Throughout the past decade, there has been much controversy about the school’s role in assisting the mental health of a student. According to many college staff, there has been a steady increase in reports of stress about managing mental health. In a way, it is very concerning because the headcount is consistently increasing. However, on the bright side, because more students are able to come out and admit their struggles the school departments are able to recognize that they need to be more active in helping out their students. A few things that universities have been doing well is providing opportunities for students to attend therapy and connect with other people (such as alumni) to provide aid throughout the course of the students’ 4+ years of attendance. On top of that, PennState among other schools has implemented wellness days for both students and staff, so they may enjoy a day to themselves. 
On a slightly off-topic note, There are still debates on this subject where people are unsure if the expectations and innovations of modern society are causing a true increase in mental health issues among students, or if the new generations are more willing to acknowledge their internal conflicts and seek help. Honestly, it could be both. To specifically address the younger generation, multiple e-platforms such as social media accounts have become a daily part of their lives. This makes it so much easier to track the progress of others and compare their own lives to more “successful and happier” people. What’s worse is that people on social media are usually only projecting the better parts of their life, therefore subconsciously heightening the standards for everything in people’s minds. To address the second hypothesis, it also hasn’t been long since the general population as a whole began to accept how common mental illnesses are, and how important it is to seek help. Therefore, many people may just be breaking out of their shells after many years of avoiding confrontations within themselves.
Returning back to the main point, what should schools be doing from here on out to provide help? Well, one thing is providing constant reassurance to students that struggles are common (although caused by different reasons and impact lives to different extents) as an attempt to further normalize seeking help such as therapy. There should also be a permanent increase in seminars and events such as wellness days to allow students to take a breather. Although wellness days were implemented as a result of taking remote classes this year, these dates should remain in the academic calendar even after the pandemic passes over. In general, it is good to see that schools are making an effort but there needs to be more. Of course, this is only possible with a collaborative attitude from the students who seek out these sorts of improvements.
I love this topic! My dad used to specialize in psychiatry, so mental health has always been a conversation in my house. I think schools definitely need to adjust to the rising awareness of mental health and be equipped to manage students who are struggling. Many of the guidance counselors that I have interacted with seem like kind-hearted people, but lack the training to really help students. Moreover, society has to normalize counseling and mental health issues. Personally, I started forcing myself to Sabbath, rest once a week, even though I’m a workaholic. I do absolutely nothing related to school on that day and just relax. This helps me manage my stress and anxiety. So glad that you brought this up!
Interesting post. You make some good points about potential mental health problems for students. The link to the statistics page was especially helpful. I would disagree with you on the appropriate response form schools though. I would rather end the semester a week earlier than have five wellness days. They seem ineffective in my opinion. The root of the mental health problem goes deeper than what happens on college. I would argue that ill-preparedness rather than rigor causes issues, and giving days off with not make anyone more prepared. After the wellness day is over, we are still left with the same problems. The time to combat mental illness is before college, so perhaps stricter entrance standards need to be considered.
Great post! I agree that mental illness is a really important topic to talk about and people are coming out of their shells to speak about their problems. But I think the school and colleges are not taking enough step to combat the issue of speaking up. A lot of people who suffers from mental illness or stress are very hesitant to go to a counselor and not at all confident to talk about these problems. The schools should take up some initiatives to promote participation and also some sort of confidentiality agreement to make people confident and comfortable.