College students across Illinois might be able to take time off for mental wellness, and Illinois State University's student government is spearheading the initiative to make it happen.
Student Body president Eduardo Monk said the idea is to give every college student across the state a handful of days designated for mental health. Each student can opt to take a day off when they most need it.
“Mental health is unpredictable,” Monk said. “You don't get to pick which days your mental health is going to hold you back a little bit.”
The goal is to expand state law granting five mental health days to K through 12 students statewide so that it incorporates universities. That’s laid out in a bill introduced by state Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, in October, though ISU student government has been working on the initiative since last year.
Monk said he and others recognize there are still kinks to hammer out, as K-12 is “simpler than higher ed.” In college, most classes meet two or three times a week, and some only meet once per week. There’s also the issue of exams, and depending on the major, labs or practical evaluations.
“There's going to be a lot of extra exceptions and provisions that are going to be provided within this,” Monk said.
Pilot programs
Other schools are collaborating to determine what might work. Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville is planning a pilot program for its version of the mental health days.
SIUE and ISU are consulting Northeastern University in Boston that allows students two wellness days in the spring semester. Their program has been in place since 2022, though they advertise it as still being in the pilot phase.
Northeastern prohibits students from using wellness days on exam dates, called “blackout days.”
Isabella Pruitt, an executive board member for SIUE student government, said Edwardsville plans to use Northeastern’s framework. Ideally, students can go into their portal and request days off.
She said SIUE’s program likely won’t be operational until Fall 2024, but conversations are ongoing with the administration. Overall, Pruitt said people are “generally in favor, just a little skeptical.”
“I think everyone recognizes the importance of mental health and mental health for students, but I think the problem is that people don't want to put in the effort to actually address these issues,” she said.
Flexibility for mental health
Andy Morgan is the assistant vice president and dean of students at ISU. He also advises the Student Government Association [SGA].
Morgan pointed out that ISU has an abundance of mental health services for students, but not every student is aware of them, adding services do not equate to time off, and students go through Fall semester with only one break.
“Some of our students, they’re [putting] the pedal to the metal for those 16 weeks, and they burn themselves out,” he said.
Mental health days, Morgan said, also can encourage dialogue.
“How can we better educate our students to better communicate with their faculty?” Morgan said. “I think that's one thing, but also just faculty continuing to have that empathy and understanding when their students do need that time and to focus on their own mental well being is important.”
Excused absences are currently allowed at ISU only for the case of bereavement for the loss of a relative or in the event of military obligations — a state mandate. Professors are given discretion on any further absences, including for illness, hospitalization, or bereavement for the loss of a non-relative — all considered unexcused under university policy.
Individual colleges also can make their own guidance. For example, Emma Beddow, a student at the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts and a student government member, said they were given a school-wide wellness day in Fall. Classes were canceled that day, and the college provided activities surrounding wellness for further encouragement.
“That was one of the things that made me think, why aren't we just doing this anyway? Why aren't we advocating for wellness anyway?” Beddow said about the wellness day.
As someone who has anxiety, she added that the downside to a designated wellness day is that she can’t plan her stress. She said that’s why she’s hoping for the flexibility offered in the bill amendment.
Lake Land College Student Government president Madilyn Brummer said now is the time to get this legislation out there. Lake Land, in Mattoon, is a recent collaborator.
Brummer called mental health a “nonpartisan issue.” [Koehler, who filed the bill, is a Democrat.]
“I think that that is where our main drive is coming from to just speak out for the students and stand up for the students in our college,” she said.
Brummer said the concept also is beneficial to the universities, as it can be used to track a student’s mental health. How many days students take off can be an indicator.
ISU student government member Kerem Tasdan said he thinks the wellness days structure will better prepare students for life outside of college. When looking for a job, he said people are told to consider benefits like sick days and vacation time. Mental health shouldn’t be any different.
“Stuff like that is always in the conversation for our future, and it should be something we're thinking about even now as students you know, being able to choose when you need to take that time,” he said.
If the legislation isn’t enacted, Tasdan said he still thinks the students are having an impact.
“I hope at the very least it opens the eyes of people who may not have been as exposed to the issue,” he said.
Monk, ISU's Student Body president, said he is preparing to make any concessions to the initial asks.
“We're gonna be willing to compromise on everything with this,” he said. “We're trying to pass a state law here, so if they come to us and say, ‘Hey, we're giving you a one day a year,’ we're taking it happily.”
