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Isabelle Campbell

Mental Illness for Granted in a College Environment

Introduction

Mental illness in college students is commonly overlooked by professors and some

adults. At Manhattan College in the Bronx, I conducted interviews with four different college

students, Freshman, Sophomore, and two Juniors. Two of them from Manhattan College and the

other two from Roger Williams College and Princeton. The interviews consisted of questions

such as “how does this mental illness impact your everyday life?” and “Do you feel professors

and some adults overlook your strugglings?” The students had much to say about their struggles

with mental illness and how their professors were not so understanding.

The History of ‘Not Caring’: A Student versus Professor Dynamic

For centuries, students everywhere have struggled with some sort of mental illness,

whether it be anxiety, depression, etc. Some Professors unfortunately have proven that they have

looked past all the problems of their students and their only true concern is if their students get

their work in on time. Of course, homework and schoolwork are very important as it does matter

to strive for good grades. A student should not randomly skip out on assignments because they

feel like it, but what if there is a student with manic depression and physically cannot bring

themselves to get out of bed to do their homework? Luckily today, we have the power of email,

however, oftentimes there will be a professor that will not take “any excuses” and will either
demand that the assignment be done by the time it is due or they will simply fail that particular

student.

“At a time like THIS?”

A math Professor at Manhattan College said,

“I don’t understand how there are a few students who are not turning in their assignments on

time. During a time like this, I expect all of you to be getting everything in on time- I do not care

what is going on”.

“A time like this”, meaning the national pandemic, COVID-19, and at the time, the process of

the Presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was going on- a time of nerves

and fear for our country. It has been stated on the news countless times that people who struggle

with mental illness have gotten increasingly worse with the state of the world and are

quarantining to keep safe.

See it to Believe It

In most cases, some people need to see things to actually believe them. Daily tasks can

become hard to achieve with someone who needs the proper help they deserve. It is not a

student’s fault for feeling scared to reach out, which is ​why​ it is important for adults and teachers
to be ​there f​ or their students and children. You may not be able to see what a student is going

through, but if they do their part in reaching out about a personal issue, believe it.

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