Creating Harvard Community

As college students living in the Harvard bubble, it might seem that we’re all immune to many of the illnesses and other physical and mental calamities that plague the general population. But the survey says: not true. Last year, University Health Services (UHS) conducted a large-scale survey assessing student health and found some startling results. According to the survey, binge drinking, eating disorders, depression, sexual assault, STDs, drug use and other mental and physical illnesses are more prevalent that one might think on this campus.

What’s going on? We may be the best and brightest, but it seems that many students, some leaving home for the first time, feel quite abandoned at Harvard. They are thoroughly prepared for the academics, but less so for the simple day-to-day issues of forming a new support network and maintaining mental and physical well-being. We leave high school and expect to act and be treated like adults. We’re smart, but we often don’t know how to take care of our bodies and minds. We are sometimes hesitant to seek help because of the stigma of failure that we think it might bring.

Last month, the provost’s office ran a competition seeking the best proposal to reduce barriers preventing students from seeking help for depressive illnesses. But while one obvious barrier is this worry that medical care signifies weakness, a less obvious concern is that students don’t even consider themselves to need help. There’s a perverse system of heroics in place—the Harvard students who get the least sleep, feel the most stressed, push their body and mind to the farthest extreme, are the “winners.” Is it any wonder, then, that during reading period and exams more students get sick than any other time of year?

Where are the Houses in all of this? Harvard claims that the Houses are supposed to be self-contained communities replete with dining halls, academic tutors, mailrooms and other facilities. Students have been known to go for days during the freezing months of February without needing to set foot outside their house. But how do the Houses address the physiological and psychological needs of the students? Since randomization, the Houses have lost much of their character, becoming large and impersonal. Moreover, once first-years move to the Houses, they are no longer visited by the many peer health-related groups on campus; older students are expected to be proactive, to know where to go for help.

Health education is a difficult task, especially for a group with diverse concerns and interests. A number of peer-counseling and peer-education groups maintain networks of preventative and reactive resources for students. However, there are two needs on this campus that have not been met. There is the need for House community rebuilding in the post-randomization era, and an equal need to bring the available resources directly into the Houses.

Two years ago, several students recognized that despite the wealth of valuable peer counseling, education groups and UHS resources, and despite the claim that Houses provide communities for students, there was—and still is—a gap between the two. A program began a year ago to try and bridge that gap. The Community Health Initiative (CHI) is a House-based endeavor that seeks to develop individualized programs for each participating House based on regular surveys of the interests of the students in that House. A group of peer volunteers serve as resources in each House. They are available for questions about any aspect of Harvard’s web of resources, as well as any ideas other students have for community building events or programs.

The program has been piloted since last year in Leverett, Dunster and Mather, and has expanded this year to Adams, Pforzheimer and Quincy. After members of each House filled out a brief survey regarding their own health concerns and interests, members of CHI responded by organizing yoga, massage and self-defense classes, inviting guests to speak about sleep and creating visible bulletin boards containing “health-tips” and resource information. Each participating House has a resource library of health-related books for student use.

Although health education and wellness classes are two of our goals, our real mission is to find ways to foster building close-knit House communities. CHI is based on the idea of bringing the House community together by involving the House masters, tutors, UHS affiliates and existing campus groups in workshops, classes, dinner discussions and campus-wide events. Building genuinely supportive communities in randomized housing will require some work, but that is necessary for Harvard to remain a vibrant institution.

While the classes and opportunities are amazing, it’s the students who set this school apart. The administration has recognized that students are not as happy or as healthy as they could be based on the responses to the mental health and general health surveys over the past few years. The Caring for the Harvard Community week of events in October was a great first step, but our health and well-being are challenged year-round, so a one-time workshop—while very helpful and informative—needs to be part of an ongoing effort, not the entire effort itself.

With an increased focus on House community, and an intensified effort by CHI to make health resources accessible to students, Harvard can be a happier, healthier and more productive place.

Sarah E. Henrickson ’01, a former Crimson executive, is a biology concentrator in Mather House. Rachel S.C. Friedman ’01 is a history of science concentrator in Dunster House. They are both co-chairs of the Community Health Initiative.