In an Nov. 21 interview with the McGill Reporter, Ollivier Dyens, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), shut down the possibility of a Fall reading week in the foreseeable future, despite 71.5 per cent of students declaring support for the break in an April 2015 Enrolment Services survey. In the absence of a reading break, he explained that students can mitigate mental health challenges by practicing good “hygiene de vie”—literally, “life hygiene.” According to Dyens, this means eating and sleeping well, staying active, exercising good time-management, and avoiding unhealthy substances like coffee, cigarettes, and unprescribed Ritalin. He failed to mention any support systems available at McGill, nor the magnitude of the mental health crisis on campuses. While the “hygiene de vie” practices described by Dyens are certainly healthy, equating these habits with comprehensive mental health treatment strategies misunderstands the mental health challenges that university students—and particularly McGill students—face. Mental illnesses are complex, and often uncontrollable without professional treatment; presenting a laundry list of self-care tips as solutions to mental health issues trivializes the struggles of the brave people who endure them. More concerning, however, is the apparent disconnect between McGill students and the administration on mental health that Dyens’ comments illustrate. Reducing the mental health epidemic on campus to issues such as poor time management or too much coffee only perpetuates the stigma surrounding mental illnesses, and what they really consist of. A mental health crisis is erupting on Canadian campuses. In a 2016 survey by the National College Health Assessment of 44,000 Canadian undergraduate students, 64.5 per cent of respondents had experienced severe anxiety, and 44.4 per cent indicated feeling so depressed that it was difficult to function. Now, more than ever, university administrations need to understand the unique pressures on students and provide adequate support for those struggling with mental health issues. So far, McGill has not made the grade. With the cuts to the university’s eating disorder program earlier this semester, long waitlists for counselling appointments, and the persistent lack of accessible, effective mental health services at McGill, students face an unwelcoming environment and an administration they feel isn’t listening to their needs.

Reducing the mental health epidemic on campus to issues such as poor time management or too much coffee only perpetuates the stigma surrounding mental illnesses, and what they really consist of.