“What if Yale finds out?”

Until this article was published last week, Yale University officials had repeatedly refused to discuss the university’s expulsion and reinstatement policies or to refer to explanations provided by students or former students.

Sarovay said on Wednesday that the article “misrepresents our efforts and our unwavering commitment to supporting our students.”

In the article, more than 25 current and former students complained about the university’s $41.4 billion endowment, but inadequate services and policies for people in crisis. is plagued by

Some people say they get no response when they ask for help. Others received limited 30-minute therapy sessions due to staff constraints. Many believe it was designed to protect Yale from lawsuits and reputational damage. He says he has learned to hide his mental health problems and suicidal thoughts to avoid triggering a withdrawal policy.

And those forced to leave said they were given only 72 hours to leave campus. One student was met by campus police upon discharge from a mental hospital, and she was given two hours to pack and vacate the dormitory.

“For clarity, the health and well-being of Yale students is the university’s top priority,” Sarovay wrote. “The Washington Post article does not reflect Yale University’s commitment to promoting student health. I have not seen any positive results.”

Sarovay said the university will take action in the coming months to improve mental health services, and outlined efforts it has already made in recent years to make the return-to-work process less burdensome and costly. .

Next year, the university plans to open a new counseling site. Sarovey said the committee has been meeting in recent months and said it would “continue to review its withdrawal and reinstatement policies. The group is prepared to phase out policy changes that will continue to support students.” is made.”

Two other Yale administrators, Dean Pericles Lewis of Yale University and Paul Hoffman, Yale’s director of mental health and counseling, also wrote to the editors on Tuesday, saying the article would address student mental health. It claims it ignores “complex and delicate endeavors” and “could put more students at risk” by giving students the impression that they should stay in college at the expense of their well-being.

In an interview Thursday, Lewis said the university plans to hire nine more mental health clinicians next year, bringing the total to nearly 60. Also, a new counseling center opening next year in New Haven will be his third Yale facility.

Lewis said a possible change to the university’s expulsion policy could be announced in the coming weeks, but it would be “a document update and all the clarifications, not a radical revision of the policy.” It was characterized as

Lewis noted that the administrators are trying to address one issue raised in the Post’s article. That’s how Yale dropout students in crisis lose access to health insurance and treatment when they need it most.

“I don’t know for sure if we’ll be able to do that in the next few weeks or so,” he said. “But we are in the process of looking into it … the issue of costs and insurance for those from uninsured families.”

Lewis said university administrators wrote two letters in response to concerns from alumni following the Post’s article.

“I wanted to make clear that the mental health of our students is a very high priority and that we are pursuing policies and practices to ensure that,” he said. It helps, it’s the basis of our decision-making and nothing else.”

Many current and former students expressed dissatisfaction with Sarovey’s letter and the government’s response.

“They missed the point of the article and the students who had the courage to speak out,” said Alicia Floyd, who dropped out of school after a suicide attempt in 2000 and now works as a doctor. . “The question is how awful it is for them to leave and come back, and how that deters people in distress from seeking help or taking much-needed leave.” mosquito.”

Last year, Floyd and others founded a nonprofit called Ellis for Rachel to pressure Yale to change its mental health policy.

“The letter shows how disconnected administrators are from our experience,” said Akwellie Mazarae-Laati, 22, a senior at Yale University. “Their policies have a huge impact on students, especially low-income students who need help or who, like me, are transgender and non-binary.”

Lartey, leader of a group of students with disabilities rights called DEFY, recalls struggling with mental health during his first year at Yale and doesn’t reveal too much to Yale counselors because of his expulsion policy. Lahti also said she struggled to find a counselor who understood her issues as a nonbinary student.

“It’s not just that policy reforms and more resources are desperately needed,” he said.

The scrutiny and discussion of the changes comes after more than a decade of criticism of Yale’s withdrawal policy. In 2015, a student demanded changes after citing expulsion policies in an online post just before her sophomore at Yale University committed suicide. Last year, a freshman committed suicide days after being distressed by an online post about possible dropout.

Before the article was published, Yale administrators refused to provide the post with statistics on his return. In Salovey’s letter, he said: Second he is over 99%. 100% on the third request. “

These figures include students who drop out for physical and mental reasons. Lewis said the majority of medical withdrawals are for mental health reasons. When asked how many of the students who declined decided to reapply, Lewis said he didn’t have that data.

“Even if 90% are able to return to work on the first attempt, the stress and trauma created by this cruel and ridiculous process are not captured.” “It doesn’t capture the logistical and financial hurdles. No one is advocating, but it should be simple, flexible and supportive. None of those things for now.”

Miriam Copeto, 22, senior leader of the Yale University Student Mental Health Association, said the Post article prompted many people on campus to reach out to her group to find out what they could do to improve mental health on campus. He said he had asked him how he could help.

“For years, I have worked between class and work to bring these issues to the attention of administrators, and sometimes they feel like we are invisible. Well,” said Kopito. “I really hope things improve. I’d love to see that.