A Look Into Mental Health With Students at Kean University

By Keyon Gardner

Mental Health has been a topic that has been  overlooked for decades and a topic often misunderstood among our younger generation and our older population. We tend to overlook topics pertaining to our mental health because it is not something people think about twice when it is brought up and  sensitive to talk about. Mental health shouldn’t be a topic to be ignored or underestimated but a topic we all should feel comfortable discussing  since we deal with our emotions every day of our lives.  

As the Covid-19  pandemic touched the United States back in 2020, schools and universities were forced to shut down and bring classes online for them to be taken remotely. With classes online there was minimal in-person interaction  and for some students it felt familiar, but for others they felt a sense of disconnection. 

 Students have found it hard to communicate with one another especially because of the masks. 

Not only did students feel a sense of disconnection, but the efficiency of the communication between students and their peers along with their professors were dwindling. There was no sense of connection between one another. Which led a great number of students to drop out due to the inclining pressure they were facing.

According to a study done at Abilene Christian University, the pressure increases to perform well academically as a student journeys through the education system, and after high school this pattern continues. College students are under immense pressure internally and externally to succeed.Anxiety among college students in the United States has increased from 6.7% in 2000 (American College Health Association, 2000) to 12.9% in 2013 (American College Health Association, 2013). 

The students of Kean University have felt that in terms of their mental health and the topic itself, it is very neglected and overlooked on college campuses. Other students however, have expressed that things have gotten better with mental health and that it is more of an open discussion when it comes to mental health nowadays. 

Khalid Williams, a Junior who’s majoring in Sociology mentioned that he also suffered from the mental health issues and feel as though it is overlooked, there has to be more help used on the matter.

 “I feel like a lot of us suffer from a lot of things, I personally did at some point and it’s something I had to overcome. There definitely should be some accountability at some point where we have the resources and the awareness that not everybody is doing okay. I feel like it’s important to have an understanding that people come from different backgrounds and different situations,” Williams said.

Other students have digressed that mental health should be a topic people are educated about and make it a number one priority. 

“Not a lot of people have enough knowledge or education about mental health and its priority, so if that would be implemented into our society more mental health will definitely not be looked over,” junior and recreational therapy major Mishelle said.

From the enormous pressure that college students are facing from a ton of workload, jobs, internships, managing sports, clubs, and most importantly just trying to graduate,  Kean students  mentioned that being with  family or friends  is a perfect outlet to cope with stress, anxiety or depression that they may be feeling. 

 Students also  felt  that they get asked how they’re feeling or how they’re doing but most responses aren’t genuine or honest about their response. 

“I get asked that all the time, and while it does seem annoying, it’s definitely one of those things where it makes you feel like people actually do somewhat care to see how you’re doing and just checking up to see how you feel,” said senior and Information Technology major Shawn Branch.  

 Miranda, a junior majoring in Psychology said she feels like people should get into the habit of asking it more so that people can get more comfortable talking about their feelings  so they can feel less awkward with confronting their emotions. 

Overall the students of Kean University have a pretty good understanding of the gravity of mental health and how simply a “how are you feeling today ?” can go a long way for some people. There’s always a person that you can talk to about your feelings and you’re never alone. 

Reaching out to your loved ones or friends is always a good alternative to counseling if you feel uncomfortable talking to a person you’re not familiar with. A future where we can comfortably express our emotions without the fear of judgment is a future I think we would want the younger generation to grow up in. 

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