WaPo: Suicidal students are pressured to withdraw from Yale

[Anonymous]

A lot has changed in the last three years. Their policies need to be reviewed, because we are no longer dealing with isolated incidents anymore. I'm the PP who said it wasn't Yale's responsibility to deal with mental illness. I still believe that, but in retrospect, none of us can behave as if it's pre-COVID. It's not. These kids have been through a lot. I think more support so they don't get to the point of taking their lives should be mandatory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing: mental health and the difficulty surrounding medical leave decisions are challenging issues at every school but we expect better at *Yale*. Yale has resources and did not need to be this cruel. They seem to want to get the problems off campus and off their watch so as not to tarnish their reputation. We should expect better at all schools. Every student has a bright future and their life is precious.

Yale has always had incredibly crappy health services. I never had occasion to use the mental health services, but even when I was there in the late 90s/early to mid 2000s (undergrad and grad), everyone knew the health services were awful. The acronym was DUH (Department of University Health I guess, but everyone called it "duhhhh"). Learning that the mental health services are abysmal does not surprise me in the least.

I loved my time at Yale. But I was never under any illusion that Yale loved me back. It's a big corporation, not a family. It is a mistake to think otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems likely they would have been forced to leave (temporarily) if they didn’t consent. I think the difficult reinstatement policy is monstrous (as is the insensitive way they hustle kids off campus) but I think it’s clear they would have to take a leave in any case. If an employee attempted suicide in the workplace clearly they wouldn’t be able to fine to work the next day.

How would they have known? And even if they somehow learned, assuming there’s no mental health provision in the enrollment agreement, they’d be on the hook for refunding tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing: mental health and the difficulty surrounding medical leave decisions are challenging issues at every school but we expect better at *Yale*. Yale has resources and did not need to be this cruel. They seem to want to get the problems off campus and off their watch so as not to tarnish their reputation. We should expect better at all schools. Every student has a bright future and their life is precious.

Yale has always had incredibly crappy health services. I never had occasion to use the mental health services, but even when I was there in the late 90s/early to mid 2000s (undergrad and grad), everyone knew the health services were awful. The acronym was DUH (Department of University Health I guess, but everyone called it "duhhhh"). Learning that the mental health services are abysmal does not surprise me in the least.

I loved my time at Yale. But I was never under any illusion that Yale loved me back. It's a big corporation, not a family. It is a mistake to think otherwise.

Schools are never health care providers nor equipped to provide mental health services to severely mentally ill. It makes sense to have them leave to get the help they need. Parents need to stop expecting the schools to be everything to everyone and get their kids the help they need. Being suicidal rarely happens overnight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot has changed in the last three years. Their policies need to be reviewed, because we are no longer dealing with isolated incidents anymore. I'm the PP who said it wasn't Yale's responsibility to deal with mental illness. I still believe that, but in retrospect, none of us can behave as if it's pre-COVID. It's not. These kids have been through a lot. I think more support so they don't get to the point of taking their lives should be mandatory.

This has nothing to do with Covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot has changed in the last three years. Their policies need to be reviewed, because we are no longer dealing with isolated incidents anymore. I'm the PP who said it wasn't Yale's responsibility to deal with mental illness. I still believe that, but in retrospect, none of us can behave as if it's pre-COVID. It's not. These kids have been through a lot. I think more support so they don't get to the point of taking their lives should be mandatory.

This has nothing to do with Covid.

There is no way to know that. By all accounts, the pandemic has greatly increased mental health problems in young adults, including those on college campuses everywhere. Do you not read?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing: mental health and the difficulty surrounding medical leave decisions are challenging issues at every school but we expect better at *Yale*. Yale has resources and did not need to be this cruel. They seem to want to get the problems off campus and off their watch so as not to tarnish their reputation. We should expect better at all schools. Every student has a bright future and their life is precious.

Yale has always had incredibly crappy health services. I never had occasion to use the mental health services, but even when I was there in the late 90s/early to mid 2000s (undergrad and grad), everyone knew the health services were awful. The acronym was DUH (Department of University Health I guess, but everyone called it "duhhhh"). Learning that the mental health services are abysmal does not surprise me in the least.

I loved my time at Yale. But I was never under any illusion that Yale loved me back. It's a big corporation, not a family. It is a mistake to think otherwise.

+1. The misunderstanding is that these institutions care about the students. When in reality they are in the money making and reputation building business.

