US Mental Health Survey Reveals Racial Disparity
African–American students are less likely to seek help for mental health issues in spite of feeling less emotionally prepared for college than white students do, according to a US survey released last week.
The survey was conducted online and reflected a clear racial disparity between students who feel comfortable in a college environment and students who do not. 1,500 second-semester freshman responded to the survey. Less than half of the black respondents rated their university experience as “good” or “excellent” whereas almost two-thirds of white students rated their experience as “good” or “excellent”.
Black students were more likely to report feeling overwhelmed or angry and that their college experience was not living up to their expectations. They were almost twice as likely to report that they had seriously considered transferring during their first semester.
White students are almost twice as likely to report receiving a diagnosis of anxiety, depression or ADHD, while black students didn’t seek help as often as white students for mental or emotional problems.
The survey was released in the midst of a wave of student protests about the racial climate on college campuses across the US. One of the most frequent demands made of colleges is to improve the counselling and support services for minority students.
Turkish Academics Detained
Eighteen lecturers from Kocaeli University in North-Western Turkey were detained in dawn raids on their houses on the 15th of January. The 18 detainees and 130 others face criminal charges for criticising ongoing military operations against Kurdish militants in the South-East of the country.
The academics are reportedly being charged with violating the controversial Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, under which it is illegal to insult the institutions of the Turkish nation.
Some 1,128 academics from 89 universities plus some notable international scholars abroad have signed a petition criticising the military crackdown on Kurdish rebels and have called for military operations in civilian areas to be halted. All 1,128 Turkish signatories of the petition are being investigated. They could face between one and five years in prison if convicted.
President Erdogan has accused those who signed the petition of engaging in “terrorist propaganda” on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (to be a member is illegal).
The petition entitled “We won’t be a party to this crime” was initiated by a group called “Academics for Peace” and was launched on 11 January. The petition calls for a halt to “massacres” and urged the government to create conditions for negotiations and prepare a “road map that would lead to a lasting peace”.
Pakistan University Attack
The Bacha Kahn campus in northwest Pakistan was raided by militants on Wednesday 20th of January. The attack was timed to occur at the same time as a ceremony at the college in order to ensure maximum casualties. The police have questioned around 50 people believed to be connected to the attack.
Militants entered the university campus via a low wall at the back of the compound, under the cover of a thick fog. Once inside they made their way across the grounds, throwing grenades and shooting at teachers and students.
The celebration on Wednesday was for the 28th anniversary of the death of the man the university is named after, Abdul Ghaffar Khan who was a 1920s Pashtun independence activist and pacifist also known as Bacha Khan.
The university was not prepared for the attack but security in the region was heightened as they had received intelligence of a potential attack in tribal areas. The added security at the event helped keep the attackers confined to one side of the university.
In the aftermath, troop transporters pulled up to the gates of the university and entered campus with heavily armed soldiers, videos from the scene showed. Other soldiers combed the school’s outer walls with guns held at ready. Reports suggest the Taliban may be behind the attack.
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