Almost exactly two years ago, I was putting away a cart of books in the Lau stacks when I looked down at my phone. I was overwhelmed by a group text that had begun among my friends and numerous missed calls. In the next 10 minutes, I pieced together that one of my close friends had been taken out of our dorm on a stretcher and was rushed to the hospital.
In the following weeks, I gradually came to understand that my friend had attempted suicide. I also learned that depression was the unfortunate life-long battle my friend would have to endure. For the next two years, I have been on an emotional roller coaster, full of highs and lows, attempting to being the best possible support system for one of my best friends.
Although not directly, mental illness has been a part of my life. I myself have never had to seek treatment, but I have witnessed the utter failings of Georgetown’s intellectual health institutions. They have been as loud as Thomas Lloyd’s article in The Hoya about his mistreatment as an RA and as quiet as the daily struggles of my friend’s depression.
These cases are only ones of many. Yet the culture of Georgetown has repeatedly pushed these individuals and their stories under the rug.
Even though I do not currently suffer from a mental illness, I cannot stand by and let this negligence occur. I personally feel the responsibility to do everything in my power to reform the broken system before me.
I currently am a member of the Georgetown University Student Association Senate Intellectual Health Sub-committee. Under the leadership of Elizabeth Oh, our purpose is to aid in improving and publicizing existing mental health resources offered to students and we are currently working on a media campaign to explain financial payment to CAPS.
Many students have the preconceived notion that CAPS only offers three free appointments. After the three appointments, students must either have their insurance pay or pay for their sessions out of pocket.
However, the existing policy of CAPS says no such thing. CAPS is willing to work with students to find a suitable payment method for each of their sessions. Illustrating these polices is important to make institutions on campus like CAPS more accessible to all students.
In addition, we are working in conjunction with members of the administration to enact meaningful reforms within Georgetown’s mental health institutions. In order to achieve this, we have spent the last semester building a survey to distribute to students.
The purpose of this survey is to gather data about the perceived effectiveness of these institutions as well as the overall mental wellness of students. The survey will then lead us to recommend useful and practical reforms to the administration.
We are also working with existing student groups including Active Minds, Creating Survivors and the National Students of Actively Moving Forward. Each group has their own unique purpose, which target different aspects of mental health. The sub-committee has made a point to partner with these groups to enhance programming and making it available to students campus wide. For example, Creating Survivors is working on creating a peer support program that will be implemented within the next year. The program will will center around students supporting other students to foster a compassionate and understanding relationship.
Despite all the initiatives the Intellectual Health sub-committee has taken on, it is important to realize that at the end of the day, students must take the first step. This committee can do everything possible to reform mental health institutions across campus, but students have to first feel comfortable using them.
To do this, there needs to be a constant discussion about mental health and psychological well-being. The stigma that currently revolves around the issue only serves as a barrier to students seeking help. Mental health cannot and should not be the point of discussion solely when a grave injustice is reported to campus media.
Rather, we need to continually bring these issues to the forefront of the minds of students and administrators. Georgetown elicits fantastical student achievement, but our success should never come at the cost of student’s mental health.
Annie Aleman is a junior in the School of Foreign Service and a member of the Georgetown University Student Association Intellectual Health Sub-Committee.
