Brown Univeristy students complain their activism interfering with their Ivy league education
Student activists at Brown University have complained their activism is taking an emotional toll on them and that their extracurricular activities have at times caused them to fail classes. Their claims has garnered complains after their “mental, emotional and physical stress” was featured in an article in the Providence, Rhode Island campus newspaper, the Brown Daily Herald.
“There are people breaking down, dropping out of classes and failing classes because of the activism work they are taking on,” David, an undergraduate whose name has been changed to preserve anonymity, said. Throughout the year, he has worked to confront issues of racism and diversity on campus.
Protester at SeaWorld Orlando 2015 photo/ Brandon Jones, The Global Dispatch
His role as a student activist has taken a toll on his mental, physical and emotional health. “My grades dropped dramatically. My health completely changed. I lost weight. I’m on antidepressants and anti-anxiety pills right now. (Counseling and Psychological Services) counselors called me. I had deans calling me to make sure I was okay,” he said. […]
Justice Gaines ’16, who uses the [gender neutral] pronouns xe, xem and xyr, said student activism efforts on campus are necessary. “I don’t feel okay with seeing students go through hardships without helping and organizing to make things better.”
The Daily Herald reported, Gaines “had a panic attack and couldn’t go to class for several days,” a predicament that was alleviated by notes from campus deans to professors allowing more time to complete academic assignments.
A student activist for Latino issues told the paper, “Homework was the least of my worries.”
The campus paper joined in on the use of the gender neutral words, writing, “Students were called out of class into organizing meetings, and xe felt pressure to help xyr peers cope with what was going on, xe said. Gaines ‘had a panic attack and couldn’t go to class for several days.’”
Those are not typos.
The Blaze has a full story – click HERE
NOTE: The photos of protesters made be from colleges or depict college students, but are NOT from Brown University or of Brown University students
photo/ screenshot
