Anna Rinaggio, Campus Carrier opinions editor

Life as a college student is tough, and managing your mental health on top of all the homework assignments and social obligations that you have each week does not make it any easier. Sometimes when you are going through a tough period where all the work seems to be piling on, it feels almost impossible to get anything done. Going to class and completing even the most basic assignments on time can be difficult. 

While some professors are understanding of these feelings of stress and burnout, not all of them are sympathetic. We have all probably had a professor who only allows two unexcused absences or perhaps even none at all, and when you ask for an extra day to work on a major assignment, they respond with “the due date has been in the syllabus for the whole semester, so you should have started working on it earlier.” You could probably break down in tears in their office while telling them about all the other assignments you have due on the same day, and while they might offer a tissue, they aren’t going to budge on that due date. 

All professors should care about their students’ mental health. It helps create a classroom environment where the students are prepared and encouraged to participate and give their best, and it also helps foster better relationships between the student and professor. A little sympathy for the stress we go through can go a long way, and students will be much happier with a professor who is willing to work with them through those stressful periods. 

It does not require a lot from a professor to be understanding of students’ lives — after all, weren’t they a student once, too? We’re not asking that they give us every little extension on a due date or tons of extra credit, but sometimes life happens and doing every assignment perfectly just isn’t possible. Many of us simply need someone to listen, and a professor who is considerate of the fact that we have a life outside of their classroom makes a huge difference. 

One way professors can show that they care about their students’ mental health is by offering at least two “no questions asked” mental health days a semester that serve as excused absences. Especially when there are not many college sanctioned days off worked into the semester, it can be difficult for students to motivate themselves to get up, go to class and do all their assignments. It can sometimes be embarrassing to have to tell a professor that you are struggling, so having a day or two that you can use without question is something that most students would likely be grateful for. 

Professors can also show that they care about their students by being willing to sit down and talk about the class. If you are struggling in a class, it helps to have an approachable professor who you know is willing to listen to you and will work with you to help you be successful. Perhaps they can offer a new way to frame the content from class so that it makes more sense to the student or maybe they’re willing to be flexible with deadlines when they see that the student really needs it. In any case, when a professor is willing to work with their students, they show that they care about their students and their mental well-being. 

As we are starting to talk about mental health more openly and more people are making their mental health a priority, it is becoming much more difficult for professors to ignore students’ need to care for their mental wellness. We as students need to continue to advocate for ourselves so that more professors see why mental health matters to us. Hopefully, then, we can work together to create an environment where taking students’ mental health into consideration is something that all professors value.