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College Student Mental Health Has Been Declared A Crisis – What CCSF Brings to the Table and How Students and Faculty Are Coping

Mayor Breed’s New Budget Puts Free City Funding on the Chopping Block By John R. Adkins jradproduction@gmail.com

n May 31, Mayor London Breed proposed a new budget for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 fiscal years that threatens the Free City program. Free City currently provides free college tuition for all San Francisco residents. The new budget boasts progress made on the city deficit by making budget cuts that reduced expenses where possible, all while maintaining over $860 million in reserve funds. However, one significant budget cut came at the expense of San Francisco’s agreement to fully fund the ‘Free City’ program at City College until 2029. The city’s new budget indicates that, as early as 2025, “only certain courses will be eligible for free enrollment, including those that contribute to the fulfillment of student educational plans.” The proposal would reduce Free City College funding from $18.9 million in 2023-24 to just $9.3 million in 2024-25 and $7.15 million by 2025-26. Mayor London Breed’s spokesperson, Jeff Cretan, called it “right-sizing” the program. The progressive tuition assistance program began in 2016, when San Francisco voters adopted Proposition W, an increase on a municipal tax on property transfers worth over $5 million that promised to fund Free City for all San Franciscans. This tax generates over $30 million for the city. In 2017, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and County of San Free City continued on page 2

llustration by Isis Cordova/The Guardsman

Kyra Young kyrajyoung@gmail.com

ental health challenges have become increasingly pervasive on college campuses over the past decade. City College offers a myriad of resources for students to utilize, but these support services must meet an ever-increasing demand. Experts have declared a mental health crisis amongst college students in America and nearly every metric suggests a worsening trend. According to the Healthy Minds Survey 2021-2022 Data Report, which collected data from 373 campuses nationwide, more than 60% of college students met the criteria for at least one mental health problem – a nearly 50% increase since 2013. The Healthy Minds Survey also found some 44% of students reported symptoms of depression; 37% of students screened positive for symptoms of anxiety; and 27% of students reported they had felt emotional or mental difficulties had hurt their academic performance within the past four weeks. A report produced by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found 64% of enrolled students who considered withdrawing from their studies named emotional stress or mental health concerns as significant reasons why. With the surge of challenges comes an increased demand for support services, putting pressure on the resources of college wellness centers and their respective counselors. In response, campuses across the country have made efforts to not only increase access to such resources, but diversify the support being offered. City College’s Health Center includes their Mental Health Services (MHS), which offers the opportunity for personal counseling with a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), as well as a number of workshops and support groups for enrolled credit students. As a mental health provider with Student Health Services, LCSW Felicia King said the office becomes busier as the semester progresses, but there are typically a handful of openings for an appointment. Occasionally a waitlist accumulates, but it varies based on staff availability. “Once students get up and running with their classes and

start hitting those barriers where they need support, that’s when we start getting pretty full – usually by week four or five,” King said. However, King added a busy office or waitlist is not the end of options – urgent care services are also available to perform a mental health assessment and provide assistance depending on the student, the moment and their needs. According to King, City College’s MHS follows a “brief treatment model,” with an initial assessment for students who have paid the student health fee, followed by the practitioner’s best recommendation for treatment. Treatment options include a series of appointments with Psychological Services at no cost, or a referral to another resource if it feels as though the individual’s needs will not be adequately addressed by the department’s services. Alongside personal counseling, MHS offers couples therapy, workshops and support group sessions every semester. One of these group sessions, “Feeling overwhelmed and looking to get “Unstuck?” Try RIO! [Recognition, Insight, Openness]” will be facilitated for three weeks by King via Zoom every Wednesday beginning Sept. 18. Student Health Services and MHS have been making more efforts toward outreach and exposure to let students know what’s available, but there are a number of other resources available through City College for students to create support systems around them, take care of one another and themselves. City College’s various support programs aim to help students of all backgrounds and ages succeed in their academics, while the resource centers provide students with safe spaces and individualized services on campus. Katie Dalla, coordinator for the Queer Resource Center, sees a number of students pass through the center seeking a safe space and support on a regular basis. With no immediate staff or coworkers, Dalla manages the center almost independently and argues more funding is needed for students to get the adequate support they deserve. “City College has more resources than most community colleges – we’re truly more of a ‘community college’ than the former term, a junior college,” Dalla said, adding, “We’re really resource Mental health continued on page 2

Ballot Beat: Ruth Ferguson, Luis Zamora, and Leanna Louie Lay Out Their Visions as Potential Trustees By John Schneider jt.wildfeuer@gmail.com

n Nov. 5 San Franciscans will choose four of eight candidates to join Trustees Vick Van Chung, Anita Martinez, and Susan Solomon for four-year terms on the Community College Board. The Guardsman interviewed three more candidates for this issue. Ruth Ferguson spoke to the disproportionate drop in City College enrollment compared to national trends through the lens of her experience as a public policy analyst. Luis Zamora described the unique value of City College for transferring students and lifelong learners and outlined what is needed to ensure its long term success. Leanna Louie detailed her qualifications to improve the college’s budget and cooperation between the Board and its community and administration.

Ruth Ferguson Ruth Ferguson described herself as a community college graduate “from a long line of community college graduates.” Her father arrived in California at age 18 and worked as a painter at a slaughterhouse. He’d had a “difficult childhood … and nearly flunked out of high school,” and had been told “he should never try college, that he wouldn’t be able to get in.” After graduating from Santa Rosa Junior College and transferring to University of California Santa Barbara he applied to veterinary school. He has been a veterinarian for over 30 years. Ferguson said, “he broke a cycle of poverty through community college.” Board candidates continued on page 3

Annual Bay Area Maya Festival

Op-Ed: The Dangers of AI

Rams Women's Soccer

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