When the University released the spring semester plan on Oct. 15, notably without any academic holidays, many students expressed concern about deteriorating mental health and burnout.
“Because COVID cases are low, administration insists that everything on campus is fine,” on-campus first-year Kara Swain (24C) said. “But in reality, a lot of students are really suffering mentally, leaving them far from the college experience they traditionally envisioned.”
As of September, Emory’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) experienced a 71% increase in appointments./Courtesy of Amy Xia
The University released a second email on Oct. 15 announcing three mental health days during the spring. At a town hall on Oct. 16, Interim Provost Jan Love stated that because professors may still assign work on these days, students would have to “plan ahead” to ensure they can truly rest.
As of September, Emory’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) experienced a 71% increase in appointments, leading to an increased variety of services, particularly for students outside of Georgia.
The spring announcement came after what the University saw as a “successful” fall semester with no outbreaks and minimal cases. No academic breaks, the University reasoned over the summer, would discourage travel and prevent new cases from reaching campus.
While the condensed calendar has contributed to relatively low case numbers, week after week of essays, tests and projects with no break has pushed many students to their breaking point, leaving some to consider whether another five months of continuous school is worth the mental toll.
Students feel they have almost no time to relax or care for their mental health because the stream of new school work is nonstop.
“This semester has been really jarring,” Mina Loudermilk (24C) said. “Between managing practice with my classes I barely have any time for myself.”
Given the collective stress endured by students throughout the semester, students pushed back when the University announced its plan to continue the condensed calendar into the spring.
“I felt disheartened after reading the email announcing the plans for the spring semester,” Loudermilk said. “The thought of going another semester without a break seems scary.”
Nadine Jarrar (24C), a student studying remotely in Jordan, which is seven hours ahead of Atlanta, echoed Loudermilk’s sentiments.
“Having to stay up every night far past midnight to finish the work for all of my classes has been a challenge,” Jarrar said. “Working every day nonstop has hurt my mental health, leaving me stressed and tired.”
While administrators did address the concerns of movement on and off campus, many students believe their response to burnout was insensitive.
“After hearing what Provost Love had to say about rest days, I began to feel like administration was not listening to student’s voices regarding mental health,” Loudermilk said.
Emory College Dean Michael Elliott told the Wheel that professors will not be allowed to assign work on the three mental health days alloted into the calendar, alleviating some students’ worries.
“I think the mental health days will be a good time to unwind from my busy schedule,” Jarrar said.
Some fear these rest days may not be truly restful, arguing they will be nothing more than another day to study.
“I understand that Emory’s intentions were to keep mental health days in the middle of the week in order to prevent travel,” Swain said. “But given the nature of these days and the nature of the student body at Emory, it is fairly obvious that these days will just turn into another day for students to finish assignments and study.”
Oxford students have also expressed distaste with the spring semester’s provisions.
After meeting with her peers, Oxford College sophomore Mykiah Carrington-Zurita (21Ox) wrote a letter to administrators demanding the return of Oxford second-year students in the spring with a reduction in tuition and textbook prices.
The letter spoke of increasing mental health problems and called for improved communication with the Oxford student body.
Outside of the underclassman perspective, Resident Advisors (RAs) have also struggled with the condensed semester.
“Traditionally, breaks are a chance for RAs to relax and unwind from the job,” Claire Garcia (22B), an RA in Longstreet-Means Hall, said. “But this semester we are constantly facing the pressure of being an RA.”
Elliott acknowledged these concerns and said that the administration is actively trying to cater to student mental health, but current circumstances means some compromise is necessary.
“In a pandemic environment, very difficult decisions need to be made that all involve trade-offs, resulting in some negative consequences,” Elliott said.
The three rest days were the most administrators could allow to prevent the semester extending further.
“I realize that three one-day breaks do not equal a five-day spring break,” Elliot said. “But this was the maximum that we could do officially without extending the semester further into the summer.”
To learn more about the Wheel’s coverage of student mental health, listen to the latest episode of Wheel Talk.
Matthew Somekh (24C) is from Great Neck, New York, majoring in political science. Outside of the Wheel, Somekh is a freshman liaison for Emory Ambassadors for Global Awareness and a member of Emory’s International Relations Association. He previously interned at his local municipality's town hall and served as editor-in-chief of his high school’s paper, the Great Neck Guide Post. In his free time, Matthew enjoys hanging with friends or binging Netflix shows.
