“During the first semester of my first year I found myself bogged down in work, in sleeplessness, and loneliness. It wasn’t until I returned home for break that I realized how unhealthy the first semester was for me—how depressed I was.”

During the first semester of my first year I found myself bogged down in work, in sleeplessness, and loneliness. It wasn’t until I returned home for break that I realized how unhealthy the first semester was for me—how depressed I was. When I felt terrible, I treated it as a personal failure. What if Yale emphasized compassion the way we celebrate academic vigor? Think about what Yale would be like if we changed our relationship with mental health care. What if mental healthcare at Yale felt accessible, rather than shameful and unapproachable? What would it feel like for students at Yale to be truly seen? If Yale wants students to be seen, supported, and cared for, it should reduce Mental Health waiting times to a maximum of two weeks, and guarantee every student feels safe and cared for by knowing that support is always easily within reach.

Leo Egger, he/him, TC ’23