Mental Health Forum

Rownoka Ashakhan, ‘19

May 2019

After Theo’s (Y2) op-ed on how the BHSEC administration handled mental health was published in the Bardvark, tensions started rising within the BHSEC community. In a matter of a few days, whispers about a sit-in organized by students regarding mental health were heard loud and clear by the BHSEC faculty and even frowned upon. A few days! That’s a pretty short amount of time for the school to come together and do something about an issue that’s been a problem at Bard since I can remember. However, it was done. Dr. Lerner, Ms. Powers, and Mr. Williams Jr. came together to organize a Mental Health Forum on Wednesday, May 22nd, where students from various grades discussed the issues at hand. Mr. Williams Jr. was the one facilitating the discussion which we can all agree was the right choice considering a middleman was much needed for this conversation to be had. 

Students walked in through the library doors and gathered around a table for a seminar-style discussion. It seemed as though everyone was in it to finally tackle the problems around mental health at BHSEC and that’s exactly what happened. The students first began by discussing the negatives of how mental health is managed at BHSEC. Dr. Lerner began by telling us that it is very problematic that there are only two counselors helping about 645 students that now attend Bard. He then continued by giving us an overview of the hiring process and informed us that most of our counselors have been hired a long time ago; almost as long as the school’s founding faculty. The students jumped right in and comfortably began by voicing many of the problems students at every corner of this school face. “They [the guidance counselors] are never in their office,” said a Year 2, as another peer continued by adding that even when they were experiencing a panic attack, they couldn’t find someone to help. In fact, when guidance was found in their respective rooms, students felt that they weren’t listened to; “it was more about solving than having the counselors hear out what had really been bothering me.” Getting to the root of the problem is of far more value to many students over having adults tell them what students need to do in order to solve the one problem at hand, since many times the real problem is that students feel unheard. 

Many students started to voice more serious issues such as the fact that white students were simply told to try harder by faculty members when they struggled in school while students of color were suggested to transfer schools as early as 9th grade, which I personally think is absurd. “When our own educators have a different energy with students of color than they do with the white students in the school, it is very discouraging,” stated another upperclassman. There was even a situation in which a student was called outside their classroom and told that they would not graduate without any sort of context in front of a hallway filled with other students. Various times when teachers or any faculty in the school are aggressive, the students are told to stay calm. However, when the hostility is unwarranted, and the student reciprocates similar aggressive behavior, the student’s behavior is frowned upon since we, as students, are expected to act like adults while being treated like children. 

When students are late, absent, or skipping classes, the first instinct has been to call them out instead of addressing what the reasons may be for such occurrences. Students at Bard often have many responsibilities including taking care of siblings, earning for their family, and such other familial duties. When a student with that many responsibilities is reprimanded instead of understood and helped, it is both detrimental to the student’s future and their mental health. Several of these people are unable to have unpaid internships due to the fact that they need to support their families financially and telling them that “you shouldn’t be working for money” is ill-advised. They deserve more mental support at the very least if their responsibilities are far more reaching than many others financially stable students. 

Many seniors have been told since freshman year to not seek help at the guidance counselor’s office because it does not mentally prepare them for the stress that comes with going to BHSEC. These seniors, along with many other underclassmen, believe that if they had been aware, they could have received more mental help from faculty and outside sources and would thus have been doing far better academically. When asked by Mr. Williams Jr. if other students also felt that they could not approach an adult in the school even if they were struggling, various individuals raised their hands. One large apparent problem being that advisories focus on breathing exercises once a month while many people struggle with anxiety on the daily. College, during Y1, is shown to be a number one priority, but CTO advisors are oblivious to financial needs. “Credits shouldn’t be your first priority; you should be happy” was said to a Year 1 student while she funnily replied with the question, “who’s going to pay for my happiness?” The complaints regarding CTO advisories didn’t just stop there. Non-binary students pointed out that they were unable to go to the CTO trip because no separate accommodations were made for them. In fact, they were never even asked about their pronouns by any counselors with the exceptions of two teachers in the school. 

Mental health is no joke and even when students continuously approach an adult without a diagnosis and address that they aren’t doing well, the issue should be discussed. It’s not just about doing well in school, but also about having a support system in order to be able to deal with the stress that is acquired in and out of school. Even students with IEP accommodations should not just be focusing on their schoolwork, but also their feelings and social life. Mental health issues are something that affects every single student in and out of BHSEC and especially taking the time to help those who are underserved is the first step to solving the greater problem. 

After the negatives were aired and everyone felt a little lighter than when the forum had begun, Mr. Williams Jr. moved forward by asking the room what some positives have been regarding mental health at BHSEC. Students shared the names of many faculty members including Ms. Ball, Mr. Wiggins, Judge Gubbay, Ms. Patt, Ms. Howard, Jeffery Moss, Ms. Nolan and many others who have helped them at Bard. Action plans were then finally discussed to close out the very successful forum. It was stated that there need to be better fidgets in the school and especially in the Arc such as cards, Orbeez, coloring books, and stress balls. All faculty need cultural sensitivity training to adhere to the needs of many minority students. A far more diverse faculty is needed, which Dr. Lerner added is already being addressed by having students involved in the hiring process of teachers. Papers in Global history that talk about justifying slavery and posters that ask whether or not students have the scores they need on the SAT to get into an Ivy also need to be removed immediately. CTO advisories need to plan ahead and individually accommodate students varying in stature come up with a college list. In general, there need to be more open conversations about mental health between faculty and students and the school needs to make a constant effort to diversify its curriculum, interactions, and accommodations. 

The forum ended on a positive and hopeful note while students whispered their thoughts to each other as they walked out of the library. The most important question that was heard all around, however, was, "Had the mental health forum been organized because the administration wanted to silence students since they were ready to come together to have their voices heard?" or was it truly because the administration wanted to solve the issues that had finally surfaced? Nonetheless, change has started and hopefully, unlike many other halted projects, mental health is something that will become a number one priority at BHSEC, regardless of the color of a student’s skin or their individual needs.