[Anonymous]

Shouldn’t these students be covered by FMLA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing: mental health and the difficulty surrounding medical leave decisions are challenging issues at every school but we expect better at *Yale*. Yale has resources and did not need to be this cruel. They seem to want to get the problems off campus and off their watch so as not to tarnish their reputation. We should expect better at all schools. Every student has a bright future and their life is precious.

Yale has always had incredibly crappy health services. I never had occasion to use the mental health services, but even when I was there in the late 90s/early to mid 2000s (undergrad and grad), everyone knew the health services were awful. The acronym was DUH (Department of University Health I guess, but everyone called it "duhhhh"). Learning that the mental health services are abysmal does not surprise me in the least.

I loved my time at Yale. But I was never under any illusion that Yale loved me back. It's a big corporation, not a family. It is a mistake to think otherwise.

Schools are never health care providers nor equipped to provide mental health services to severely mentally ill. It makes sense to have them leave to get the help they need. Parents need to stop expecting the schools to be everything to everyone and get their kids the help they need. Being suicidal rarely happens overnight.

My DC’s friends who suffered from mental health issues in high school are still suffering from it at college. They are under treatment and on medications but its still a struggle for them. Parents should think about the consequences of being too far from home for college if the kid already has mental health issues. College decisions should not be based on prestige and rankings but rather what is best for the child.
It’s appalling that these students suffering from mental health issues and the treatment they received from Yale still wanted to be there after everything. It just shows that prestige trumps everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing: mental health and the difficulty surrounding medical leave decisions are challenging issues at every school but we expect better at *Yale*. Yale has resources and did not need to be this cruel. They seem to want to get the problems off campus and off their watch so as not to tarnish their reputation. We should expect better at all schools. Every student has a bright future and their life is precious.

Yale has always had incredibly crappy health services. I never had occasion to use the mental health services, but even when I was there in the late 90s/early to mid 2000s (undergrad and grad), everyone knew the health services were awful. The acronym was DUH (Department of University Health I guess, but everyone called it "duhhhh"). Learning that the mental health services are abysmal does not surprise me in the least.

I loved my time at Yale. But I was never under any illusion that Yale loved me back. It's a big corporation, not a family. It is a mistake to think otherwise.

+1. The misunderstanding is that these institutions care about the students. When in reality they are in the money making and reputation building business.

+1. As mentioned above a few minutes ago (but this site has since censored - that was fast) Yale is requiring a new product be taken by all students. But not by faculty. Yale and college institutions, as a rule, do not care about student well-being in the traditional sense of the term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shouldn’t these students be covered by FMLA?

If they have been employees of the university for more than 12 months, it may well apply with regards to their employment status. That means their job may be protected, but that says nothing about their enrollment as a student.

Eligibility
(Q) Who can take FMLA leave?

In order to be eligible to take leave under the FMLA, an employee must:

- work for a covered employer;
- have worked 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of leave; ( special hours of service rules apply to airline flight crew members )
- work at a location where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles; and
- have worked for the employer for 12 months. The 12 months of employment are not required to be consecutive in order for the employee to qualify for FMLA leave. In general, only employment within seven years is counted unless the break in service is (1) due to an employee’s fulfillment of military obligations, or (2) governed by a collective bargaining agreement or other written agreement.

So their job may be protected if they return to enrolled student status and want to return to the job within a certain timeframe -- that is, if they are employees as well as students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot has changed in the last three years. Their policies need to be reviewed, because we are no longer dealing with isolated incidents anymore. I'm the PP who said it wasn't Yale's responsibility to deal with mental illness. I still believe that, but in retrospect, none of us can behave as if it's pre-COVID. It's not. These kids have been through a lot. I think more support so they don't get to the point of taking their lives should be mandatory.

This has nothing to do with Covid.

There is no way to know that. By all accounts, the pandemic has greatly increased mental health problems in young adults, including those on college campuses everywhere. Do you not read?

Actually that's not what studies have shown and things have been back to normal for several years so stop using covid as an excuse for mental health issues. Those students had mental health issues and should never have gone away to school without a therapist/psychiatrist and care plan in place. Suicides are actually down per the actual numbers, not up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing: mental health and the difficulty surrounding medical leave decisions are challenging issues at every school but we expect better at *Yale*. Yale has resources and did not need to be this cruel. They seem to want to get the problems off campus and off their watch so as not to tarnish their reputation. We should expect better at all schools. Every student has a bright future and their life is precious.

