A country’s government shows what it values by how much money it devotes to this or that area of its citizens’ lives. (Ours, for example, devotes far more money to the military than to education.) These concepts apply just as much to universities. I was astonished to see indicated in a recent article in PAW that Princeton was making cuts to the budget for student mental health services (On the Campus, July/August issue). We live during a time when mental illness among high school and college students is at epidemic levels, the highest rate ever recorded, yet our beloved university is scaling back on mental health support for its students. This is very unwise at best and shameful, foolish, and incomprehensible at worst. It is extremely tone deaf considering how well known this mental illness epidemic is. It strongly implies that the well-being of Princeton students is not a University priority. What could be more important than the health of the students? The University exists mostly for the benefit of its students. Princeton doesn’t seem to value student mental health highly enough. I would like convincing evidence that those in the administration who made this decision exhausted every other possibility for areas in the budget to cut. As it is, I am not convinced and am even appalled. I am open to being persuaded to change my mind, but on the face of it, we as a University community can do much, much better.
A country’s government shows what it values by how much money it devotes to this or that area of its citizens’ lives. (Ours, for example, devotes far more money to the military than to education.) These concepts apply just as much to universities. I was astonished to see indicated in a recent article in PAW that Princeton was making cuts to the budget for student mental health services (On the Campus, July/August issue). We live during a time when mental illness among high school and college students is at epidemic levels, the highest rate ever recorded, yet our beloved university is scaling back on mental health support for its students. This is very unwise at best and shameful, foolish, and incomprehensible at worst. It is extremely tone deaf considering how well known this mental illness epidemic is. It strongly implies that the well-being of Princeton students is not a University priority. What could be more important than the health of the students? The University exists mostly for the benefit of its students. Princeton doesn’t seem to value student mental health highly enough. I would like convincing evidence that those in the administration who made this decision exhausted every other possibility for areas in the budget to cut. As it is, I am not convinced and am even appalled. I am open to being persuaded to change my mind, but on the face of it, we as a University community can do much, much better.