THE
MENTAL HEALTH EDITION
Daily Egyptian SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916.
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2024
VOL. 107, ISSUE 31
“Discriminatory” and “unfair:” International students react to change in health insurance policy Cian Lehtonen clehtonen@dailyegyptian.com
Day Starr-Fleming | DaySF-Facebook
Seniors feel the stress as graduation approaches
Alli Goering agoering@dailyegyptian.com
College seniors start to prepare for their next steps. Whether they decide to join the workforce or continue their education, graduates have to get ready mentally for life after college. “Looking upon graduation, I’m feeling positive about it,” SIU senior Brady Clark said. “The only negative thing I feel bad about is definitely the experiences that I’ve had here
and the friendships that I’ve made and that’s what I’m going to miss the most and I wish I could carry them forever. But, you know, all good things have to come to an end at some point.” Adjusting to the big change after college can be difficult for graduates. Leaving behind their friends and school can be challenging. “To be honest, I wasn’t really ready to graduate. I’m definitely am going to miss the people more than
anything. I will miss my friends that I’ve made here but friends are always there no matter what, wherever you go,” Clark said. Walking across the stage and receiving a college diploma is a huge accomplishment. Some students, however, can be self-conscious about receiving honors awards and being top of their class. SIU Senior Kaylie Vallette said, “I do have some anxious feelings
should pick a major that is of interest to them,” said Reza Habib, the director and an associate professor of the School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences at SIU. “In addition to offering a wide variety of classes, the psychology program at SIU offers students many opportunities to get involved
with what mental-health researchers and professionals do on a day-to-day basis,” he wrote in an email. Those opportunities include research in laboratories and participation at external centers, such as Project 12 Ways, the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders and
Set to take effect in the 2024 Fall semester, all international students, particularly those students who are also TA’s and GA’s, will no longer have the right to choose a private health insurance company and to opt-out of the school health insurance. Up until now, the international student population(s) has retained the same right as all other SIU students where you can choose to opt-out of the school insurance if you can prove that you will still be insured just by another company or agency. “As an international person, this decision makes me feel discriminated against, it makes me feel that our needs and concerns are not important and are not listened to at SIU,” said an international graduate assistant who asked to remain anonymous. The Daily Egyptian reached out to the administration for comment and did not receive a response by the time
of publication. According to the school health insurance plan information packet, the cost to be insured through SIU would be $1,139.00 per person per semester as an added fee to the school tuition bill if the student should choose to be insured. “Being forced to enroll in the school’s health insurance would significantly impact my financial stability,” said another international student, a teaching assistant who asked to remain anonymous. “I would have to depend on community pantries to have some food, since the remaining funds after paying for insurance and general student fees, would barely cover rent, leaving me with less than $50 monthly.” The optional fee is already a substantial amount of money for many younger university students that are from the United States, however the benefit of INSURANCE | 2
SENIORS | 9
Several majors offer pathways to careers in mental health
Carly Gist | cgist@dailyegyptian.com
In a time where mental health occupations are expected to grow, Southern Illinois University is offering several related majors to inquiring students. Among those majors are sociology, social work and psychology. “Most importantly, students
MAJORS | 4
Dominique Martinez-Powell | @dmartinez_powell.photography