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On Tuesday evening, the Department of Psychology invited Harvard Medical School assistant professor and Massachusetts General Hospital clinical psychologist Dr. Kate Bentley to campus. In her lecture, Bentley presented her ongoing research on identifying risk factors for suicide and using technology to predict and prevent suicide attempts.
On January 9, 2022, French television broadcast a live news interview with renowned Belgian singer Paul van Haver, better known as Stromae. During the last few minutes of the broadcast, Stromae answered the final question of the interview, which was directed towards his struggles with depression, by singing his latest song “L’enfer.” A year later and 3,398 miles away in Brunswick, Associate Professor of History and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at Simon Fraser University Roxanne Panchasi hosted a talk at the College discussing the significance of the moment.
Recording artist and professional mental health speaker Kai Roberts led an interactive performance over Zoom sponsored by Active Minds at Bowdoin College on February 18. Active Minds is an organization with chapters at colleges and universities across the nation that focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
On Wednesday evening, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held the first monthly Joint BSG-Student Affairs Staff Mental Health Board meeting and discussed the work it hopes to continue throughout the semester. The Mental Health board held its own meeting on Tuesday evening, which was attended by five students as well as Dean for Student Affairs Janet Lohmann, Dean of Students Kristina Bethea Odejimi and Director of Counseling and Wellness Services Roland Mendiola.
Driven by his observation of the high personal and academic standards to which Bowdoin students, faculty and staff are held, Chris Dehney ’24 seized the opportunity to bring Peer Counseling, a peer-based counseling service, to campus this semester.
On Wednesday, October 27, Peer Health hosted an Imposter Syndrome panel and workshop to encourage discussion among students and provide insight into how to find help regarding the issue. An isolating feeling—but not an isolated event—“imposter syndrome” describes the feeling of not belonging in a group of peers, whether socially or academically.
This past summer, right around the pandemic’s six-month mark, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released their annual young adult mental health report. Of the 5,470 participants, a record-high 40.9 percent reported struggling with depression or anxiety, a statistic evidently not jarring enough to push Bowdoin to hire an appropriate number of counselors and psychiatrists.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many students have called for the College to focus more on student wellness, both on and off campus. Peer Health feels it has the platform to meet student needs for health and wellness programming.
In an email to the College on March 8, President Clayton Rose announced the start of Mental Health Moments, an initiative developed by mental health advocate Dr. Sally Thomas ’89 to address mental health in an accessible way by providing weekly, easily-digestible action steps for members of the College community.
Editor’s Note 04/04/21 at 10:38 p.m.: This article has been edited to correct an accidental omission. The article previously stated that Thais Carrillo ’23 felt that skipping class did solve the problem. It has now been corrected to note that she stated the opposite.
I don’t think I made myself clear. Over a month ago, I wrote an op-ed regarding the College’s mental health crisis. I told you to check in with each other because, chances are, not everyone around you is okay.
I never saw it coming. It hit me like a truck, and every time I tried standing up, it just turned back to hit me again. It is an expert thief because it stole my hopes, happiness and energy while only leaving me with numbness.
Through the #NESCACares Mental Health Awareness Week campaign, the Bowdoin Student Athlete Advisory Committee (BSAAC) and the NESCAC Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) are changing the narrative on mental health in athletics. The Mental Health Awareness Week campaign has happened in previous years, but with the pandemic and a shortened semester presenting unique mental health challenges, the SAAC and BSAAC are hoping to play an especially important role with their programming this year.
Editor’s Note 03/31/21 at 5:30 p.m.: A word in the article has been edited, both for accuracy and to reflect the author’s original intentions. The author initially wrote that Counseling Services had not received “adequate” funding to meet the current demand.
[Content warning: Eating disorders.] I am not okay. I’m 20 years old—I’m supposedly in my prime. And I can barely leave my room. I combat crippling social anxiety when I try to preserve my sanity through socialization.
In the COVID-19 era, art looks and sounds different. Vibrant coffee houses have fallen silent, open mics are now closed and the murmur of a live audience has been reduced to quiet clapping and small hands snapping in the corner of a Zoom screen.
For this piece, I’m writing solo and without my dearest writer-in-crime. And unfortunately, because of that, this piece will be undoubtedly less funny. Feel free to stop reading now. Our articles in the past have discussed student life on campus and things we yearn to see change in our interactions with students and professors regarding race.
In an effort to address significant barriers to community-building this semester, Counseling Services has made major changes to their programming. In an email to the Orient, Interim Director of the Counseling and Wellness Services Roland Mendiola discussed the multitude of resources Counseling Services will offer this semester, including mental health classes, workshops, presentations and consults, along with the online counseling and psychiatric sessions that Counseling Services has offered previously.
As midterm season approaches, Bowdoin can move at a frighteningly quick pace, and stress can weigh heavy on many students. A new program, STRESS LESS, hopes to combat this issue. Associate Director of Clinical and Emergency Services Shelley Roseboro and Assistant Director of Student Wellness Programs Kate Nicholson implemented the month-long mindfulness and stress reduction program earlier this month.
To the Editor: Among 38 elite institutions, Bowdoin College is ranked third in the number of students who seek counseling and mental health services. This statistic is not inherently negative—in fact, it demonstrates how, in some ways, Bowdoin is doing something right.
