The university’s central student government tackles mental health concerns on campus
On Feb. 4, 2016, the Central Student Association (CSA) issued an open letter to President Franco Vaccarino, requesting that he meet with them to discuss accessibility issues surrounding mental health care on campus.
The letter is the result of a motion put forward at the CSA’s Annual General Meeting on Jan. 20, 2016. The letter cites stats about mental health on campus and alleges that the school could be doing more to support students.
The letter, as well as the requests and recommendations that it includes, are a result of CSA campaigns and committees working together. Officially, the letter comes from the Accessibility Working Group (AWG).
The AWG is a committee headed by the academic and university affairs commissioner, Peter Miller. The committee’s purpose—according to the official description on the CSA’s website—is “to act as a forum for discussing and promoting accessibility for persons with disabilities, to act as a resource for accessibility within the organization, to explore and deconstruct all real and potential barriers within the CSA, and to discuss the experiences of members with disabilities.”
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…the letter comes from the Accessibility Working Group…[/pullquote]
The letter also acknowledges that demands for better mental health resources on campus have been called for by the University of Guelph’s Black Liberation Collective (BLC) chapter.
The BLC wants sufficient, culturally appropriate counselling and mental-health services on-campus to better accommodate the emotional and psychological needs of black students.
The BLC also suggested that Student Accessibility Service (SAS) advisors receive anti-oppression training to better serve marginalized groups and create a more inclusive environment.
The letter references a mental health study conducted by the University two-years-ago. The study in question found that the amount of students who use the counselling services on campus is increasing yearly.
The letter alleges that advisors at SAS are having trouble meeting with each of the enrolled first-year students before the last class-drop date.
The CSA’s letter further states that students with a mental health disability are more likely to be part-time students, which means that they have less access to the counselling provide by the school.
The last suggestion that the letter makes is that the university’s administration begin lobbying the provincial government for “more sustainable funding for mental health resources at post-secondary institutions across Ontario.”
The letter also states that “[g]overnments should prioritize dedicated investments in frontline mental health supports at post-secondary institutions, through a consistent funding envelope.” A suggestion in the letter postulates the idea that, while waiting for provincial funding, the University of Guelph should use its potential structural surplus to hire more counselling staff.
The letter ends with a wish to partake in a meeting with President Vaccarino “to talk more about the need for adequate mental health resources on campus, and plans to reduce wait-times for mental health services at U of G.”