The Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) are circulating a petition asking for wellness days to be added to the University of New Haven’s academic calendar.
During the Student Committee of Planning and Events’ (SCOPE’s) National Election Day Debate, Mason Smith, president of the YDSA and junior political science major, briefly mentioned mental health days being incorporated into the University of New Haven academic calendar.
Following this event, Anabelle Davis, treasurer of YDSA and senior criminal justice major further explained the applied efforts of her organization in order to make a reality of this goal.
Davis said the petition asks for “two wellness days without classes and labs per semester, consisting of the following: university organized and run events, no academic assignments due, attendance for athletic and RSO meetings are optional, [and] student workers can accept or deny shifts without penalty.”
Catie Carvalho, YDSA vice president and junior criminal justice major, said the idea was formed when the Recognized Student Organization (RSO) was tabling at the Fall 2023 Involvement Fair. They were collecting initiative ideas during this event, which led to wellness days.
“Mental health was a recurring priority that students felt the [university] was not properly addressing,” said Carvalho.
Carvalho said something similar was implemented during the 2020 – 2021 academic year when Covid-19 and its restrictions were in place. Re-Charge Days were held once a semester, when classes were not in session and no assignments due.
Davis said that YDSA wants to enact wellness days now because they believe there has been a lapse in the prioritization of mental health since Covid-19 policies ended.
“Despite socialization being able to commence the way it did prior to the 2020 lockdown, mental health studies… show that it has only gotten worse, especially among college students,” said Davis.
In a recent national study that looked at 96,000 U.S. college students from the 2021 – 2022 academic year, 44% said they had depression symptoms, 37% had experienced anxiety and 15% had contemplated suicide.
Paige Bartels, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), said about mental health on this campus: “I cannot speak for all of the students on campus, but we are certainly seeing the impact of the challenges of the last few years add up on campus, making it an ever-present challenge for students to attend to their mental health and well-being.”
Davis said YDSA spoke with CAPS about wellness days, as well as the Undergraduate Student Government Association and professors and department heads.
Carvalho said there is a lot of support for this initiative, including from Bartels, who said, “I think that time for students to attend solely on their well-being, to recharge [and] refresh can only help them come back to their responsibilities with increased energy and ability.”
Bartels also said “I’m always happy to see students mobilize towards a cause they feel is important, even more so when it focuses on mental health and well-being.”
Davis said the petition’s demands could take a couple of years to be implemented and will take place after much of the current YDSA executive board has graduated.
“We hope to instill the values driving this petition into our future leadership, and trust that there will be the same support not only within YDSA, but around the campus community as well,” said Davis.
If you are interested in involvement towards this mental health movement, you can reach out to the YDSA at [email protected]. For any concerns pertaining to wellness and mental health, CAPS is available 24/7 at 203-932-7333. Updates on this student-run initiative will be provided accordingly.