Life for the Mind Ii: an Internal Study of On-Campus Student Mental Health at the University of Chicago

LIFE FOR THE MIND II: AN INTERNAL STUDY OF ON-CAMPUS STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

P. KUMAR, A. GALLO, J. XU, N. MCDONALD, A. JOVEL

Abstract. The majority of students who completed the University of Chicago Undergraduate Mental Health Climate Survey in the 2019-2020 academic year had a negative perception of both mental health services and the University’s response to mental health crises. This report seeks to describe the current state of mental health for undergraduate students, using the results of our climate survey, interviews with undergraduate students who fall into diﬀerent demographics of age, race, gender, sexuality, as well as stakeholders like the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) to answer the question of whether the University of Chicago (UChicago) is currently treating mental health for undergraduate students adequately. We have created a list of policy recommendations based on our research focusing on the mobilization of resources to better reach students, optimization of existing treatments by the Student Counseling Service (SCS) to best serve students on campus, and improving communication between various UChicago oﬃces in regards to mental health policies.

Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. Deﬁnitions 2 3. Current Mental Health Record Relating to the University of Chicago 3 4. Current Services oﬀered by the University of Chicago 3 5. Survey Results 5 5.1. Method 5 5.2. Demographic Analysis 5 5.3. Have you considered using SCS services? 5 5.4. Satisfaction with on-campus care 7 5.5. Utilization of SCS services 9 6. Non-SCS related care 10 7. Leave of Absence 11 8. Mental Health Crises and Charles Thomas 11 9. Conclusion 13 10. Recommendations 14 10.1. Mobilization 14 10.2. Optimization 15 10.3. Communication 16 11. Notes from the Principal Investigator 16 12. Acknowledgements 17

Date: February, 2020. 1 13. Works Consulted 18 14. Works Cited 18 15. Appendix 20 15.1. Deﬁnitions and Criteria for Mental Health, Mental Illness, and Wellness. 20 15.2. UCPD Events and Policies 20

1. Introduction

To holistically understand whether UChicago is treating mental health for undergraduate students adequately, this paper must first answer the question of what constitutes adequate mental health services, whether the current policies for mental health that fall within the jurisdiction of UChicago can be considered adequate, if students are satisfied with the support they receive, whether they are able to utilize SCS services to the extent that they need, and what actionable steps that UChicago can take in order to better achieve a standard of adequate mental health treatment for its undergraduate population. This report also looks at non-SCS responses to mental health, by looking into various services such as student groups like Lean On Me, non-UChicago resources such as Howard Brown Clinic (an LGBTQ+ clinic), the process and experience of students returning from a leave of absence, and mental health crises by looking at the April 2018 shooting of Charles ”Soji” Thomas by a UCPD officer in response to his mental health episode based on an interview conducted with CareNotCops. It is an organization that deals with issues regarding police action, and has been in contact with Thomas. Lastly, we conducted an interview with UCPD. Through a comprehensive understanding of what mental health looks like at UChicago, acquired from several perspectives via interviews, data analysis, and literature review, we seek to create a list of recommendations to address the shortcomings in current treatment and improve the state of mental health on campus.

2. Definitions

To begin to understand what mental health looks like at UChicago, we must ﬁrst understand the general deﬁnitions of terms relating to mental health. The Univer- sity of Chicago currently states that:

Student Counseling Service (SCS) is committed to promoting the mental health and well-being of UChicago undergraduate and graduate students by providing accessible, high-quality, culturally sensitive mental health services. We also provide outreach and consultation to the University community. All of our services are covered by the Student Services Fee, and there is no additional cost for students to access our services (Student Health and Counseling).

By examining this statement, and the various other services included on the page, our team determined the three most important words to define in order to best 2 understand how the University seeks to address mental health. These are: mental health, mental illness, and well-being. Our definitions were compiled through consultation with multiple sources, selected for the following: (1) context through which terms were defined (2) diversity of perspectives represented within the source (3) applicability to college life and (4) similarity to a common definition. These sources are listed within the Works Consulted Section of this paper. For the definitions of these words and our justification for these definitions, see Section 14.1 in the Appendix.

3. Current Mental Health Record Relating to the University of Chicago

Currently, SCS at UChicago guides its services by using national data sets pertaining to college mental health. Some of these sources include the Healthy Minds Network from the University of Michigan, the American College Health Associ- ation, and the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Pennsylvania State Uni- versity. Unfortunately, there is a lack of public quantitative mental health data from UChicago. ”The Real Life of the Mind,” a documentary created by Active Minds, an Registered Student Organization (RSO) meant to open conversations about mental health, demonstrated that SCS has had trouble identifying exact student needs, has a lack of clear policies, and has been involved in cases of forced hospitalization, just to name a few cases regarding some students’ past experiences. There are 35 relevant stories on the University of Chicago Maroon domain pertaining to SCS or related to mental health on campus, the earliest of which was dated September 2012. In November 2019, Student Government passed the ”Resolution on Improving Access to Mental Health Resources,” resolving to create a ”stan- dardized mental health pass [to present to professors to excuse absences related to mental health]” and encouraging departments to ”adopt policies to help students manage their workloads,” demonstrating a prioritization of mental health in the 2019-2020 academic year. The administration has yet to respond. Given the academic rigor and the ever increasing competition at UChicago, we feel a strong need to conduct a comprehensive and quantitative study aimed at uncovering the mental health reality on campus in order for SCS to better deliver their services.

