Commuting, campus involvement may influence student happiness
The university recently made another top 10 list, this time
for The Princeton Review’s least happy students. While mental health issues are
pervasive on college campuses nationwide, UTD’s unique culture may play a role
as well.
The ranking came after The Princeton Review conducted a
survey of 140,000 students at 385 colleges. According to their website, UTD was
ranked for happiness based on how strongly students disagreed with the
statement “I am happy at my school.” Clinical director of the Student
Counseling Center Jenna Temkin said the survey was casually conducted and there
is not a lot of truth to the narrative that UTD is actually unhappy or
depressed as a school.
“Our data is super in-line with what we see nationwide,”
Temkin said. “In line with that, the highest prevalence is of depression,
anxiety, adjustment to college. We have a lot of international students, so we
see a lot of acculturation issues, we also see a lot of identity exploration.”
According to our University Profile, UTD’s students are
mainly Texas residents, with a large portion of Dallas residents. Going to
college close to home ensures proximity to parents, old friends and general
familiarity with the environment. However, commuting may also be detrimental,
Temkin said.
“I do see students
here with whether it’s depression or whether there’s sadness, a lot of that I
think can be around disconnection, like lack of connection to others,” she
said. “There can be a lack of connection to campus and community here and
friends here, which can definitely come from commuting.”
UTD’s Common Data Set, a compilation of facts and figures
about the university, states that 75% of undergraduate students commute.
Associate Dean for Health and Wellness Initiatives Laura Smith said that commuting
can be stressful, but there are initiatives such as Road Warriors that students
can participate in to combat the stress.
The Huffington Post found that it can be tempting for
commuter or local students to choose a weekend night at home over a night on
campus. It can also be harder for a student to become more independent when
living with their family. Neuroscience senior Elise Pariseau said she only
spends up to three hours on campus, and she agrees that being so close to home
has been difficult.
“I often find myself regretting my decision,” Pariseau said.
“I would’ve liked going to college far away from home because at this point, I
am so ready to get out of Richardson. Sometimes the atmosphere is weary and
that’s why I’m anxious to move on with my life.”
The majority population of local students can also take its
toll on residential students that come from somewhere else, said biochemistry
sophomore Addison Branch.
“A major issue that I had when I first arrived was that I
was one of the only ones from my area of the state, and the majority of the
people I met were already in established friend groups from high school, which
made it hard to make friends,” Branch said. “The loneliness from that mixed
with the everyday stress from being in college made my not-so-great mental
health worse.”
Student Affairs implemented a five-year plan in 2018 to
increase investment in staff development to serve the growing student body,
according to their website. Initiative four of this five-initiative plan is to
enrich the student experience. The department plans to provide programs to
foster engagement and create opportunities for a holistic wellness approach
towards student’s well-being, Smith said.
“Campus involvement is the easiest way to foster a
relationship with your school and make friends,” Smith said. “There are a lot
of events that organizations put on that don’t have good attendance, and even
most sports games don’t have a lot of attendees even though we have great
sports teams.”
Management senior Charles Hooper is another residential
student from Austin, who dealt with mental illness and utilized the Counseling
Center. They were very helpful, and he feels good about his life on campus, he
said.
“I love it. I was fortunate to find the right activities and
organizations and things to do,” Hooper said. “I took the advice to get
involved and take care of myself and it’s been a blast.”
UTD is still transitioning into a more traditional college
campus, Temkin said. The administration is working hard, but the students also
have to engage.
“Our administration can only do so much,” she said. “We are
still transitioning as a school, and it’s partially up to the students to
participate and really engage with the school so we can successfully
transition.”