It’s Okay To Not Be Okay
By Robert Dungan, Junior Photo Editor
The wellness center wants you to know that “It’s okay to not be okay.” They have your back! It’s a scary time to be a college student for multiple reasons. Social division and unrest, extreme political divides that have led to unthinkable actions by unexpected people and then there is the once in a decade pandemic. COVID-19 stopped the world last March, most everyone went into seclusion to avoid an invisible germ, not knowing if even healthy people can make you sick. High school students planning the transition to college spent their last semesters in isolation, behind Chromebooks, finishing 12 years of primary education amongst the news reports of tractor-trailer morgues. Social media and short messaging systems (SMS) had already decreased the amount of face time high school-aged people spent socializing in IRL (in real life). It’s not just socializing that had been affected, substantial time spent with family, friends, confidantes and even religious groups had transitioned to an electronic format over the last decade.
The college went to great efforts to ensure that the 2020 Spring and Summer semesters were available for students. Judith DiLorenzo, Vice President for Academic Affairs, recalls how all staff on campus pulled together, everyone from the custodial staff to the department chairs. “It was people coming to me and saying, ‘I can do more, I can help with this.’ I was in Zooms, we were all on Zoom meetings all day, then during dinner, we would receive a message and the COVID team would all get on a Zoom at 8 o’clock at night.” The COVID task force was challenged with making academics safe for all that were returning to campus and productive for those attending remotely. Part of the safety efforts supporting the mental health and general wellness of the students no matter their modality.
The return of college classes IRL this semester has freaked many out. Sitting in classrooms not knowing who’s been vaccinated, strangers with masked facial expressions and some professors stressed by constant change is not the ideal introduction to higher education. University systems around the country are displaying transparency in a way never seen before. There are online trackers for just about everything not protected by HIPPA, the federal protection of how medical information is shared beyond the patient and doctor. Studies by qualified sociologists, psychologists and physicians working in world-class educational institutes ran studies and surveys on how students reacted to the situations. The effects of COVID seem to take priority over the mental health havoc that the racial and political divides had caused amongst higher ed students.
A survey of 162 William Paterson University students last year found that two-thirds complained of depression and anxiety brought on by the health crisis. In April, Ohio State University surveyed 1,100 students: 71% said they were burned out, up from 40% the previous year. 29% of students reported unhealthy eating in the Oklahoma State University survey this year, up from 25% in August 2020. Alcohol use rose from 15.5% to 18%. Smoking and vaping went from 6% to 8%, and physical activity like exercise fell from 35% to 28%, according to the Oklahoma survey, which relied on self-reporting. All of these findings are scary, to say the least.
HVCC Health and Wellness counselor, Katie Weeks spoke about the lack of human connection during the spring and summer semesters. “We’ve spent the last year and a half in this self-imposed, rather, not self-imposed, but governmental imposed, CDC health, regulatory imposed, quarantine, and really social distancing. Humans, by nature, are social beings. We had some of these freedoms and ways of expressing our independence taken away. We have been encouraged to not be engaged with others.”
Talking about the anxieties that some of the students on the Troy campus have displayed when returning, Katie says: “So I think one of the things that we’re seeing in terms of that anxiety is how do I interact with this many people again? It’s a lot easier to be on a computer screen, and not have to worry about talking to the person next to you, or having someone say, Hey, did you understand the homework? Just having different interactions in person, and especially for those incoming freshmen who might not know as many people on campus, because, we’re this big melting pot for people all over not only New York State, but surrounding states as well. So, it’s not like it would be in high school where maybe you feel a little more comfortable coming back from being online. It’s, you know, that much more different, you’re adjusting to that many more things.”
The SUNY COVID tracker reports a total of 41 total positive tests on campus dating back a year, none of them this semester. With 33,702 tests administered, the on-campus positivity rate for the year is a mere 0.12%. The past two weeks have resulted in 33 tests administered on campus for a ZERO percent positivity rate compared to the Capital Region’s 3.7% and the 2.5% rate in the rest of the state. It would be a simple deduction that the efforts on campus to reduce COVID transmission have been successful, and the campus is safer than the surrounding area.
When asked about the school’s safety net for reporting students that seem to be in distress, Katie explained: “It’s the college students referral system that can be used, the system alert different offices, to students of concern. [It may be] students to keep an eye out for whether it’s disruptive behavior or concerning behavior. So, we get emails all the time from faculty or department chair saying we have the student of concern, how should we address it? [We discuss] with our counselors, we have consultations with different faculty and department chairs as to the best ways to handle situations, to encourage students to get help”.
No matter what any student is experiencing, Katie stressed that all services are available to all students. It does not matter if you live in the dorms down the road attending class on campus, in a local apartment or at home with family taking online classes only. “promoting to all students, you know, physical health, mental health, and really connecting with instructors is our mission”.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, check out the Relaxation Room, located in the Siek Campus Center (Suite 260) provides students with a quiet space to engage in self-care and coping activities including bibliotherapy, listening to music, meditations, etc. The wellness center also offers all student counseling services. The counseling relationship is unique in that it provides a safe forum for you to speak freely, knowing that what is shared will be kept private and confidential and no topic is off-limits. Stop by the wellness center located next to the Health Services Office on the second floor of the campus center any weekday between 8 and 5 pm.