FEATURES

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2022

College mental health crisis, Part 2: Power in peers

by Kendall Roberts

Features Editor

Originally published Nov. 29.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left enduring effects on the mental health of college students across the country, with one in five young Americans reporting that the pandemic has had a significant negative impact on their overall mental health. In response to the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tufts looks to student organizations and peer educators to help promote student mental health on campus and to aid students in their transition back to in-person activities and classes.

Peer education is an approach that relies on peers who receive special training and education in order to promote positive change in its members. The concept of peer education was first founded at the University of Florida in order to help prevent alcohol abuse on college campuses. Since then, peer education has expanded to focus on other sensitive topics, such as sexual assault prevention, safety and mental health.

According to Erica Schonman, the Tufts Counseling and Mental Health Services mental health promotion specialist, CMHS recognizes the important role that peers can play in communicating health messages towards other students.

“Students can just communicate in a way that sometimes staff can’t,” Schonman said. “A message coming from a friend is going to sound really different than a message that’s coming from a staff person, and so I think we all really understand the value here that they bring.”

Schonman’s role is to support the mission of CMHS in promoting student mental health through non-clinical work and outreach to students. Some of the organizations that Schonman helps to oversee include the Mental Health Reps, Project Connect and Active Minds.

The Mental Health Reps are a group of students who work directly with CMHS staff in order to advocate for mental health support, reduce stigma and promote the emotional wellbeing of Tufts students. There are currently nine Mental Health Reps, including junior Rebecca Quaye who was one of the first members to join the program in fall 2021.

Quaye decided to join the Mental Health Reps because of her passion for mental health, especially when she noticed how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the emotional well-being of her peers. She also wanted to be a resource for fellow Black students in the Tufts community.

“I came into sophomore year kind of wanting to make sure that we all had access to the resources that CMHS gives,” Quaye said. “I think that especially for me, my goal was definitely to advocate for the Black students on campus, and how I can help inform them about the things that CMHS offers and also, just create events where our mental health is being accommodated for.”

The Mental Health Reps meet weekly for two hours to design and develop their own programming. According to Schonman, they also invite guest speakers to present on public health topics and careers in order to inform their outreach.

The Mental Health Rep splits into different committees based on the interests of its club members. The three committees for this year include managing academic stress, collaborating with the Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion and navigating mental health journeys.

Quaye is currently working on the DSDI committee. Last spring, she helped in leading a workshop titled Reshaping the Narrative on Black Mental Health on March 3. Alongside CMHS Graduate Student Clinician Kalo Sokoto, Quaye led a conversation on Black joy, campus resources and imposter syndrome of Black students at Tufts. Quaye explained that she found putting together this workshop to be a really rewarding experience.

“I’m glad it was as successful as it was,” Quaye said. “I hadn’t seen a student-run event for Black students about mental health so that was very important to me.”

Grace Jung is another Mental Health Rep who just joined the program this fall. Jung appreciates the diversity of backgrounds, majors and experiences that each Mental Health Rep contributes to the organization.

“It’s a great group,” Jung said. “I probably would have never met any of them if it wasn’t for the Mental Health Reps. So, because we come from so many different parts of the Tufts community, we have so many ideas. It’s just a great experience being [in] a room of just people who want to promote mental health [at] Tufts.”

Jung is currently working on the academic stress management committee. Jung explained that the committee is developing a new project for professors to show their support in promoting student mental health.

“What we want to do is build a poster … that just signifies that this professor will be a safe space to talk about mental health, things like anxiety about tests or depression,” Jung said.

The Mental Health Reps also helps Tufts CMHS in leading workshops to present to clubs or other organizations on campus. Some of the topics these workshops cover are stress management, helping a friend who may be struggling with mental health or the consequences of toxic positivity.

Jung hopes that the Mental Health Reps can continue to build their presence on campus and that more clubs and groups utilize their available workshops.

Another peer-led group on campus is Project Connect, which seeks to build social connections and foster communities among Tufts undergraduate and graduate students. Project Connect is led by facilitators who help lead conversations with four to six peers over the course of six sessions.

Junior Theseus Lim, one of the facilitators of Project Connect, explained he was interested in joining this program after experiencing his first year of college during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I didn’t get to meet that many people my freshman year,” Lim said. “And I was like, ‘Oh, this seems like a good way to do it.’ I’ve just kept doing it because I’ve had really good experiences getting to know people.”

Senior Zaimarie VelaSantana, Lim’s co-facilitator, explained that she was inspired to get involved with Project Connect to find a sense of community for both herself and others.

“I think as someone who spent the last few years as a child development major learning a lot about the importance of community and wellbeing, … I just was very interested by the concept of Project Connect,” Vela-Santana said. “[I] thought that being a part of it would be a really good way of not only helping myself find a community, but also helping others find that sense of community on campus.”

The facilitators of Project Connect are trained in moderating conversation flow and group dynamics, as well as have weekly meetings. Lim explains that CMHS provides facilitators with a set list of questions and that Project Connect offers a casual space to interact with like-minded students.

