Past Presidents Community Well-Being Actions and Offerings

February 8, 2022

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

We are writing to you today about the actions we are taking this spring to promote student mental health and well-being. Anxiety, depression, and other emotional and psychological challenges have risen among young people during the pandemic, compounding what was already a chronic and growing problem with prolonged uncertainty, loss, and isolation. An August 2021 report by American Public Media documents the rising demand for mental health services on college and university campuses. Amherst’s Counseling Center is not an exception and has experienced a significant increase in the number of students seeking help: 34 percent of students used the Counseling Center last semester, an 89 percent increase from the prior year; crisis appointments have increased by almost 94 percent; case management intakes are up 23 percent.

We cannot depend solely on our Counseling Center to address these issues. Together, we need to build a community of care in which all our students can thrive. Last week, I wrote to you about our deep concern about sexual misconduct on campus and the steps we are taking to address it. These issues are connected, of course, and they, along with others, must be addressed with preventive measures that go to the sources of these systemic problems.

We are in the process of building a comprehensive and integrated well-being program led by the Office of Student Affairs. Many of the necessary pieces are already in place: physical and mental health care, health education, equity and inclusion, and educational resources. We now need a concerted effort to coordinate these resources, gather data, adopt the most effective available practices, and ensure that students have the information they need to gain easy access to services and resources. We have enlisted national organizations to assist us in this work.

In the coming days, you will receive more detailed information about key parts of the programmatic push we are making this semester. You will also be invited to contribute in various ways. For now, I want to highlight broad areas of emphasis and offer some examples of what will be available.

CONNECTION, COMMUNITY, AND FUN

• We understand that the health and safety protocols that have helped keep our community safe have also resulted in a heightened sense of physical and social isolation, exhaustion, and anxiousness. The delayed start of the spring semester seems, so far, to have accomplished our goal of avoiding an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases on campus, so we will be able to ease some of the most taxing COVID protocols. (Look for a communication from Campus Health and Safety later today.)
• This week, as everyone begins to settle in and classes resume remotely, Student Activities is hosting a series of virtual events, including Bingo and two Trivia nights, with fun prizes. More information, including how to register, can be found on their Instagram feed.
• Open ice skating will be held in Orr Rink on Thursday evenings from 8-11 p.m. starting February 17, featuring free skate rental, hot cocoa, and other goodies.
• A partnership between OSA and Adventure East will allow us to offer full- and half-day outdoor programs on weekends beginning Saturday, February 12. Among the offerings are downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, hiking, tracking with a naturalist, and other endeavors. Look for more information on the Student Activities Instagram feed. As we move into spring, additional outdoor activities will be provided by Book & Plow Farm.
• February 12 will also kick off Saturday Night Food Trucks. Late Night Dining will begin on Thursday, February 17.
• Students who need or prefer greater privacy than the Wolff Fitness Center affords will now have the option of using a range of exercise equipment at Nicholls Biondi, thanks to a new pilot program.
• The Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) will showcase artwork created by members of our campus community, with an installation of art and banners from past Black Art Matters festivals. Stop by the Keefe Campus Center next week to appreciate and admire their contributions.
• The College has purchased an outdoor stage that will be installed this spring, which will allow us to continue to provide an opportunity for outdoor concerts, dance and theater performances, and other creative student ideas—outdoor programming that was introduced during COVID and has helped us find a new way to see the Greenway as it was designed to be used, as a dynamic place to embrace and enjoy.
• Student Activities will be moving to the first floor of Keefe Campus Center to provide increased opportunities for student engagement. An Open House at Keefe later this semester will introduce this new space.
• Two beloved annual festivals will take place again this semester: WinterFest on Sunday, March 6, featuring live music from a capella group The Filharmonic, and City Streets in early April.
• LitFest, February 24-27, will bring an impressive array of great writers to campus. Most sessions will be in person for our campus community; we encourage you to attend. Don’t forget to sign up for the LitFest Spoken World Slam.

ENHANCED CLINICAL SERVICES

• Searches are underway to hire two new staff counselors, including one with a bilingual/international focus, so that our students can realize the full benefit of the three new positions we have added to the Counseling Center.
• As part of our effort to expand Counseling Center resources, we are launching a Post-Graduate Fellowship Program that will begin this summer. This important initiative provides clinical training for the next generation of college counseling practitioners while also providing up to three additional Counseling Center staff members each academic year who will contribute to mental health and wellness support for our students.
• The Counseling Center has recently added new discussion groups, therapy groups, and skills classes and workshops that provide students with a variety of ways to gain access to support and community.
• Group work plays an increasingly important role in our broader well-being initiative, providing students with opportunities for connection, support, and shared experiences. Because of the importance of these programs, the Counseling Center has entered into a partnership with McLean Hospital’s College Mental Health Program to offer increased remote therapy group opportunities. Details about group offerings will be available this week, and groups will begin after add/drop period.
• Well-Being Wednesdays, organized by Health Education and open to all members of the community, will run throughout the spring. Each Wednesday program will feature resources and activities centered on topics such as “Caring for your Soul,” “Caring for your Mind,” “Caring for your Relationships,” etc.
• The Office of Identity & Cultural Resources (OICR) and The Center for Restorative Practices (CRP) continue to cultivate community and foster a culture of care, equity, and belonging. Their programs this spring will focus on developing wellness skills and practices.

RELOCATION OF THE COUNSELING CENTER

• It is important that the College provide mental health resources in one consolidated central location. Plans are underway to move the Counseling Center from its current two locations to one that is closer to the center of campus and able to accommodate the entire counseling staff. We have engaged planning architects for this work and expect the move to happen during this summer.

GOOD DATA AND EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES

• Effective February 1, 2022, Amherst is a member of the nationally recognized JED Foundation’s JED Campus network. JED is a nonprofit focused on protecting emotional health and preventing suicide among teens and young adults. This program will provide us with evaluations, feedback, strategic plans, and implementation recommendations regarding our comprehensive and integrated approach to supporting student well-being and mental health.
• As part of our work with JED, we will administer the Healthy Minds Survey this spring. The data collected from this survey will add to our understanding of student needs and the potential barriers to meeting them.
• Through the Office of Student Affairs, the College partners with the Steve Fund, an organization dedicated to supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color. Based on the fall 2021 needs-assessment report, we are now implementing key recommendations, one of which calls for the integration of our anti-racist work into a larger DEI framework. That work will be completed by mid-semester.

ACADEMIC POLICY

• Provost Epstein has written to faculty strongly encouraging them to “give students a true break” during Spring Break and avoid having any written or other assignments due March 12-22 (with the exception of reading assignments for the first few days of post-break classes).
• We will provide appropriate student well-being training and information to faculty members so that they can be an effective resource to students, both inside and outside the classroom. In addition, I will work with the Committee of Six to ask the appropriate faculty committees to consider whether our academic policies are appropriately and actively attentive to student well-being.

We All Need To Do Our Part

As we begin this new semester, we all need to be mindful of the importance of care—of self and of others. Please turn to the resources we have available for you (students: wellness hub; faculty and staff: HRWellness@Amherst). Please do your part to keep people safe from COVID, be attentive to how other people are doing, and reach out to support them or help them get help if needed.

Thank you for your attention.

Biddy Martin, President
Liz Agosto, Dean of Students and Interim Chief Student Affairs Officer
Darien McFadden, Director of the Counseling Center
Catherine Epstein, Provost and Dean of the Faculty and Winkley Professor of History
Angie Tissi-Gassoway, Interim Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer