“Stop making it more difficult for financially insecure students to feel that they belong on this campus.”

To me, maintaining mental wellness and having financial security are directly linked. Having to constantly work towards obtaining funds through on-campus jobs, off-campus jobs, or some combination of the two while participating in a grueling academic semester has a serious potential to drain a student’s spirit. This is exacerbated by items such as the student income contribution. Not to mention, having a nagging concern of meeting this institution’s financial requirements while being surrounded by a large number of peers who rarely have to give it a second thought. It’s those seemingly inconsequential moments when I’m receiving care and along with worrying for my own wellbeing, one of the most urgent questions I have on my mind is can I afford x, y, z. It’s when I try to take action and seek out mental health counseling through Yale Health and have yet to receive a response for over half a year at the time of this writing. This shit is traumatizing and should not happen. Of course, this issue may be a part of a larger discussion, but the bottom line is that mental health services NEED resources. Students NEED resources. So, when I continue to see Yale’s administrators wave around announcements of this school’s huge endowment, it leads me to question whether they are being grossly negligent or just overcompensating. Stop making it more difficult for financially insecure students to feel that they belong on this campus.