Dartmouth students say college's changes in mental health support aren't enough

HANOVER — Dartmouth College students are calling on school administrators to do more to support their mental health and to allow them to grieve following the death of a fourth student this academic year.

While they welcomed the changes the college announced May 21 to bolster the school’s mental health services, relax some COVID-19 precautions and give students some more academic flexibility, several said the changes didn’t go far enough.

“It’s just a small step forward,” said Jason Acosta Espinosa, a member of the Class of 2024. “It just does not mean enough to me.”

Espinosa, who traveled with a group of his classmates to New York last week to attend the burial of their friend Elizabeth Reimer, said he feels the college’s response to the deaths has been inadequate. He is among those asking Dartmouth officials to revisit the school’s medical leave policy, which they say discourages students from seeking mental health care or being honest about their mental state once they do, as well as to give students — especially those in the Class of 2024 — a break from academic pressures so they have time to mourn the loss of their classmates.

Read more: https://www.vnews.com/Dartmouth-community-reacts-to-ongoing-mental-health-challenges-40615365
(West Lebanon Valley News)