Vela-Santana appreciates how Project Connect introduced her to other students and how important social interactions are during college.

“I think having those interactions with peers is important because college can be a pretty isolating experience for many people,” Vela-Santana said. “So I think having intentional spaces like Project Connect where you can get a little reminder each week that there are people who are genuinely curious about your day or want to have deep conversations can really make a difference.”

According to Schonman, Project Connect plays an important role in building a community at Tufts for students.

“We know that having strong connections and a sense of community on campus are very important protective factors against things like self harm and death by suicide so programming like [Project Connect] can enhance connections,” Schonman said.

Lim has enjoyed his three semesters of being a Project Connect facilitator, and hewould like to see the program expand to include a more diverse set of participants, including more students in STEM-related fields, as well as see participants use their experiences beyond Project Connect.

“I just hope that after it’s over, people will continue to have these kinds of conversations with not only the people who are in their group, but other people that they meet in the future,” Lim said.

Peer education groups give students the opportunity to engage in conversations about important and sensitive topics. Jung explains that while peer-led programming is not group therapy, it can still help reduce stigma surrounding mental health on Tufts campuses.

“I definitely think there is still a stigma surrounding mental health, but the fact that we even have such a group of Mental Health Reps, I think shows that we’re taking a good step into fostering more conversations … and just being more aware about [how] mental health is a part of everyone’s health,” Jung said.

Schonman sees great value in peer education, and loves that her job allows her to develop programming and outreach with dedicated students who are passionate about mental health.

“I think there’s a huge benefit to working with students,” Schonman said. “[They] will know the student experience better than I can ever hope to, and so there’s a lot of value in working directly with students to support other students.”

COURTESY ERICA SCHONMAN, THESEUS LIM, REBECCA QUAYE, GRACE JUNG AND ZAIMARIE VELA-SANTANA Erica Schonman, Theseus Lim, Rebecca Quaye, Grace Jung and Zaimarie Vela-Santana are pictured. tuftsdaily.com

COURTESY ERIC GRIN

Tufts EMTs are pictured in front of Ballou Hall.

by Sophie Axelrod

Contributing Writer Originally published Nov. 30.

Tufts Emergency Medical Services is known as TEMS on Tufts’ Medford/ Somerville campus. TEMS works to help provide medical care for Tufts students. It is completely student-run, with oversight and supervision from Captain Mark Roche of Tufts University Police Department and Dr. Stacey Sperling of Tufts University Health Service.

TEMS’ operations, training and finance, among other things, are managed by an elected board of eight directors. Members of TEMS work with TUPD, and the organization is funded by the department, operating under its authority.

Every member of TEMS is EMT-B certified in the state of Massachusetts, which allows them to respond to emergency calls to provide efficient and immediate care to the critically ill and injured and perform basic life support functions. TEMS offers assistance for a wide range of support for students at Tufts, responsible for any emergency on campus including mental health related crises and allergic reactions. There are 37 students currently serving in the organization.

Eric Grin, a senior studying biochemistry, is the current executive director for TEMS. He also has experience with other private EMT services, using his TEMS experience to help his community.

“I really didn’t know much about EMS going into college, but I got my license my freshman fall, and I’ve been working ever since and fell in love with the field pretty quickly,” Grin said.

After joining TEMS his freshman spring, Grin has worked his way up to the role of executive director. In the meantime, he has also worked as a teaching assistant for the Tufts EMT certification course. This academic year, he is balancing courses with TEMS shifts and multiple other jobs, including a position in a research lab, residential assistant and teaching assistant for Biochemistry II. Despite his many responsibilities, Grin finds the time to be a part of TEMS because he finds value in the work.

“There are weeks we’re doing a lot, there are weeks we’re doing a little less,” Grin said. “But you know, if your heart’s in the right place, and you really care about something, I think you can always make time for the things that matter.”

Calling the Tufts emergency line (617627-6911) may be more efficient than calling 911, as the call will go straight to the TEMS and TUPD team based on the ground floor of Dowling Hall. Since it is a Tuftsspecific resource located on campus, TEMS is often dispatched more quickly than the local Medford or Somerville police. 911 calls from Tufts would be picked up by Medford or Somerville police, or a remote fire center. It just may be more circuitous because the call goes through the town system before eventually reaching the TEMS dispatch.

“Ultimately people should call whatever is going to be fastest for them if it’s a real emergency. We obviously urge people to try and call that Tufts emergency number,” Grin said. “But if for whatever reason, if they are in a massive rush and they just need to do the first thing that comes to mind, they call 911. That’s going to get them the same resources and … we’ll be there [regardless].”

Members of TEMS will take on 10-hour day shifts or 14-hour night shifts depending on what works best for their individual schedules. A night shift typically lasts from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 a.m., and a day shift lasts 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

During shifts, TEMS workers are on call wearing their uniform and with a radio. When the radio goes off, they respond to the call as promptly as possible. Most members will typically pick up two or three shifts a week.

According to senior Tufts EMT Matt Karofsky, the number of people covering each shift generally ranges from two to four.