4. Current Services offered by the University of Chicago

Current services offered by SCS are accessible through their website (Student Health). A list of current programs and their descriptions are listed below, taken through this website. Academic Skills Assessment Program: Designed to help students improve their academic performance by addressing a number of concerns that can interfere with effective learning. Alcohol and Other Drugs Prevention: Provides resources and support services to help students responsibly manage their intake of alcohol and other drugs. 3 Campus Outreach: SCS staff partner with major academic divisions and offices on campus to provide consultation to deans of students, faculty, staff, and administra- tors regarding supporting students with mental health concerns. Eating Concerns Support and Assessment: The main role of this team is to provide consultation, assessment, and treatment recommendations to students who are struggling with eating concerns. Our team meets twice per month to discuss clinical cases and make treatment recommendations based on the student’s individualized needs Let’s Talk (Drop-in Therapy Sessions): Let’s Talk provides easy access to free, in- formal, and confidential consultations with therapists from the Student Counseling Service. No appointment is necessary. Mental Health First Aid: It is an eight-hour training designed to give participants the skills to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. Mindfulness Meditation: Each Mindfulness Meditation course is held over four weeks and includes instruction and practice of mindfulness meditation and other mind/body techniques to help reduce stress. Psychiatric Consultation: Student will meet with a psychiatric provider at SCS if required by the result of an intake appointment or a later SCS therapy appointment. SCS currently has three psychiatrists and one psychiatric advanced practice nurse on staff. Referrals to Other Medical or Mental Health Specialists: SCS therapists may refer the student to a therapist outside of SCS if ongoing therapy is the most appropriate treatment for the student’s mental health concerns. SCS staff will help the student find a therapist outside of SCS who takes the student’s insurance. SCS also has a case manager who can provide ongoing support in helping him/her find a therapist who is a good fit. Substance Use Evaluations: Therapists at Student Counseling Service (SCS) perform substance use evaluations. This evaluation will involve meeting with a therapist who will make recommendations. These recommendations may include a ”harm reduction” approach or more formal treatment for substance abuse or addiction. If such treatment is recommended, SCS can help students find a program. Therapy (Individual and Couples): SCS helps students address mental health concerns, including responses to stress and traumatic experiences. Through therapy, students can establish a collaborative, confidential relationship with a therapist who can help them learn coping strategies and work through their concerns Therapy Groups: Groups at SCS create a welcoming, nonjudgmental environment where students can feel comfortable being open and honest about their struggles or current life situations.

4 5. Survey Results

Our survey was completed by 265 undergraduate students across all years, rep- resenting various demographic indicators of race, sexuality, and housing arrangements.

5.1. Method. To quantitatively evaluate the current state of mental health at the University, the team created a survey to assess the mental health climate on campus, consisting of questions that probed for the following categories of information:

• Self-perceived current state of personal wellbeing (Hours of sleep, regular meals, levels of anxiety, etc.) • Relationship with mental health treatment (Prior visitation with mental health specialist, and use of SCS services) • Perspectives on the mental health services provided by UChicago • Personal background (year, race, sexuality, living arrangements, etc.)

The survey was meant to give the team insight on the general mental state of the student body, as well as the student body’s exposure to and perception of the mental health resources that SCS provides. The survey also allowed us to ﬁlter results through the demographic information provided, such as a student’s year, race, sexuality, or living arrangements. This survey was advertised through Student Gov- ernment social media platforms. Participants received a snack as compensation for completing this survey. There exists a potential selection bias in terms of respondents: students interested in the compensation, students passionate about mental health, and students with personal experiences related to mental health might be more likely to have taken the survey.

5.2. Demographic Analysis. The results of this survey provided us with a more holistic understanding of the data. This allows us to highlight the groups on campus that are most at risk of being underserved by mental health resources. Firstly, we broke down the results by demographic, and looked at the data points that we thought were most signiﬁcant. Secondly, we analysed the survey responses from a non-demographic standpoint to develop a comprehensive understanding of the reality of mental health on campus.

5.3. Have you considered using SCS services? The report suggests that 82.6% (0.781, 0.872) of the student body has considered using SCS. This is a strong indi- cator of the need for adequate services on campus. Almost every member of the college community is at least aware of the existence of SCS. Sexuality plays an important role in whether someone might consider using SCS services. 93.2%(0.898, 0.983) of non-heterosexual respondants considered using SCS compared to 73.5%(0.663, 0.806) of heterosexual students, both high incidences. This is a significant result (P 1 > P 2 significant at α = 0.01, p-value= 5 ∗ 10−6) which suggests that the non-heterosexual community on campus is exposed to issues that may necessitate more immediate and available counseling resources in order to maintain a healthy environment. The pattern of differing consideration between the heterosexual and non-heterosexual community is corroborated by data regarding 5 the use of SCS services. While 43.9%(0.355, 0.516) of heterosexual students have used SCS services, 69.7%(0.612, 0.778) of non-heterosexual students have. The distinction between sexuality further appears in the data. Anxiousness (defined as ”anxious or worried” within our survey) is one such metric. The percentage of students who selected the highest category of average anxiety differs greatly based on a student’s sexuality. While 20.4%(0.139, 0.269) of heterosexual students considered themselves ”extremely anxious or worried” on average, 34.7%(0.262, 0.433) of non-heterosexual students fell into this category (P 1 < P 2, significant at α = 0.01, p-value= 4.4 ∗ 10−3). More than half of total respondents fell into the two most anxious categories (”anxious or worried,” and ”very anxious or worried”). This level of anxiousness is a key contributing factor to the number of students who consider using SCS. Personal well-being is also a key metric in gaining a clearer picture of the ”overall mental health” question in the survey. The same pattern based on sexuality appears: 19%(0.127, 0.254) of heterosexual students selected the highest category of personal well-being (categorized as ”very good” in our survey) compared to only 5.1% (0.011,0.090) of non-heterosexual students (P 1 > P 2 significant at α = 0.01, p-value= 3.7 ∗ 10−4). Furthermore, the fact that almost half (48.7%(0.427, 0.547)) of UChicago students responded as not getting adequate sleep during half or more of the week points to unhealthy patterns within the student body. This is corroborated by the survey result that one third (33.2%(0.275, 0.389)) of students eat meals regularly only 4 days of the week or fewer. Both anxiety and personal well-being feed into overall mental health. In our survey, no heterosexual students selected the lowest category of overall mental health (”very bad”) compared to 5.1%(0.011, 0.090) of non-heterosexual students. At the other end, only 1.7%(0, 0.040) of non-heterosexual selected very good compared to 8.2%(0.037, 0.126) of heterosexual students. Through these five metrics - consideration of using SCS services, use of SCS services, anxiousness, perceived personal well-being, and perceived overall mental health, we see worrying trends among the whole of the student body that are exacerbated when broken down by sexuality. It is important to note that other demographic breakdowns on the whole did not yield significant differences. We looked at year, living arrangements, race, and insurance. We found almost no offsets. Looking to analyse satisfaction with on- campus care, we looked at the number of students who had been to a mental health specialist before coming to the university. The sexuality delineator continued, with 34.7%(0.270, 0.424) of heterosexual students having been to SCS before, compared to 46.6%(0.376, 0.556) for non-heterosexual students. We would like to note that this is the only situation where race played a significant role: while 47.5%(0.398, 0.552) of white students had been before, only 28.6%(0.199, 0.372) of non-white have been to SCS. We suspect that differences in seeking to get help could be due to cultural stigmas surrounding reaching out for mental health help. In an interview conducted with second-year Mexican-American student Angel Salazar, he noted that ”students coming from marginalized communities inevitably are still affected by the stigmas existent in their more closely related communities, such as cultural identity.”