Yale has always had incredibly crappy health services. I never had occasion to use the mental health services, but even when I was there in the late 90s/early to mid 2000s (undergrad and grad), everyone knew the health services were awful. The acronym was DUH (Department of University Health I guess, but everyone called it "duhhhh"). Learning that the mental health services are abysmal does not surprise me in the least.

I loved my time at Yale. But I was never under any illusion that Yale loved me back. It's a big corporation, not a family. It is a mistake to think otherwise.

+1. The misunderstanding is that these institutions care about the students. When in reality they are in the money making and reputation building business.

+1. As mentioned above a few minutes ago (but this site has since censored - that was fast) Yale is requiring a new product be taken by all students. But not by faculty. Yale and college institutions, as a rule, do not care about student well-being in the traditional sense of the term.

Colleges are not responsible for the well-being. They are responsible to educate. This isn't a boarding school where there are specific caretakers. Students are adults and expected to care for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing: mental health and the difficulty surrounding medical leave decisions are challenging issues at every school but we expect better at *Yale*. Yale has resources and did not need to be this cruel. They seem to want to get the problems off campus and off their watch so as not to tarnish their reputation. We should expect better at all schools. Every student has a bright future and their life is precious.

Yale has always had incredibly crappy health services. I never had occasion to use the mental health services, but even when I was there in the late 90s/early to mid 2000s (undergrad and grad), everyone knew the health services were awful. The acronym was DUH (Department of University Health I guess, but everyone called it "duhhhh"). Learning that the mental health services are abysmal does not surprise me in the least.

I loved my time at Yale. But I was never under any illusion that Yale loved me back. It's a big corporation, not a family. It is a mistake to think otherwise.

Schools are never health care providers nor equipped to provide mental health services to severely mentally ill. It makes sense to have them leave to get the help they need. Parents need to stop expecting the schools to be everything to everyone and get their kids the help they need. Being suicidal rarely happens overnight.

My DC’s friends who suffered from mental health issues in high school are still suffering from it at college. They are under treatment and on medications but its still a struggle for them. Parents should think about the consequences of being too far from home for college if the kid already has mental health issues. College decisions should not be based on prestige and rankings but rather what is best for the child.
It’s appalling that these students suffering from mental health issues and the treatment they received from Yale still wanted to be there after everything. It just shows that prestige trumps everything.

Exactly. If your child is having health or mental health issues, you want them at least within driving distance so you can get to them and help them in a crisis. These schools are not equipped to handle severe mental illness. They can handle basics like home sickness/mild depression but not to the extent someone is suicidal. Yale handled it appropriately by hospitalizing them and recognizing there is an issue and recognizing that they aren't an intensive outpatient program that can support these students and asking them to reapply and show they are stable and can handle it isn't unreasonable.

Prestige isn't worth dying over due to mental health. It clearly is not the right fit of school and if someone is suicidal they need hospitalization and intensive outpatient services for a while as hospitalization is to stabilize but its a quick fix and long term supports are still needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing: mental health and the difficulty surrounding medical leave decisions are challenging issues at every school but we expect better at *Yale*. Yale has resources and did not need to be this cruel. They seem to want to get the problems off campus and off their watch so as not to tarnish their reputation. We should expect better at all schools. Every student has a bright future and their life is precious.

Yale has always had incredibly crappy health services. I never had occasion to use the mental health services, but even when I was there in the late 90s/early to mid 2000s (undergrad and grad), everyone knew the health services were awful. The acronym was DUH (Department of University Health I guess, but everyone called it "duhhhh"). Learning that the mental health services are abysmal does not surprise me in the least.

I loved my time at Yale. But I was never under any illusion that Yale loved me back. It's a big corporation, not a family. It is a mistake to think otherwise.

+1. The misunderstanding is that these institutions care about the students. When in reality they are in the money making and reputation building business.

+1. As mentioned above a few minutes ago (but this site has since censored - that was fast) Yale is requiring a new product be taken by all students. But not by faculty. Yale and college institutions, as a rule, do not care about student well-being in the traditional sense of the term.

Colleges are not responsible for the well-being. They are responsible to educate. This isn't a boarding school where there are specific caretakers. Students are adults and expected to care for themselves.

I agree with that. The issue presented is Yale pressuring students to withdraw (apparently in the heat of the moment, so to speak) and/or not allowing return following leave of absence.