“[The shift workers are] always composed of a more senior member and someone who is a bit newer to the organization and is seeing how it works,” Karofsky said.

Karofsky has been a member of TEMS since the spring semester of his freshman year. He plans to start medical school this upcoming summer, and during his time at Tufts has enjoyed giving back to his community by providing essential care to his peers.

When in physical or emotional need, Tufts students can call TEMS to receive mental and physical health support. While there can be reluctance to call 911, Karofksy has witnessed his classmates support each other when they are the most vulnerable.

“I feel like there can be a stigma, sometimes, [around] calling 911, particularly for things that you don’t really see as immediately serious. That can extend to mental health calls, and I think I’ve been really positively surprised by how willing people are at Tufts to kind of see TEMS as a resource,” Karofsky said. “It’s so nice to [see] people watching out for their friends.”

Amelia Gleixner, a junior, joined TEMS her sophomore fall. She is a pre-med student majoring in biomedical engineering, and she values her experience with TEMS as a way to explore and follow her passion for medicine.

TEMS has allowed Gleixner to gain first-hand experience in patient care and administering treatment that she would not receive through other experiences such as a biotechnology office job. She has been exposed to numerous situations that are each unique in their own way.

While many people around campus assume TEMS mainly responds to instances of excess drug and alcohol intake, substance abuse is not the primary reason TEMS gets called on to assist with.

“[Intoxication is] not the majority of what we do; … medical emergencies are number one,” Gleixner said.

Gleixner also elaborated on what happens when TEMS is dispatched in the case of an emergency that might require hospitalization.

“[TEMS tends] to get there faster than the ambulances that just work all of Medford or all of Somerville and beyond. So we can provide the patient care and support if they do end up needing to go to the hospital, give them medication if necessary, and just ensure that the patient is safe and taken care [of],” Gleixner said.

After receiving a call, TEMS almost always arrives on the scene in five minutes or less.

While every call and circumstance is unique, members of TEMS are trained to act professionally and equipped to respond to any emergency situation. Although some students may fear requesting the help of emergency services, calling TEMS is very important for the safety of an individual.

TEMS has an amnesty protocol which protects individuals who call for another person seeking medical attention as a result of an illegal action, such as consuming alcohol or drugs underage. TEMS is committed to this policy and students will not get in legal trouble or face consequences from Tufts for calling TEMS in such situations.

“Every single person working in public safety and on campus would rather that someone just calls if they feel like this could potentially become a real emergency or they feel like they’re in danger medically or any kind of thing, than be worried about getting in trouble for something,” Gleixner said.

TEMS is a resource every student at Tufts can utilize if in a dangerous situation. TEMS exists to help students, not regulate them.

“I hope that there isn’t any sort of reluctance to call for help if you or your friends need it. … We’re always here,” Karofsky said.

Elizabeth Foster

Liz in London An anticlimactic milestone

During a four-hour road trip with my boss this summer, I was asked if I liked beer. He meant the question in a millenialized-Boston-craft-brewery type of way, and I awkwardly responded that no, I did not like the few sips I have had (none of which would count as beer to him). My 23-year-old housemate attempted to share his love of beer with me, but it went in one ear and out the other. Hence, while being fully integrated into the UK’s pub culture, I’ve been devoted to learning about beer and finding one I actually enjoy. In honor of my 21st birthday, I will be sharing my hard-earned knowledge with the Tufts community.

The beer journey begins in a pub. Most pubs, assuming that they aren’t too busy and serving during a World Cup match, will be happy to give you little sips of the different ciders and beers on tap. Ciders are a great place to start. Some are syrupy sweet, others are crisper. I, personally, tend to lean toward the crisper options, so Strongbow has been my default on tap or canned at Tesco.

Early on in the semester, I tried a sip of a friend’s Guinness. Apparently the Guinness in Dublin is better, but I was not a fan of the version at The Lord Tredegar, the homely little pub 15 minutes from campus, complete with both a garden and a black pub cat.

By October, I was ready to advance my beer game, and what better way is there to do that than with a Groupon brewery tour and tasting? I arrived with the same friend who let me sneak a sip of Guinness, both of us (accidentally) on empty stomachs and trying to eat enough crisps on the bus to amend our mistake (the attempt was futile). Unsure if I would remember this educational experience, I typed my takeaways into the Notes app.

Thankfully, I can tell you the tale of West Coast IPAs and East Coast IPAs (yes, American west coast and east coast, and yes, more Midwest erasure). We squished hops pellets between our figures and learned the words to describe the visual, the smell, the mouth feel, the type of bitterness.

My personal hall of fame includes: some form of matcha sour I found at a theater, a Rhubarb & Tonka Oat Cream Pale Ale (creamy because of the oat), Edinburgh’s Not Milk Stout and a biting Blackberry Lemon Meringue Drizzle.

These are the fun, ~quirky~, indie beers and are far less likely to be found on tap at a pub. My palate has since expanded to include most IPAs, and now, even the occasional lager.

Celebrating 21st birthdays abroad is a little anticlimactic. As I get a year older, I recognize the inevitability of discussing beer in corporate America.