6 This ﬁnding is consistent with results from studies at other universities which determined that diﬀerent cultural groups might have stigmas regarding mental health. In other schools, it was determined that Asian students self-reported a higher un- willingness to access mental health resources due to a cultural stigma surrounding them (Konstan et al).

5.4. Satisfaction with on-campus care. We see a common pattern concerning the knowledge, perception, and use of the various SCS programs on oﬀer. The vast majority of students are both uninformed about these services and have not used them. For the survey questions regarding being informed about certain on-campus programs, the trend of responses closely followed the format shown below, with around 50% of respondents not being informed (a response of 1), and a sequential recession in responses thereafter for each successive number. Regarding the perception of the

Figure 1. Graphic data taken from survey results for the question ”How informed are you about UChicago’s Academic Skills Assess- ment service (1= not informed, 2= barely informed, 3= somewhat informed, 4= informed, 5= very informed)?” same services, we see a bell curve centering around ”somewhat beneﬁcial” but still leaning towards ”unhelpful.” We wonder if this repeated result is due to the names of the programs simply sounding good to students, since so many are uninformed 7 about them. An example of an average result for this type of question is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Graphic data taken from survey results for the question ”How helpful do you think UChicago’s Academic Skills Assessment service is to the student body (1= not helpful, 2= barely helpful, 3= somewhat helpful, 4= helpful, 5= very helpful)?”

Regarding the satisfaction with the use of the same services, another general trend in the data spread was determined, with a vast majority (an average of 86.4%) of students responding as not having used the services, and then few students responding as generally not being satisﬁed with the services. An example of the general trend is shown in Figure 3. There are however three outliers to the SCS programs that receive slightly more recognition: the ”Let’s Talk: Drop in Therapy,” ”Short Term Individual Therapy,” and ”UChicago referrals to other mental health services.” Even though these programs are better known among the student body, the largest proportion of respondents still have not used1, and are uninformed2 about these programs. Furthermore,

1”Let’s Talk: Drop in Therapy”: 81.5% have not used, ”Short Term Individual Therapy”: 62.6% have not used, ”UChicago referrals to other mental health services”: 67.2% have not used 2”Let’s Talk: Drop in Therapy”: 29.1% not informed (largest category) ”Short Term Individual Therapy”: 28.3% not informed (largest category), ”UChicago referrals to other mental health services”: 28.3% not informed (largest category) 8 Figure 3. Graphic data taken from survey results for the question ”How satisfied are you with UChicago’s Academic Skills As- sessment service (0= Have not used, 1= not satisfied, 2= slightly unsatisfied, 3= slightly satisfied, 4= satisfied, 5= very satisfied)?” there was no variation between underclassmen and upperclassmen, demonstrating that there was not an increase in awareness of these programs with time spent at UChicago. Additionally, short term therapy and referral services are intrinsically linked, showing that there are only two somewhat well known SCS programs on campus.

5.5. Utilization of SCS services. The survey allowed us to gauge the percentage of students who have gone to the SCS seeking mental help, with about one half (49.8%(0.438, 0.558)) of respondents identifying that they have done so. It is important to note that our survey pool likely represents students who are slightly more in tune with issues regarding mental health when compared to the student body as a whole, due to their agreement to assist with this investigation. Therefore, it is probable that less than half of the student body has utilized the mental health services provided by SCS. Only about (45.5%(0.334, 0.501)) of the students who have received help from SCS admitted to being ”satisfied” (28%(0.200, 0.352)), ”very satisfied”(10.6%(0.053, 0.156)), or ”extremely satisfied” (3.8%(0.005, 0.069)) with the experiences they had. The other 54.5%(0.499, 0.666) of students who engaged with SCS services were not satisfied with their experiences. 9 A majority of students (67.2%(0.589, 0.749)) who sought help from SCS reported having to wait at least two weeks before receiving any assistance. The full data on the wait times for the respondents to our survey are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Graphic data taken from survey results for the question ”How long do you generally have to wait for an appointment with SCS before receiving help?”

The extended wait time that students face when seeking mental health support is concerning considering the severity of many of the issues they are seeking help about.

6. Non-SCS related care

Outside of SCS, there are resources that can help the students in need, from both student groups and off-campus clinics. Student groups represent a crucial space for students to discuss and get help for mental health issues with peers without the organizational structure and procedures of SCS or other off-campus clinics. While students in these groups can be trained ”in empathetic listening and have experience” with mental health for groups like Lean on Me, they are still run by students who face their own limitations, be it mental stress, academic pressure, or lack of professional training. While the work that these students do is important, their work cannot substitute real professional help. Off-campus resources that are unrelated to the UChicago referral service do exist outside of SCS for UChicago students, like the LGBTQ+ clinic Howard Brown Health Center (this clinic offers mental health services on a sliding scale), and Danny Gordon & Associates Counseling Services (this clinic also offers mental health services with $150 full fee sessions and limited sliding scale slots). These resources, however, are not under UChicago’s jurisdiction and do not have spaces reserved for 10 UChicago students. If these off-campus resources are used primarily by UChicago students, there may not be spaces left for non-UChicago community members of the South Side.

7. Leave of Absence

Students at the University might take a Leave of Absence (LOA), either voluntarily or involuntarily, to respond to a mental health crisis. According to the website, ”[it] is the College’s expectation that students will not exceed eight cumulative quarters of leave over the course of their undergraduate career, unless otherwise provided for in this policy.” To apply for a leave of absence, students must generally contact their college advisors, schedule a leave of absence/withdrawal appointment with ”a dean in the Office of the Dean of Students.” If a student is on financial aid, in housing, or international, they might need to contact additional administrative employees as highlighted on the UChicago website. To return from a LOA, students must contact their Dean of Students six weeks before or prior to the start of the quarter they return. They register for all of their classes during add/drop period. Generally, students who have ”exceeded eight quarters of approved leave will be administratively withdrawn.” To return, they must petition the Committee on the Resumption of Studies. Nico Aldape, a fourth-year student who had taken two leaves of absences, noted that the process to take a leave of absence was ”less formal” than expected. He emailed his advisor and Dean Ellison and was put on leave a few days later. He noted that he wished he had mental health help from UChicago before the situation got ”so bad it necessitated leave.” He also noted that he felt that UChicago administration did not listen to students on a leave of absence at all, stating ”moves like allowing us to take five classes when four is already oppressive and making it harder for graduating 4th years to go on extended status don’t seem friendly to anyone who seems to want a break from constant academic pressure.” In a Maroon article published in 2018 titled ”On Academic Leave, Left in the Dark,” third-year Jordan Cooper, another student who had taken a LOA, also spoke on the difficulty of returning to school, despite having medical clearance from his psy- chiatrist. Cooper still had to make a case for his return. While UChicago does state that they can reject returning students, Cooper’s leave was voluntary and unrelated to academic probation. It remains unclear why it was so difficult for the University to approve Cooper’s return. Cooper also spoke about the difficulty for him to find housing – despite being granted housing accommodations by Student Disability Services (SDS). With current practices regarding LOAs, students suffering from mental health issues might face additional stress returning to UChicago that can hurt their mental health.

