It has become increasingly obvious that many students at NC State University are struggling. We have unfortunately lost 4 of our community members in less than a month from su*cide. Please take some time to read this article from the NCSU Student Newspaper, the Technician about two of these losses. While mental health resources are available on campus, more should be done by the university to advocate for student mental health. We are paying customers of this university. We work very hard, are constantly stressed, and have to teach ourselves half the time for classes we're paying to take. I want to be clear that the university isn't solely to blame for the loss of these students. College is a very stressful time for all of us, but that stress in addition to the other things we already have going on in our personal lives can make matters much worse. I believe the very least the university can do to give us a break. Oftentimes over "breaks" (fall break, Thanksgiving break, etc) we still have assignments due, or tests the Monday after. This doesn't give us an actual break or a chance to rest. Additionally, students are penalized if they need to take a mental health day since it isn't a university-excused absence. During the pandemic, the university started using "Wellness Days" as intermittent breaks during the semester, with one wellness day every month on different days of the week. Personally, I enjoyed having these wellness days since they gave me a chance to rest. Unfortunately, many students (myself included) weren't able to fully take advantage of them due to still having assignments to do, or tests the following day. 

What I propose is that the university institute monthly wellness days on one Friday each month. No professors are allowed to hold class, assign homework or have tests/quizzes due that day, over the weekend, or the Monday after (classes would still happen the Monday after). This will give students an actual opportunity to rest, recuperate, and check in with themselves. I believe that this will also allow for more students to have time to access the mental health resources on campus while having said downtime. I also think this rule should be instituted for pre-existing breaks such as Thanksgiving break. While many professors might not assign anything over Thanksgiving break or have tests after, some still do. I believe this change would be relatively easy for the university to implement and is more than necessary. In addition, I would also like to see the university expand the counseling center's resources, as well as allow a mental health day to be a university-excused absence. As of right now, students get 3 free counseling sessions before being directed to an off-campus therapist, which is unaffordable for many students. Hiring more counselors and having unlimited free counseling sessions for students would be incredibly beneficial for students who are struggling. The need for something like this has only been highlighted by the loss of our community members in the last month. It is my hope that I can count on my fellow students and the greater community to also recognize this need and ask for the university to increase support for its students. 

Lastly, I know that this would likely come at the expense of losing some days of summer break to make up for the lost time. At the very least, an enforcible policy should be put in place to ensure professors can't assign work due over university-observed holidays and breaks, and no tests can happen directly after. 

This isn't a perfect solution, but signing this petition helps show your support for at least something to change.