COLLEGE PRES’ MENTAL HEALTH DECLINES AFTER ROLE

IMAGE: KATIE PRESTON

BY KATIE PRESTON (she/her)

INTERVIEWING

COLLEGE

Lex Hoffmann, Seraphina

PRESIDENTS

Goodbody and Isabel Davies at the end of their year, Vision looks at the negative impacts on their mental health, the sacrifices they have made during their run, and the weight of deadlines and expectations.

In the official University “Guidelines for Student Representatives on University Committees” document, the time-consuming commitment to holding representative positions is promised to be worthwhile, with guidance stating that “although committee agendas take some time to read thoroughly and meetings can occasionally be protracted (not to mention disputatious!), the time you invest will ultimately be rewarded.”

Somewhat dismissively, the online guidelines published on the University website entitles the aforementioned section as “no pain, no gain!”, however Lex, Seraphina and Issy demonstrate a starkly different outlook to the stress and expectations of being a college president.

Representing Goodricke college, Vision first asked Seraphina about the lack of support they have received from the University:

“I think the main thing is that we really care and it feels like we are doing so much and it’s not appreciated. It’s getting to the point of where I have to put [my college] above my degree and my mental health because I know that if I’m not there, no one is going to do it.

“Freshers don’t understand. They don’t know who we are and they don’t know we’re volunteers. The whole of Freshers Week I was being asked “how much do you get paid?” because they cannot comprehend that someone would give up their time and do that much for no pay. It’s insane.”

With discussions on mental health and potential burnouts often focused on university Sabbatical and Part-Time Officers, Lex reiterated the same feeling of being overworked and under-supported during his year as Vanbrugh College Chair:

“I was asked why I think that people aren’t running in the College elections, and it’s because the perks do not outweigh the disadvantages of the role. The only thing this role has brought me is a good CV. I can’t think of anything I’ve enjoyed outside of helping students.”

Due to a lack of student engagement with elections in general, with only 4,408 students voting in last year’s YUSU elections, many committee positions remain unfilled, with Lex voicing his anger at the added workload of a smaller committee:

“It’s worse if you’re a President without an executive committee. I’ve been told that before COVID-19, committees could have up to 40 actively involved people, whereas now we have around ten. The President takes over every role that isn’t filled or delegates. But if there’s no one to delegate to, it falls back on us.”

Seraphina explained to Vision the limited platform that the college presidents are given despite their role promoted as one of privilege:

“I feel like a figurehead that’s asked to do things but can’t actually make a difference because we aren’t given the resources. Everything is done way above our heads but the fallout always comes on us.”

“It takes such a toll on you. Everyday you see students in poverty; students in a mental health crisis; students being assaulted and nothing being done; students not being able to afford housing and being homeless, and what can you do?”

Having previously been told that it is “limited what the University can do” following online harassment, Halifax’s President Issy also reiterated the negative impact of holding the role and the weight of expectations:

“They make us the villains of the situation. We get the backlash, the damage and the mental health problems. I’ve finished meetings and started crying and drinking in excess because I needed something to help me calm down.

“I was literally in a hospital bed at one point answering emails. My mental health was so disgustingly bad that I needed medical intervention. It got to the point where I wasn’t eating or sleeping. I was stressing myself out so much.”

After asking if the loan for the controversial Student Centre could have been put towards student welfare and speaking of her own financial struggles, Issy told Vision that a University representative informed her that her circumstances would be “taken forward as a case study for response for relevant Student Life and Welfare staff”, something she did not ask for and feels is not an appropriate response to the cost of living crisis:

“The University wanted to make me a case study but it was never followed up. It was strange as I was made to feel like a guinea pig”

In 2016 at Cardiff University, two student Sabbatical officers resigned from their roles after experiencing mental health issues and emotional burnout, sentiment that Seraphina strongly relates to with little to no support or recognition:

“I’m so burnt out. It consumes your life. The worst thing is, it’s on your phone. I was away over the summer and it was results day, and I was getting emails from the College asking about a lack of posts for Freshers when I was in Austria!”

Reiterated by a 2017 study, it was found that excessive “communication load” is directly related to stress, depression and anxiety, with Lex also describing the necessity to prioritise his position as College President over his own life and mental health, and the negative impact of being constantly accessible:

“I was having one of the worst times of my life. My friend had just passed away and I was getting phone calls and emails from YorkParties after the funeral.”

“On the day I got engaged I had to make a post for Vanbrugh social media. We had hired someone who was on holiday and my secretary was busy, so I had to make a social media post whilst in the bathroom at my engagement dinner. I keep getting misgendered by college staff too when they’ve known me for so long.”

Issy also reiterated her anger at not being able to create proper changes within her college:

“I feel like I’ve failed my entire community. I feel like I should apologise to the entirety of Halifax because I feel like I’ve tried to give them so much and do so much for them, but at the end of the day it gets spun way against us. If there’s anything, it’s awful to have these people who you do so much for and who you’ve grown to love, and for them to say to them “why haven’t you done anything?”

Despite the toll on his mental health, Lex told Vision that he has reaped some benefits from taking on such a large workload:

“I’ve met fabulous people that I wouldn’t have otherwise. Being college president opened the doors to see behind the scenes and whilst it is often very frustrating, it has definitely also shaped my leadership skills and given me insight into how universities actually run.”

A University of York spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear that some College Presidents feel unsupported. College and YUSU staff are here to work with student leaders to assist if they are facing difficulties in their role, and we would encourage anyone experiencing issues to come and talk to us.

“In the University’s annual review of Welcome Week, which includes a debrief with Chairs and Presidents, we all agreed that changes were needed on how we run some College activities in order to reduce workload on student leaders and College staff.

“An action plan is currently being developed, which will be shared at the Student Experience and Opportunities Group in December, and consulted on with the new College Committee Chairs and Presidents in January.”

Ultimately, the bottom line came from Seraphina:

“We get given so much shit for not making a difference but students don’t realise how little student reps can do for the University. There’s no transparency at all over how much the University controls student life.”

“The University is so backwards and we try to change it but we can’t. It’s intimidating how much is wrong with this university.”