A single survey sent out on Sept. 15 could shape Trinity’s approach to student mental health for years to come. In an effort to prevent suicide and protect student emotional health, Trinity has launched JED Campus, a four-year program aimed at pinpointing and resolving issues on campus that contribute to student well-being. A task force of students and faculty is leading the initiative in an effort to work together as a community to promote mental wellness. There are many offices involved in this task force, including Student Affairs, Wellness Services, the Dean of Students and Trinity University Police Department (TUPD).
The JED foundation is working with Trinity to compose this four-year plan based on student feedback from the Healthy Minds Survey. Andrew Wells, vice president of Student Affairs, sent out the campus-wide survey via email on Sept. 15, and it will remain open to students until Oct. 13.
Phil and Donna Satow created the JED Foundation in 2000 in an effort to prevent suicide and foster mental health after their son, Jed, died from suicide. JED Campus is an offshoot of the foundation, which is a national plan to prevent suicide and promote mental wellness on college and high school campuses. It strives to prioritize mental health beyond counseling services and the classroom, employing an interdisciplinary approach to help students practice healthy habits and feel a higher sense of belonging at university. The JED Campus project assesses seven different domains that contribute to mental health and applies them to programs and policies.
Wells spearheaded the JED Campus initiative at Trinity after witnessing its success while working at Macalester College. One of JED’s seven domains is to “Reduce Barriers to Help-Seeking.” At Macalester and Trinity, Wells said that he found students weren’t utilizing counseling services because they felt like someone else needed it more than they did.
“We have students who were meeting with me because they were in crisis that might have been de-escalated if they had known and felt confident that counseling or other resources were available and appropriate to what they were experiencing,” Wells said.
Wells said that normalizing seeking help is essential, and that with the help of JED, Trinity will be able to start initiatives to encourage students to utilize these resources. He mentioned a point made by the Director of Integrated Counseling, Health and Wellness Services, Marcy Youngdahl. She said there is “no wrong door.” Alongside Kyle Gillette, associate provost for student success, Youngdahl is co-chair of the JED Campus team and she gave an example of this approach.
“A year ago, Health Services started doing mental health screenings for all visits,” Youngdahl said. “Sometimes it’s hard to recognize if you’re having physical symptoms that might be related to a mental health condition.”
Through her work in Wellness Services, Youngdahl said she has seen a call to do more. JED offers an attainable and evidence-based approach to supporting students by establishing a network of resources. Because Trinity is such a small community, faculty and staff all play a role in this network.
“They [faculty and staff] all understand the needs of the community and what their role is in helping students. So I see this as really enhancing that network and making sure that we all have the same understanding of what our role is and digging into how can we harness that power collectively,” said Youngdahl.
Genevieve Dakour, senior neuroscience major, is a student advocate for the JED task force. As an chair of the Academic Honor Council, Dakour is familiar with the mental health stigma against failing. She observed that the high expectations come at a cost to the students, and that finding better ways to support the student body is important.
“It’s easier, in my opinion, to confide in a student than it is to confide in an adult, even if it’s someone you’re close with. So I’m really hoping that we can build that relationship and get honest feedback from people,” Dakour said.
Both Wells and Youngdahl said that student feedback is important, as the responses from the Healthy Minds Survey will determine the initiatives that Trinity will implement. Allison Martin, junior biology and philosophy double-major, said that JED has the potential to make a difference on Trinity’s campus, but that it is dependent on whether students are truly being listened to.
“I do think there’s room to improve and hopefully not have those issues anymore for future students, and not fail students in the way that other people have been failed,” Martin said.
Since JED is a four-year program, the class of 2029 will experience the full effect of these programs, and will be surveyed again in their senior year. Martin believes that this long-term approach is interesting, and said that she likes that Trinity is focused on the longevity of these initiatives. Students will see the effects of JED for years to come, and in the next 17 days, they have the opportunity to shape not only the mental well-being of their class but also that of the next generation of Trinity students.