8. Mental Health Crises and Charles Thomas

NB: An in-depth evaluation of UCPD and our analysis is available in Section 14.2 in the Appendix 11 On April 3rd, 2018, Charles ”Soji” Thomas, a fourth-year student studying history and political science at the College, suffered from a psychiatric episode and was struck in the shoulder by a gunshot fired by a UCPD officer. We interviewed a representative from CareNotCops, a student group which has been in contact with Charles Thomas, to better understand Thomas’ experience and a source from UCPD to gain greater insight into policies and procedures regarding mental health, firearms, and training for officers to understand whether the officer had acted according to procedure. This information would ultimately inform us of what stan- dardized UCPD responses to mental health crises look like. In analyzing the policies of UCPD, understanding the extent of their training (40 hours of mental health training at the Chicago Police Academy taught under a variety of sources, including mental health specialists), and reasoning under the conditions of UCPD having a place on UChicago’s campus, our team has concluded that UCPD did act according to the outlined procedures to respond to Thomas during his mental health episode. Looking at General Orders 517 and 108 (GO 517 and GO 108), the mental health procedure and use of arms procedures, respectively, were both followed. It is outside the scope of this research to normatively discuss these policies themselves, so while that is certainly a topic for future research, this paper will focus positively on whether UCPD followed the guidelines already in place (while withholding judgement on those specific policies for the time being). GO 517 includes procedure and guidelines of how to proceed in situations dealing with issues related to mental health and deescalation of situations. These guidelines are not necessarily protocol, meaning one could not follow guidelines and still follow procedure. GO 108 refers to a firearms policy when firing a gun. UCPD does not have a policy on drawing a firearm without shooting in either of the general orders. The lack of cohesive direction with regards to firearm policy leaves a gaping hole in UCPD’s mental health response that ought to be investigated through further research but remains outside the scope of this study. According to policy and our source from the UCPD, the response of the UCPD ends when a subject is transported to the hospital. In this case, Thomas was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Based on our interview with a UCPD source, this is the extent of UCPD’s involvement. UCPD’s responses to issues related to mental health have been acknowledged by the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ Chicago Branch (NAMI), which recognized the UCPD Chief Police Officer Kenton Rainey through an award in 2019, meaning UCPD response is recognized as proper. This award does not account for policies within the response that do not exist. This also does not mean that Thomas did not suffer mental health ramifications after this encounter. After being transported to the hospital, it falls within the responsibility of the University to take care of the well-being of students if and after they are taken to the hospital during a mental health crisis. According to our interview with CareNotCops, Thomas’ access to his friends and family were limited in the hospital. Further, he was placed on house arrest and released on bond after the University originally charged Thomas with ”eight felonies: 12 three counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and five counts of property damage” (Yan and Grieve). After Thomas was released on bond, he suffered another mental health episode, which led to him breaking his bond agreement. Cur- rently, Thomas is incarcerated to Cook County Jail, where his access to his counseling and other necessary resources for his well-being have been limited. The charges that were originally held by the University are now being upheld by Kim Foxx, the Cook County State’s Attorney. The majority of respondents in our survey (60.4%) of students do not believe non- SCS services under UChicago ”like UCPD” have adequate mental health responses, suggesting a negative perception and a lack of trust regarding the UCPD that could limit utilization of their services. There were responses to our survey detailing experiences with UCPD where students were hospitalized against their will, belief that UCPD had no mental health training at all, or belief that the mental health response from the UCPD escalated too much overall. In our interview with UCPD, our source had mentioned that while UCPD would be able to connect directly with students to talk about any situations that involved officers, UCPD’s main source of information and communication regarding student experiences comes from the University. Still, outside of policing as a response to mental health crises, UCPD can be considered a resource through their involvement with teaching Mental Health First Aid Training, along with other University staff. This resource could potentially help students understand how to respond to mental health problems without needing to call the police if they are uncomfortable doing so.

9. Conclusion

The results of our research have led us to conclude that UChicago is currently not treating mental health adequately. There is a general trend of students across all demographics not knowing what various services SCS offers and a general lack of satisfaction from students in regards to the SCS services they have received. However, most of the UChicago students surveyed have also considered using SCS services. This suggests that even though UChicago students don’t know what help is being offered, they do recognize that they need help and might not be utilizing the services they need by SCS. Furthermore, there are non-SCS responses to mental health crises from the UCPD and they were followed in the case of Charles Thomas. However, UCPD as a whole are perceived negatively by students. The lack of a positive perception of UCPD might manifest in distrust from students who refuse to call UCPD during crises out of fear of escalation or hospitalization. While the data we have found is, for the most part, a negative indication of the state of mental health at UChicago, the results of our survey also contained two optional questions asking for what students would like their peers to know and what they would like the administration to know. Regardless of whether students completed this section, they would be able to complete the survey and receive compensation. 13 Almost half of the respondents answered our survey question asking what they wanted our administration to know. Not only did these students provide us with insight to craft our recommendations, but stories about how ”everyone [they know] is anxious, depressed or both,” that the issue of mental health at UChicago is ”real,” and that students ”need [administration] to do better.” Out of the 265 responses, about one-third of respondents wanted their peers to know the ways that they’ve coped with their own mental health at the University through therapy, to let them know that it was okay to ask for help, and not only to ”advocate for themselves,” but to ”take care of themselves” and ”support each other.” Multiple responders wanted to tell their peers that ”they are not alone.” Other responses wanted to tell their peers that there were people that cared about them. These responses were positive indicators that UChicago students not only care about mental health, but about the well-being of each other. Further studies could expand on this report to track whether the findings of this study may change depending on the context, be it seasonal, after a major event, a change in University policy, or a traumatic incident. This may help SCS determine when to increase marketing for its services to most effectively reach students. Addi- tionally, research could be done on past outreach methods from SCS to understand their effectiveness in reaching students. The research findings in this report paint a picture of what mental health looks like at UChicago. The next section will highlight policy recommendations that we believe could potentially improve the landscape of mental health on campus.

