NU community pushes for institutional, personal mental health improvements

Several students who spoke with The News echoed the same thought: The conversations surrounding mental health that have taken place over winter break can’t be forgotten when spring semester starts.

Moving forward, as students work for changes within the university, they also emphasize the importance of self-care while having difficult discussions surrounding mental health.

SGA is working with university administration to implement a UHCS advisory board, in which students representing various wellness and affinity groups on campus will meet with UHCS and voice concerns regarding student mental health before administration. SGA plans for the advisory board to be fully implemented by the fall of 2022. Matt Coleman, SGA’s mental health project lead, believes that while there have been some challenges in getting the project off the ground, the university has generally been receptive to what students are asking for. 

“There have been some roadblocks when it comes to figuring out resource promotion, but that is mostly in the way of communication, not necessarily in that they don’t want to do it, but maybe that they’re restricted in the ways that they can,” Coleman, a second-year business administration and psychology combined major, said. 

Buttke, the SGA president, emphasized that beyond pushing for systemic change at Northeastern, the student body should also strive to change the community dynamic on campus, destigmatizing the conversation around mental health. 

“The more people that are able to say ‘hey, this is what my experience was,’ or ‘this is what I’m going through,’ that creates an environment where people don’t feel that they have to deal with everything,” Buttke said. “One of the biggest things we can do is continuing to encourage students to be very open about what they’re dealing with mental health-wise.”

Hurley said that the conversation around mental health has changed since his first year and he hopes Northeastern can continue to become more accessible and supportive for students who may be struggling. 

“I think there’s just a lot of energy. I’ve seen energy from everyone from people who do mental health stuff, to people who are in student government, people who do athletic stuff, people who are in political organizations, people who are in Greek life, like every part of campus,” Hurley said. “This kind of is an issue that touches all of us.”

Coleman said going into the spring semester he feels that the issues and the steps to move forward are more illuminated than in previous semesters. 

“There will always be a need for mental health services, there will always be a need for open and honest dialogue about that so we will push for that dialogue and continue that dialogue indefinitely,” Coleman said. 

Zhang, SGA’s incoming vice president of student services, believes that students need to give themselves more credit for all the hard work they do each and every day, and that excelling academically, professionally or otherwise should not come at the expense of their mental health. He argued that in times of crisis, there are tools out there to help them feel less alone.

“Being a student is hard, I feel like that’s a fact that we should accept openly. Every student at Northeastern is accomplished and worthy and we have to cut ourselves some slack and prioritize our own health,” Zhang said. “We are all so stressed and in crises all the time so reaching out or trying to take advantage of these resources for self-care along with coping strategies is always incredibly necessary.”

While student organizations and leaders continue to create spaces for conversation about mental health, Buttke encouraged students to get involved, but only if they have the bandwidth to do so. 

“I urge everyone to be very, very conscious of their mental health as they are having these conversations because while these conversations are important, they are never worth making yourself uncomfortable or at risk,” Buttke said. “This conversation will always be here. And people will always be ready to help you with your activism when you are ready.”