just really not into it or seriously can’t do a downward dog on a particular day, all they have to do is say, “I’m taking my pillow day.” That student can then sit by and watch, take notes and learn without physically participating.
The concept of mental health days is similar, but sans physical presence in class. I strongly believe that students deserve to have “blanket days.” Students should be able to e-mail a professor and say, “Hey, I’m not feeling it, I’m taking a blanket day” and professors should just be chill about it! There’s definitely no need to drag in the stigma or any of the other nonsense that comes with talk about mental health. No, professors should allow a certain number of blanket days. Like any attendance policy, there should only be a certain amount without consequence, as to prevent students from abusing this policy. If you use up all your “blanket days” on a bender with your friends, that’s your fault, not the professor’s.
The point still stands. Mental health is entirely too critical to be treated the way it has been- shoved aside and overlooked. Students deserve to be given a little bit of leeway for emotional distress just as much as physical. With the alarming statistic of one in four students experiencing symptoms of depression, something needs to be done soon.