10. Recommendations

The recommendations advocated for in this report seek to ﬁrst and foremost improve the immediate well-being of students at UChicago as well as the prolonged well-being of students through creating a methodology consisting of (1) mobilization of resources to become more accessible for students to direct their own treatment, (2) optimization of existing resources from SCS, and (3) improving communication between all UChicago responders of mental health problems to convey student concerns and improve handling of problems on a case-by-case basis. Our recommendations are not exhaustive and further research can be done outside the scope of this paper. The recommendations that are listed focus on the ways in which the University directly interacts with student mental health.

10.1. Mobilization. The recommendations under the umbrella of mobilization concern the accessibility of mental health resources for students, and their ability to access the information they need to advocate for their own mental wellbeing. Our first recommendation is based on an interview conducted with an anonymous fourth year who told us about how despite getting told they would receive referral information from SCS after an appointment, such information was never provided. They suggested that SCS create a public list of referrals, including pharmacies, organized by specialty across Chicago with both contact and pricing information linked. As a result, students would be able to choose a mental health provider who 14 can support them in the way most suited to their needs and most immediately as opposed to waiting weeks to receive a referral. If certain mental health providers are proven to be more used than others, UChicago might want to seek formally carving out spaces for students to not take away resources from non-UChicago residents within the area. While this may require UChicago buying out spaces (that may go unused by students), it may be necessary to ensure that residents of the city still have access to adequate mental health services. Alongside publishing a list of online referrals, SCS might also seek to improve through creating a definitive published list of services it offers with comprehensive descriptions including how many times a student will be able to access a service, average wait times for specific resources, and exactly what the service does. This would allow students to direct their search for what service is needed. Better marketing of services, like the Mental Health First Aid Training, might also allow students who don’t feel comfortable with going to current University responders (to mental health problems) to get help from their peers. This service could explicitly be marketed during Orientation Week to create student awareness that mental health training does exist at UChicago. SCS might also consider diverse outreach to The Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) and other cultural organi- zations on campus to reduce cultural stigmas that might prevent a student from getting help. In the case of a crisis, UChicago might also seek to mobilize therapy and counseling through outsourcing help. This might come from 24-hour crisis lines to provide accessible and immediate help for students in need. Furthermore, UChicago might also consider increasing the means of accessing SCS services through creating an online scheduling process. This is similar to how students might schedule a visit with an academic or career advisor, and removes the potential barrier to getting help, of social stigma or anxiety with the need to make a phone call.

10.2. Optimization. UChicago should also seek to optimize SCS counseling through facilitating an immediate triage with all students contacting SCS at the point of contact, thus gauging the urgency of requests and ensure that students who immediately need help can access it. By asking questions of a student’s name, age, identity, what they are feeling, the perceived urgency of a situation, and the student’s rec- ollection of their own mental health history, scheduling can be more personalized and eﬀective as opposed to having every student sign up for a slot under the same system which only asks if a student is actively suicidal. In addition, UChicago might also consider shortening initial triage appointment times from 45 minutes to 30 minutes, only under the condition of there being more slots to serve more students. If the majority of students in our survey had waited ”2+ weeks” for an SCS appointment to then be referred to outside services, SCS might improve their process by having shorter appointments that are more diag- nostic in nature. This would allow SCS to better understand what might be the problem, provide students with improved access to help, and determine the type of care they might need through recommendation of services on a public referrals list. 15 Again, this should only be recommended under the condition of more slots opening up for students. Furthermore, this should only be put into place if UChicago cannot hire more counselors to increase slots available to students. Both of these options are ultimately meant to maximize the amount of eﬀective slots SCS has to help the greatest number of students.

10.3. Communication. In response to the case study looking at the shooting of Charles Thomas, we recognize that the chain of interactions within this case expanded further beyond the UCPD’s jurisdiction to Northwestern Memorial Hos- pital and the Chicago Police Department. However, in dealing with incidents (with chains of interactions) contained to University entities, we recommend creating formalized chains and protocols of communication between UCPD and the Dean On Call. While UCPD currently does allow for students who have had negative experiences with officers to come in to talk with their responding officer, we do understand there can be trauma and fear of the police that might prevent students from seeking to interact with UCPD. We recommend that for any student interaction with UCPD under the context of policing, the Dean On Call should follow up with the student to take note of not only the procedure of the police, but what students are feeling and, most importantly, if they are okay. This interaction should be communicated to UCPD to not only provide feedback for UCPD responses without putting students in a situation that might hurt their mental health, but creates a level of accountability if a student has a negative interaction with a police officer. This formal chain of communication should also expand to other University offices like Student Disability Services (SDS) and the Office of Sexual Misconduct and Prevention to make sure that responses to mental health consider the individual circumstances regarding students. In our survey, students talked about their experiences with SCS workers who did not know anything about SDS accommodations in relation to their treatment. There should be awareness from SCS staff of various policies that might intersect with a students’ access to mental health treatment across all University offices. These policies and communications should also be made clear to students in order for greater understanding of policies that apply to their own specific situations.

11. Notes from the Principal Investigator

I want to clarify the scope of this report as being undergraduate mental health. This includes analysis of UCPD response. This analysis, however, is done under the condition that a police force does exist on campus (and the report states this explicitly).

For the same reason this report does not touch on academic culture at UChicago or racism on campus via administrative decisions, the question of whether UCPD should exist or not is beyond the scope of the work we have done (not to say these topics would be excluded from consideration as research topics in the future). This is not a question that is answered by this report.

Analysis of UCPD’s responses and policies regarding a mental health crisis through 16 a case study of the shooting of Charles Thomas is a part of this report because to not include any part of this event would be an incomplete record of what mental health looks like at UChicago. We come to our conclusion through taking on the conditions of police having a place on this campus. In doing so, our conclusion says UCPD follows its procedures. This conclusion was made based on a synthesis of interviews, literature review, and sensitivity readings from multiple people outside of CPRI across race, gender, and political spectra. However, it is also important to note that it was under these procedures that a student was shot during a mental health crisis as a response from UCPD.

While UCPD does have a role in the context of the state of campus mental health, especially when armed, this falls into a larger conversation that primarily concerns the subject of policing in general (though, again, we do understand that it is related to mental health). This is also a human conversation that needs the utmost sensitivity, and we urge conversations regarding this topic to be done with sensitivity to Charles, the students who know him, as well as those in a similar situation to him.

To answer these questions, a separate report on policing would have to be done with the consideration of the various non-UChicago members of the communities of people living across the South Side, in neighborhoods patrolled by UCPD. This report would also need access to budget information regarding UCPD, as well as research time dedicated exclusively to this topic in order to create a fair, sensitive, and comprehensive report.

