To the Editor:
Several recent op-eds in The Daily Princetonian have erroneously asserted that when the University makes decisions regarding students coping with mental health issues, it is motivated by concerns about liability and reputation. No evidence is offered to support this claim, and I can say from personal experience that it is simply not true. I cannot remember a single case when these concerns were even mentioned.
The fact is that decisions are based entirely on two considerations: what is in the best interest of the student and what is in the best interest of the other residents of this campus community.
When the decision involves a withdrawal or a return to campus, each case is carefully assessed on its own merits and with broad consultation across all the offices that can contribute to an informed and thoughtful judgment. These offices can include the deans of the college and student life, the residential college staffs, University Health Services and Counseling and Psychological Services, among others;if a graduate student, the Graduate School deans and staff can be included as well. We consult as fully as we can with the student’s doctors and family members, in each case trying to learn as much as possible about any risks the student may present to him or herself or to others in the community.
We want our students to succeed. But we also want them to be safe. When a student is under the care of an outside physician or other health professional, we want to learn whatever that person can tell us, but we cannot delegate the decision about whether to encourage a student to leave or whether to permit a student to return solely to that person, to the student or to the student’s family.
We have a responsibility to make our own assessment on behalf of the University based on all of the evidence available to us and to protect as fully as possible the health and well-being of all members of the campus community. When a student is returning, we also have a responsibility to make sure appropriate support is in place so that the student has every chance to return successfully and to thrive. These are responsibilities we take very seriously, and we carry them out in a manner that respects the specific circumstances of each individual and each situation, even if, because of privacy reasons, we cannot discuss those circumstances with the press.
Cynthia Cherrey
Vice President for Campus Life
Lecturer, Wilson School
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Progressives failed a lesson in free speech
Anais Mobarak“The recent controversy surrounding Charter Club has demonstrated that progressive voices on campus have failed to recognize the value of free speech beyond its usefulness as a political instrument. Thus, as a community, we must work to foster an ideologically-free understanding of free speech.”
“The recent controversy surrounding Charter Club has demonstrated that progressive voices on campus have failed to recognize the value of free speech beyond its usefulness as a political instrument. Thus, as a community, we must work to foster an ideologically-free understanding of free speech.”
Campus through a lens: Announcing the ‘Prince’s inaugural columnists
Eleanor Clemans-CopeReading a series of columns by the same author is seeing things through the writer’s lens — it’s looking at campus through the ‘Christofer glasses’ or the ‘Eleanor specs.’ This is the thinking behind having named columns.
Reading a series of columns by the same author is seeing things through the writer’s lens — it’s looking at campus through the ‘Christofer glasses’ or the ‘Eleanor specs.’ This is the thinking behind having named columns.
Bring back the course packet
Abigail Rabieh“With the recent news that Labyrinth Books will no longer supply the coursebooks for Princeton classes, we are facing a new era in which all readings will only be accessible by some digital medium, whether that be via Course Reserves or online ordering from faraway publishers. While some may see this as a step in the right direction of modernity, the increasing digitalization of our scholarship hurts our learning.”
“With the recent news that Labyrinth Books will no longer supply the coursebooks for Princeton classes, we are facing a new era in which all readings will only be accessible by some digital medium, whether that be via Course Reserves or online ordering from faraway publishers. While some may see this as a step in the right direction of modernity, the increasing digitalization of our scholarship hurts our learning.”
