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Dear University Park Undergraduate Association,

College is supposed to be a time of growth and acquirement of knowledge, yet this
time can become overshadowed by stress. Mental illness due to stress is on the rise in the
college environment. In a sample taken, comprised of 20 Penn State students from varying
fields of interest, 90% of the students believed that action needs to be taken, funds need to be
allocated, and awareness needs to be heightened for students suffering from mental illnesses.
In our deliberation, we highlighted actions and specific approaches that could help those with
mental illnesses on our college campus. Many of the attendees held a very personal stake in
the discussion. Some had experienced mental illnesses of their own and were able to share
their experiences, while others were able to relate to the discussion because of friends or
relatives who had experienced mental illness. Overall, Penn State students from differing
walks of life came to express their personal opinions, as well as expand upon others opinions,
to improving the mental health services provided by the University. The approaches presented
during our deliberation were intervention, the right to privacy, and resources and funding.
Intervention is a possible approach to assist those struggling with mental illness at
Penn State. This would require the University to take the maximum level of precautions to
ensure the safety of all students. The group discussed their personal experiences of coping
with mental illnesses. Through discussion, our audience came to a few points of consensus.
Firstly, counseling is helpful, but only if the person is willing and ready to open up. Secondly,
effective intervention comes from someone close to the person without initially involving a
third party. Our audience also came to a few impasses throughout the discussion. Common
ground on the best method of intervention was not found. Despite some differences, the group
was able to find a few potential solutions through this approach. They agreed that RAs should
be encouraged to get to know their residents on a more personal level, so that students with
mental illness would feel more comfortable reaching out to them. The group also liked the
idea of creating an online module similar to S.A.F.E. that teaches students how to help friends
struggling with mental illness.
The right to privacy approach is in response to the negative societal stigma
surrounding mental illnesses; it emphasizes that those with mental illnesses play the central
role in dictating their treatment. Those with mental illnesses are often treated differently, and
looked down upon. This approach aims to lessen the impact negative stigma may have on an
individual. College students have a right to act on their own conscience and decide on their

own terms what steps they wish to take towards recovery. Because this approach places the
responsibility on the affected individual, professors and other university officials would not
be legally required to intervene in a situation where they may believe the student needs
help. However, this approach may prevent an affected person from receiving the treatment
they need, as well as alienate family and friends.
Ultimately, it was concluded that intervention depends upon the severity of the
situation and upon the specific individual. While each situation is different, it was generally
agreed upon that moral obligation may be better than legal obligation when it comes to
mental illness. Suggested steps that could be taken in the future include: mandating that Penn
State RAs schedule time with residents to allow for them to have a one on one conversation
and mandating that the University provides a support system specifically for students seeking
help with mental illness.
There was discussion on the funding of mental health services at Penn State and
throughout Pennsylvania. While there was an unexpected consensus that mental health
professionals are not vital to everyones fight against stress induced depression, it was also
agreed that Penn States Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) should be able to
provide treatment and medication to students in a timely manner if they decide to seek it.
From the individual survey, 90% of participants believed that CAPS should be allotted more
resources. Others thought that the budget for CAPS should be revamped, sighting the
understaffed faculties and roundabout method of seeing a clinician. Improving long-term
funding toward statewide mental health services would require Governor Wolf to take action
and allocate resources and funding for these specific programs. At Penn State and throughout
Pennsylvania, to achieve any progress in funding, it is necessary to recognize not just the
explicit benefits in funding these services, but also the intrinsic value that will serve to
improve the reputation and quality of mental health services statewide.
The key goal of a deliberation is to reach a point of stasis, which even though a
solution cannot be fully resolved, the conversation spurs new ideas and finds a meeting
ground between the differing approaches that were presented during the discussion. By
utilizing a simple survey, we could concluded that 75% of students think it is the students
right to choose when to get help and 10% of students believe that there are adequate
resources at Penn State. This significant difference in values identifies the populations
understanding of the problem, but does identify a solution. These are generalized statements
to prove that something needs to be done. The university, state, and country need to heighten
awareness for mental illness. Colleges across the country are experiencing higher stressinduced depression and anxiety rates than ever before. The student body understands that
funds need to be allocated, students need to be educated, and the ill need to be rehabilitated.
This health issue will not go away without investment, just like mental illnesses will not go
away without treatment. Penn State needs to amend the mental health policy to compensate
for the fluctuations in the mental state of the student body. The changes will only come to
fruition with the allocation of funding, resources and a heightened awareness through
education on clinical treatment of serious mental illnesses.

Under Pressure: An Open Discussion About Mental Health

www.sites.psu.edu/underpressure
underpressurepsu@gmail.com