While questions about police are incredibly important, they are not the questions we set out to answer with this report. This is not to say future reports will not touch on this topic, or the plethora of others that have a material impact on campus mental health (as stated above).

That being said, read the report. This is NOT an endorsement of UCPD by any means, and it is NOT an uncritical look at policy or procedure. This report details on the UCPD procedures, their ramiﬁcations, and their shortcomings.

Reading this report should raise several questions on the topic — especially ones that question the conditions through which our conclusion can be reached (i.e. whether UCPD should be armed or even exist at all). These are not questions that will be answered by this particular report, but they are important to keep in mind when moving forward with discussions of mental health. Let us have those discussions, sensitively.

-P. Kumar

12. Acknowledgements

We thank the Campus Policy Research Institute and its Directors, David Liang, Jonah Fleishacker, and Matthew Pinna for all of their support for our research team 17 through securing funding and providing administrative structure. We would further like to thank Joshua Mckie and the UCDI for hosting the Campus Policy Research Institute and providing crucial advice and resources for our team. Additionally, we would like to extend our gratitude to Student Government’s Health and Wellness Committee’s Co-Chairs Alessandra Veinbachs and Ella Bradford for helping us create, publish, and market our Climate Survey. Finally, we would like to express our deepest gratitude towards the undergraduate population of the University of Chicago for participating in our survey, allowing for our interviews, and for caring about what this report means. Our work would not be possible without all of them.

13. Works Consulted

Azibo, Daudi Ajani Ya. ”Introducing a New Interdisciplinary Subﬁeld of Counseling Studies Incident to the Education of African Descent Students: Centered African Mental Health on Campus.” Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, vol. 28, no. 3 Mar. 2018, pp. 315-337. Bogue, Richard J., and Nancy R. Downing. ”Research on Physician Burnout and Wellbeing: A Solution-Oriented Perspective.” Transforming the Heart of Practice, 2019, pp. 9-47. Bucher, Jenna, ”The Misconception of College Life: How Popular Media is Making it Worse.” Advanced Writing: Pop Culture Intersections, 2019. Delaney, Susan. ”First-time female principals: Perceptions of Wellbeing.” 25 Jan- uary 2020. Glatzer, Wolfgang. ”Global Handbook of Quality of Life: Exploration of Well-Being of Nations and Continents.” 2016. Hickey, Erin E. Mental Health Experiences of Undergraduate College Students in Outpatient Treatment, University of Southern California. 2017. Johnson, Casey Michelle. ”Attitudes and Perceptions Among African Americans About Dating Individuals with Bipolar Disorder.” Walden University. 2019. Vidourek, Rebecca A., and Michelle Burbage. ”Positive Mental Health and Mental Health Stigma: A Qualitative Study Assessing Student Attitudes.” Mental Health & Prevention, vol. 13, 2019, pp. 1-6. What Is Mental Illness?, www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/what-is- mental-illness.

14. Works Cited

Brown, Jahne, et al. Resolution on Improving Access to Mental Health Resources. 4 Nov. 2019. Charles, Sam, and Alexandra Arriaga. ”Roommate: U. of C. Student Went to Counseling Weeks before He Was Shot by Cop.” Chicago Sun-Times, 7 Apr. 2018. 18 Cherney, Elyssa. ”Mother of Student Shot by U. of C. Police Had Worries About His Mental Health.” Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2018. Cooper, Jordan. ”On Academic Leave, Left in the Dark.” The College — The University of Chicago, 2 July 2018. www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2018/7/ 3/academic-leave-left-dark/. Konstan, et al. ”Life for the Mind: An External Review of Leading Col- lege Mental Health Programs.” Campus Policy Research Institute, Feb. 2020. https://cprichicago.org/reports Lee, Matthew. ”Fundraiser Raises More Than $7,500 for Charles Thomas’ Family Amid Ongoing Legal Case.” The Chicago Maroon, 15 Oct. 2019. www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2019/10/16/fundraiser-raises-7500- charles-thomas-fa/. Yan, Jade. ”Charles Thomas Facing Five More Felony Charges for Assault and Property Damage.” The Chicago Maroon, 24 Apr. 2018. The Chicago Maroon. ”UCPD Video: Body Worn Camera” www.youtube.com/ watch?v=X07QJy_a4Hc&feature=emb_title. ”Crisis Intervention Team (CIT).” Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) — Department of Safety & Security — The University of Chicago, safety-security.uchicago. edu/police/hiring_training/crisis_intervention_team_cit/. ”Danny Gordon Associates Counseling Services Hyde Park, Chicago.” Danny Gor- don Associates Counseling Services Hyde Park, Chicago, www.dgordonassociates. com/. ”Howard Brown Health.” Howard Brown Health, https://howardbrown.org/. ”Leave of Absence & Withdrawal.” The College — The University of Chicago, https://college.uchicago.edu/student-services/leave-absence- withdrawal. ”Student Health and Counseling Services.” Mental Health — Student Health and Counseling Services — The University of Chicago https://wellness.uchicago.edu/mental-health/?fbclid= IwAR3JkncX40q3jUvFO70OgMygKVqfjsBxnXhCi6VbJJPVb20qeJC8rWYfjpo. ”Student Health and Counseling Services.” Mental Health — Student Health and Counseling Services — The University of Chicago, https://wellness.uchicago. edu/mental-health/. ”Student Health and Counseling Services.” Psychiatric Services — Student Health and Counseling Services — The University of Chicago, https://wellness. uchicago.edu/mental-health/psychiatric-services. Gettinger, Aaron. ”U. Of C. Student Charles Thomas Charged with Eight Felonies.” Hyde Park Herald, 25 Apr. 2018, hpherald.com/2018/04/25/u-of- c-student-charles-thomas-charged-with-eight-felonies/. Active Minds. ”The Real Life of the Mind.” https://voices.uchicago.edu/ reallifeofthemind/.

