A Chicago Tribune article, "Colleges Take Hard Line on Psychological Problems," makes the following observation:
From large public institutions to small, private colleges, a growing number of schools are taking punitive action against students who display mental illness, ranging from bipolar disorder to eating disorders, experts say.
With better mental health services in younger grades, more youth with mental illness are arriving on college campuses than ever before. At the same time, courts have indicated that schools can be held legally responsible if students harm themselves or others.
Administrators, mindful of the safety of the larger community, say they need to be proactive.
But critics call it overreactive. They say schools are discriminating against those who have a medical condition, deterring students from seeking help and driving dangerous behavior underground.
"The message is that we only want people here who don't have physical or mental impairments," said Karen Bower, an attorney with the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. "And if you have one, you'd better have it under control at all times."
2 comments:
General:
Reminds me of the young lady at the DBSA Conference who told a break-out group about being expelled from a private high school because the principal found out she had been absent due to a..hospitalization for attempted suicide. The teen was wiping tears from her eyes. We must never surrender or give ground to those who would persecute us because our neurons fire in odd patterns and at inconvenient times. --- W.T. Sherman
Sherman,
What kind of message does this send out to the world? That it's OK to throw people away on account of illness? If it's mental illness today, what kind of discriminator will it be tomorrow? Most people with mental disorders are not violent, and most violent people are not mentally ill - HOWEVER, if someone is truly disturbed, the experience of rejection rather than lending a helping hand may be the trigger to start another Virginia Tech or Columbine massacre!
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