Coping with the mental health crisis

The collective mental health of college students all across the land had already been trending downward entering the spring of 2020. Trending or spiraling, take your pick.

According to the most recent data from the College Student Health Survey, unmanaged stress was reported by 41.5 percent of University of Minnesota students, up dramatically from the 2010 rate of 26.8 percent. And 42.2 percent of Twin Cities campus students reported being diagnosed with at least one mental health condition within their lifetime.

Then came the imperfect storm of 2020: the global COVID-19 pandemic, the upheaval and movement for racial justice following George Floyd’s death in May, and the intensely contentious election season, which did not end on November 3. And just this past month, the police killing of Daunte Wright in the midst of the trial for former police officer Derek Chauvin, convicted of murdering Floyd.

Two and a half semesters into the pandemic, many students are still struggling, and it will take some time to assess the long-term effects on student mental health. But the U of M is marshaling its resources and resolve to respond, and in February University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel announced the President’s Initiative for Student Mental Health, which she hopes will help the U of M become a leader in providing mental health care to students. Read the full article.