Trigger Warning: This article mentions suicide and discusses other mental health issues. If you need assistance, a list of helplines can be found at the bottom of this article.
The University of Toronto (U of T) has been facing, what students are calling, a mental health crisis after four suicides on campus since 2018, three of which occurred in Bahen Centre.
According to The Varsity, students have been repeatedly calling for action from U of T following each death that has occurred on campus.
In 2018, the Governing Council, which is the university’s highest decision making body, passed a university mandated leave of absence policy. The policy which was first proposed in 2017, would allow U of T to place students on a mandatory leave of absence if the mental health of the student negatively impacted their studies or posed a physical risk to themselves or others.
However, students from U of T, York University and Ryerson University expressed outrage over the decision to implement the policy, reported The Varsity.
In March of 2019, U of T created the Presidential and Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health.
The task force was part of a four part action plan that U of T implemented in response to student outrage. The other aspects were: utilizing the Undergraduate Student Educational Experience (USEE) Expert Panel and School of Graduate Studies (SGS) consultations on student experience; engage with partners in the health system in Toronto; and put pressure on the provincial government to provide more resources for university student mental health.
On Nov. 25, the task force completed their consultation period and released a draft summary of their findings. They are scheduled to provide recommendations to U of T in December 2019.
The draft summary reported that students and faculty had difficulty navigating the services and resources that are available, resulting in them not understanding how to access them appropriately.
It also found that there was a lack of clarity concerning the roles and responsibilities that U of T has in supporting mental health on campus and that there needs to be clarification about services offered by U of T to students.
The summary found that the competitive culture at U of T impacts students’ well-being in a negative way. They suggested that U of T needs to foster a “community of care” so that students have the support system in place to help them with the stress of their workload.
Handcuffing Students on Campus
In November 2019, The Medium reported that a student was handcuffed by campus police on the U of T Mississauga campus following her seeking professional help for suicidal thoughts.
Anita Mozaffari is a third-year anthropology (science) major at the U of T Mississauga (UTM) campus who accompanied her friend to the Health and Counselling Centre (HCC).
The student and Mozaffari went to the HCC to seek professional help. Their goal was to start the process needed in order for the student to be able to see a psychiatrist on campus.
The student and Mozaffari saw a nurse at HCC and came up with a safety plan; the student would stay the night with Mozaffari.
The nurse then called campus police, saying it was protocol. The two students were told they would have a brief conversation with the campus police, and then be sent home.
However, after explaining their safety plan to the two officers, they told the pair they needed to arrest the student and take her to a hospital. They were told there was no other option and that arresting and handcuffing her was U of T mandatory protocol.
The student and Mozaffari were escorted off campus and taken to Credit Valley Hospital where the student ended up receiving help and support from the staff. 
The two students have filed an official complaint to U of T regarding the incident.
“Despite having filed a formal complaint with U of T before taking any other actions, and despite having spoken with a Wellness Ambassador of the UTM HCC, and despite having a faculty member reach out to university executives on our behalf, I have yet to hear an apology from the university to my friend,” said Mozaffari in an email.
“We received no meaningful response from U of T for weeks, and were only offered a meeting with the Dean of Student Affairs, Mark Overton, after we talked about the incident on CBC News.”
“This leads me to have the opinion that the university did not care about apologizing and making amends for its mistreatment of my friend, more than it cared about protecting its image and doing damage control,” said Mozaffari.
The student has seeked help from hospitals for similar reasons and told The Medium they were never treated this way before.
“The fact that U of T involves campus police and their handcuffing protocols in dealing with students in mental health crisis, informs me that U of T cares more about protecting itself from litigation than it cares to protect its students from the trauma and humiliation of such a criminalizing display,” said Mozaffari.
Student Response
Mozaffari said the biggest issue is the university not listening to the demand of students.
“There is no transparency, and it is unclear to me what actions they are actually taking to listen to us.”
She describes the mental health task force as “grandstanding.”
“These are issues concerning how we, the students, are not only allowed to contribute to the task force, but have our contributions treated as absolutely critical and most significant and impactful to results,” said Mozaffari.
“The so-called student consultations that the university advertises itself as having employed frequently during periods of student unrest don’t mean much when the university is not using the consultations effectively or genuinely,” said Mozaffari.
“I was never made aware of when these consultations were going on, otherwise I would’ve spoken up,” said Mozaffari.
In response to the mandatory leave of absence, Mozafarri described it as “tone-deaf.”
“It is wrong to force students into taking a leave of absence because they are struggling. Rather than it being an option that aids students, it comes to serve as an inescapable punishment.”
“I would say that the university should repeal the mandated leave of absence, and then create a new policy that provides the option for students to take a leave of absence if they and their healthcare team deem it appropriate and helpful,” said Mozaffari.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, contact:
- Mental Health Crisis Line: 613-722-6914 (within Ottawa) and 1-866-996-0991 (outside Ottawa)
- Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region 24-hour line: 613-238-3311
- Youth Services Bureau 24/7 Crisis Line: 613-260-2360 or 1-877-377-7775 (toll free for eastern Ontario).
- EmpowerMe 24/7 helpline: 1-844-741-6389 (anywhere in North America)
- Good2Talk helpline: 1-866-925-5454 (anywhere in Ontario 24/7)
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT-686868 (available anywhere in Canada 24/7)
Students who require counselling support can go in person between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, to Health and Counselling Services at the CTTC Building, Suite 2600. Students may also call 613-520-6674 or walk in to schedule an appointment.
Carleton employees can access the after-hours Employee Assistance Program (EAP) by calling 1-800-668-9920, or during regular business hours at 613-725-5676.
Feature image from file, with graphics by Temur Durrani.
