UvA’s Responsibility

So far the post I’ve been looking at did not mention the University as an institution or having any responsibility for their distress, they were just sharing opinions on other students or pointing out the difficulties of having a satisfactory social life in this particular moment in history. However the following post I open says:

“There is so much sexism, homophobia and racism at UvA, and the university doesn’t do shit. It’s getting very tired.”

And then the only comment, coming from someone that has been commenting a lot throughout the page:

“That and the fact that they really don’t give a sh*t about the mental health of their students”

Both these statements really strikes me. The first one because I did not expect the UvA to be a place with exclusionary dynamics, and the second because the guy that commented added, in such a straightforward way, another axes to the intersection of the factors that could influence the feeling of belonging and of being included in the university environment, alongside being discriminated for gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity. Another post that acknowledges the Uva’s responsibility on students' mental health recites:

“My mental health sucks rn. I’m not that close to anyone at Uva yet so I don’t talk about it. Tried talking w/ my fam but I’m the first to ever study abroad (very grateful), but they don’t understand. Tried booking the next available meeting w/ a counselor, but the next slot open is in January - if you’re struggling/feel like there’s no one to talk to, do please try. It might not seem/feel like it but I assure there’s someone willing to listen <3”

Besides the usual leitmotifs of feeling misunderstood and lonely, this post reveals the practical difficulty of finding someone professional to talk to, at the same time acknowledging how even an informal chat with a peer could be of great support to alleviate those feelings of loneliness. Moreover, that parenthesis of gratefulness for the given possibility to study abroad, underlines the recognition of a privilege, that of having the choice, that not one of the people I have talked to, or whose posts I have read, forgot to mention.

Apparently, there is a mismatch, or a miscommunication, between the availability of services offered by the university and the needs of its students. This perception by some, sprang a little debate, between those who believe that the university should be held responsible and provide services, and those who underline the privacy of the topic and therefore of the solution. An example of the first opinion can be found in these posts:

“To anyone saying ‘UvA aint a mental healthcare centre’ shut.the.fuck.up I lost my closest friend in Amsterdam and he literally WANTED THERAPY.

Uva psychologists basically tell suicidal students to fuck off. As international students we move to a new country, isolated, in lockdown, alone. There have been many suicides at uva they just cover it up. If you think the uni shouldn't help and that human lives are not worth making an effort for, then I pray for you to find a soul someday [...].”

This person is referring to a suicide committed by a student from the university, as the one from the next post also states. The first page recites:

“Trigger Warning: post includes mental health and suicide relted topics, please read if you feel comfortable in doing so, we need YOUR HELP.”

the post follows as such:

“This past week, a person from Uva has tragically lost their life due to mental health. Uva have let us down over the last few months with the toll it has taken on us, their students who they should feel a sense of care for but apparently don’t. We are wanting this to change and the only people who can change it is us. Please comment below with ideas on the change you want to see and how to do it, or send a DM [private message ndr.]. Let’s all work together because tragedies like this do not deserve to happen.”

There are a lot of comments of approval and support, no one with actual ideas or proposals but they might have written privately to the submission page. On the other side, someone of those who do not believe that the university should be involved or held accountable writes:

“I know it’s a difficult time and all. But why does everyone blame Uva for their mental health problems. Uva is not a therapy group. They’re not responsible. And be honest, without Uva you’d all still be depressed.”

The first comment ironically recites:

“Uva staff wrote this submission”

Then a couple people more reasonably trying to bring arguments into this discussion:

“People are blaming Uva in the sense that they do not have sufficient psychological assistance. At most universities, including my previous one, they have multiple psychologists and other types of counseling that goes beyond the scope of a simple study advisor.”

And again:

“It’s not like we’re saying Uva made us all depressed….but students do struggle mentally for a broad range of reasons [...]. The main issue is that when these students turn to Uva for support (and I am not talking about full-range therapy sessions but very basic support) they’re being turned away. Additionally, uni-related stress can worsen mental struggles, and so far, Uva did little to make this whole situation more bearable.”

This submission encloses all the main points already identified and well explains the link between mental struggle and university, which is not directly causal, but not even casual. It has to be underlined that all this was happening in a pandemic context that certainly exacerbated and made unbearable a preexisting unease. No one was prepared for the impact on the psycho-sphere that the pandemic had, not only at the height of its drama, but also when the emergency situation subsided. With this chapter, I only intend to report a dissatisfaction of some students about the services offered by the university, to emphasize how much unspoken entails and how multifaceted this topic is.

These particular posts I’ve been looking at are not consistent with the original intent of the Instagram page, nor with the majority of the other posts submitted: the posts I have reported here are about 20, out of the 250 of the whole Instagram page. So it is difficult to say how widespread the discontent is, even though 20 out of 250 in a context that was created for a completely different purpose make it seem like a relevant phenomenon. I find of particular importance that this platform has somehow been taken as a medium by a few people who are going through a period of struggling, probably thanks to the anonymity filter. My impression is that, even though no one was actively seeking support by sharing their situation, the page works as a sort of “check”, to understand whether there are other fellow students experiencing the same. And in fact that is exactly what happens through the comments showing comprehension and sympathy. This mechanism might work in itself as a momentary palliative. What remains an open question, is if “UvA Confessions” actually works as a

platform for connecting students that feel that they do not fit, or that are living with mental distress. I wonder if the comments that so empathetically offered to meet up and support each other, are being followed by similar actions, online or not.