19 15. Appendix

15.1. Deﬁnitions and Criteria for Mental Health, Mental Illness, and Wellness. We present the following deﬁnitions:

Mental Health Mental health is when one’s psychological and correspond- ing behavioral function is in accord with the nature of the circumstances an individual exists in. It is dependent on one’s experiences, thoughts, and internal health factors. Mental Illness Mental illness refers to a wide range of symptoms affecting mood, thinking, and behavior associated with the impairment of one’s ability to function in social settings. Well-being Well-being is one’s ability to positively manage the various stressors in one’s life, whether exterior or interior, and being able to feel fulfilled and positively work towards one’s greatest ability. Through understanding these three terms, it is imperative to acknowledge that well- being can be achieved in spite of mental illness and that mental health refers to the overall status of one’s mental state. Through the reconciliation of well-being, mental illness, and mental health, it is possible for the overall mental status of UChicago’s undergraduate population to improve as a whole if the University were to provide adequate and effective services. As opposed to attributing aspirational language, such as ”outstanding”, to what UChicago should seek to achieve, our research aims to understand if and how UChicago can simply provide adequate mental health services to ground our recommendations in more realistic expectations. If UChicago can meet a standard of adequacy, only then can the University move on to achieving a standard of extra- ordinary care.

15.2. UCPD Events and Policies.

15.2.1. Summary of Events. On April 3rd, 2018, Charles ”Soji” Thomas, a senior year student studying history and political science at the College, suffered from psychiatric episode and was struck by a gunshot by a UCPD officer in the shoulder. As described by the Chicago Tribune: ”Thomas used an iron tent stake to break the front and back glass doors of the apartment building where he lived and smashed three car windows [...] Five officers three with U. of C and two with Chicago police saw Thomas swinging the stake back and forth in an alley as he screamed obscenities at them, she said. The officers ordered Thomas to drop the weapon, but Thomas, wearing a visor and what appeared to be a red jacket, continued advancing and ran toward a U. of C. officer who was walking backward. In videos captured by police body and dash cams, Thomas is seen running toward the officer, who screamed, ”Don’t come at me” and fired a shot” (Cherney). 20 Prior to this incident, Thomas had utilized SCS counseling services for academic pressure during the winter of his senior year (Charles and Arriaga). While he pre- viously did not show signs of bipolar disorder, Thomas had a history of bipolar disorder running in his family. After he was shot, Thomas was taken to Northwest- ern Memorial Hospital for treatment and received a psychiatric evaluation to receive prescription medication (Cherney). Thomas was charged with ”eight felonies: three counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and five counts of property damage” (Gettinger). In early September, Thomas was reported to have gone missing. He was found in Indiana two weeks later. Thomas had been placed on house arrest ”after being released on bail during his ongoing trial. By disappearing, Thomas had violated the terms of release and his bond was revoked (Lee). Currently, Thomas is residing in Cook County Jail where his access to resources and counseling have been limited, according to a statement provided by Thomas during the #DropTheCharges Press Release on December 3rd, 2019.

15.2.2. UCPD Response. The following section details the UCPD’s interaction with Charles Thomas. Police Response to the Mentally Ill The student response to UCPD during the shooting of Charles Thomas has resulted in protests across campus and calls to disband the UCPD. In this section, we will analyze the actions taken by the UCPD against the procedures and policies stated on their website to understand whether their response followed policy. In General Order 517 (GO 517), the UCPD highlights the three ways through which the police force operates when responding to someone with a mental illness as (1) Recognition of Persons Suffering From Mental Illness (2) Determining Danger and (3) Crisis Intervention Technique. Recognition of Persons Suffering From Mental Illness This section of the General Order outlines that mental illness is difficult to define and that behavior must be contextualized to understand whether it is harmful to oneself or others to justify officers’ judgements. It also goes on to state various scenarios in which someone might be deemed as mentally ill, taking into consideration instances of emotional well-being, developmental disabilities, and distinction from the actions of those with physical disabilities. The source from the UCPD mentioned that because of incidents during the 1980’s through which people with mental illness were reported for crimes, more work has been done for mental health training to recognize signs of illness to ”redirect people from the criminal justice system to the healthcare system” (Crisis Intervention Team). UCPD source mentioned that responses to any crisis are dynamic and take into consideration the possibility of mental illness to determine the appropriate reciprocal response – highlighted in the UCPD’s General Order 108 – which will be discussed later. Based on the actions of Thomas within the context of the situation and his depar- ture from his usual disposition, having been described as ”a great, loving guy with a laugh that could light up a whole room” by his roommate (Charles and Arriaga), 21 it is apparent that Thomas was suffering from a mental health episode. In a bodycam video by a UCPD officer, a voice in the background yells that Thomas is ”a mental” prior to interaction. According to the source from the UCPD, ”mental” refers to police codes, which are also called 10-codes; the official terminology being ”mental subject,” which is codified as ”10-96.” Determining Danger This section of the order talks about the determination of danger from an individual going through a mental health crisis, stating that not all mentally ill individuals are dangerous. The determination of danger is based on whether an individual might be a threat to themselves or others, based on several indicators such as availability of any weapons, amount of control indicated by the individual, statements made by a person indicating a threat, and the volatility of an environment. If an individual has not acted prior to the arrival of an officer, ”it does not guarantee there is no danger, but it does tend to diminish the potential for danger” (GO 517). In this situation, Thomas was using a metal tent stake to break the windows of the cars. Him not being under control of his actions and the previous occurrences does reasonably constitute the situation as being potentially dangerous to himself or others. Furthermore, the environment of the situation was volatile, as Thomas was surrounded by officers. Crisis Intervention Technique The crisis intervention technique describes the appropriate handling of a situation when responding to mental illness. The order places the safety of the responding officer and any other people involved as ”paramount” when determining which action to take as a response (GO 517). Several of the techniques underlined within are rooted in de-escalation by taking steps to calm a situation, moving slowly, communication with an individual regarding what is going on, not threatening an individual as this might create additional tension, avoiding topics of agitation, and being truthful (GO 517). According to the UCPD source, these methods are meant to show how to interact, intervene and de-escalate situations with anyone who may need a psychiatric evaluation. The responding officer is trained to assess the condition and safety of the subject while taking steps to calm the situation. In this situation, the officers involved might have escalated the situation by surrounding Thomas and drawing their firearms. There is no policy regarding drawing a firearm. GO 517 outlines techniques for deescalation during crisis intervention as guidelines. These techniques include ”not [exciting] a person” or ”threatening” an individual during a crisis. In the bodycam video capturing the shooting of Charles, the officer draws a gun prior to Charles charging. This could be considered as exciting and as a threat to Charles, escalating the situation more (UCPD Video: Body Worn Camera). However, these guidelines for deescalation are not explicitly stated as policies, meaning one does not need to follow these guidelines to still follow protocol. Rather, the officers’ prioritization of ”the safety of themselves and others” is considered paramount. Thus, because the guidelines included in their policies are not definitive ways that police have to act in a situation, the officer still

