This is a petition to save a much-needed counseling center from having its doors closed this May 

The Marriage and Family Clinic on the campus of The College of New Jersey is a key resource for our students and community.  Since 2005, The Clinic has provided desperately-needed counseling services to more than 1,300 clients, including TCNJ students, individuals, couples and families.

The TCNJ administration has decided to close the Clinic in May, without student input. 

If you know someone who has benefited from counseling, please read on.

Eliminating a key resource on campus without student input, pulls us away from student and community needs, leaving some of our students and families without access to free or affordable counseling that they need. 

The request for counseling services on a college campus has been outpacing other areas of growth related to higher education. 

So, why, if the need is so great, is the administration shutting down a valued, and highly utilized counseling clinic?  The benefit to lives in the community seems to be overlooked ahead of saving a little on the budget. 

The Clinic strongly supports TCNJ’s Strategic Plan, including its:

·       Campus-wide emphasis on mental health, supporting “holistic health and wellness,” including those who would not otherwise have access to it.  

·       Enhanced signature experiences, serving 118 graduate and post -graduate students for their practicum and internship experiences. 

The closing of the Clinic would be counterproductive in light of its TCNJ’s designation as a survivor school. With TCNJ identified as a high-risk institution for suicide and suicide rates up throughout the country for this population, we believe that counseling efforts need to be expanded not truncated.   

If health and wellness and a healthy campus are indeed priorities, perhaps this petition will encourage those who have made this decision to reconsider.