22 followed procedure. Still, a lack of policy guideline for drawing a firearm demon- strates a gaping hole in UCPD’s crisis intervention response that remains outside of the scope of this research. Additional studies are warranted to address this topic. The use of firearms will be examined within the section referring to Use of Force policies. In the bodycam video, the officer did move backwards slowly and did not shoot until Thomas had also moved forward (UCPD Video: Body Worn Camera). Custody and Referral Procedures If an incident occurs within University property, and an individual ”poses a risk to themselves or others and in situations where the person is unable to care for the student’s basic needs, they must be evaluated to determine the need for committal” (GO 517). Otherwise Chicago Police Department (CPD) will be called to handle the situation. Essentially, after a mental health crisis, the farthest that UCPD goes is transporting an individual suffering from a mental health crisis to the hospital for a mental health evaluation. In the case of Charles Thomas, he was taken directly to Northwestern Medicine after the incident and subject to psychiatric treatment. According to the UCPD source, ”after a student is transported to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, in most cases, the police are no longer involved. There have been cases where an officer may have developed a good rapport with a student and given them their business card and the student may call them on occasion after the hospitalization just to talk if needed but usually the student continues contact with the Dean on Call or [another] Dean depending on the circumstances.” In most cases, UCPD takes students to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. This means that the general response for UCPD is not arresting or pressing charges. However, in some circumstances, this decision may be made on a case-by-case basis. The UCPD source noted ”The basis for CIT [Crisis Intervention Team] to respond, intervene and de-escalate which helps to develop trust in these situations and positive relationships. There are cases where an arrest may have to be made or charges may have to be filed and these instances are considered on a case to basis. It is a decision that may involve police, the university and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.” Thomas was charged with three felony counts of aggravated assault of a peace officer and five felony counts of criminal damage to property by the officer who shot him, a MAC apartment manager, and two other residents whose property was damaged (Yan and Grieve). Charges were originally filed against Thomas by the University. Currently, they are being upheld by Kim Foxx, the Cook County State’s Attorney. According to the UCPD source, ”the process where an arrest must be made or charges may have to be filed are considered on a case to case basis. It is a decision that may involve police, the university, and the Cook County State’s Attorney Office.”

15.2.3. Use of Force Policies. In General Order 108 (GO 108), UCPD listed the use of a firearm as a ”deadly force” within the definition section of the order. Policy 23 guides that the reasonability of a responding force is based on the ”totality of the circumstances to perform a lawful task, effect an arrest, overcome resistance, control a subject, or protect themselves or others from injury” (GO 108). This means the response of a deadly weapon must be equivalent to the totality of the circumstances within the situation. According to GO 108, deadly force is justified ”only to prevent death or bodily harm to an officer or another person, prevent arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape and the person to be arrested [has] committed or has attempted a forceful felony [,] attempting to escape by the use of a deadly weapon [, or] otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict great bodily harm unless arrested without delay.” Officers must also ensure every injured person receives ”medical treatment if force was used” (GO 108). As Thomas ran towards the officer, the officer shot Thomas in the shoulder. If the officer had determined Charles as a threat to the officer’s safety based on the precedent of seeing Charles using the tent stake to break car windows and seeing him towards him with the same tent stake, he might have determined Charles to be a threat to the officer’s safety and then shot him. This would follow UCPD’s Use of Force policy. He was then taken directly to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment.

15.2.4. Integration of UCPD and Existing Mental Health Services. According to the source from the UCPD, ”information pertaining to a students mental health and wellness goes through the University either the SCS, Health and Wellness or the DOC [Dean on Call].” Current communications concerning the well-being of students or any form of follow up would generally go through these avenues. While most communication with UCPD ends after they are transported to the hospital, if a student having a mental health crisis and is involved in an incident involving UCPD, and they are not satisfied, they do have the option of talking to their responding officer about the incident. However, most of these communications between UCPD and students are done through the Dean on Call or another Dean, depending on the circumstance. Outside of responding to calls, the UCPD source states ”students can seek information or help from any UCPD as officer as well and they would be able to provide them with appropriate professional resources. The Mental Health First Aid eight hours class is taught by a group of staff across the University and UCPD is just one of those instructors.”

15.2.5. Training. The University of Chicago Police Department’s Crisis Interven- tion Team describes officers who have received up to 40 hours of mental health training, meant to show officers how to ”de-escalate, intervene, and interact during a mental health crisis” with anyone who might need a psychiatric training. According to the source from UCPD, training for UCPD is done at the ”Chicago Police Academy [and is taught by various people such as] mental health specialists, 24 psychiatrists, attorneys, [other] police officers, and members from Chicago National Alliance on Mental Illness. [This training] also [includes] a discussion panel consisting of parents of young adult children with mental illness and another panel consisting of [people] who have mental illness[es]. They talk about police responses to the mentally ill and the types of encounters they may have had [with police], good or bad.” This is a team found in the CPD as well. However, according to the source from the UCPD, unlike the CPD, every UCPD officer on the team has completed this training as of two years ago (2018) and would, therefore, be considered as a member of the CIT team. This means that every member of the team should be qualified to respond to mental health situations. UCPD Police Chief Kenton Rainey received the 2019 CIT Officer of the Year Award from the Chicago branch of the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI). Through looking at current policy and procedures, UCPD officers did act according to procedure in the case of Charles Thomas. Additionally, the UCPD Police Chief receiving recognition from NAMI does show outside recognition of UCPD’s mental health procedures being deemed as award worthy from ”the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization” (NAMI website). However, this does not account for procedures that do not exist. This also does not mean that mental health ramifications were not faced after the fact by Thomas.

15.2.6. Ramifications on Student Mental Health. Due to restrictions in our ability to receive information from Thomas, we have included everything we can from his perspective. According to a source, from CareNotCops, an organization which has been in contact with Thomas, during his time at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after his first mental health episode, Thomas was handcuffed to the ICU hospital bed, only allowed to see his mother once or twice, and was placed on house arrest for one and a half years. Though Thomas was released on bond with electronic monitoring, providing adequate mental health resources for Thomas meant his parents had to trade living with him for the first six months after the shooting. After his mental health episode in early September, he was taken to Cook County Jail where his access to prescription glasses, adequate medication, and fresh food were limited. According to the source, ”Charles was not only denied multiple forms of care, but also placed in situations that further isolated him from the care, support, and connection to his friends, family, and community.” Within the results of our survey, there was an overall negative perception of UCPD. Some respondents mentioned that they knew of students who were hospitalized against their will, didn’t think UCPD had mental health training at all, or believed that the mental health response from the UCPD and CIT team was not adequate and escalated too much overall.