“Involuntary withdrawal” policies exist all over college and university campuses and these policies negatively impact mentally ill students. Essentially, under these policies students who attempt suicide or make suicidal statements can be removed from their housing, their classes, and even banned from campus.
A Western Michigan University student was withdrawn from classes after he was hospitalized for depression. Another student at Princeton was banned from classes following a suicide attempt, which eventually forced him to withdraw from the university.
These aren’t just isolated incidents, there are several other cases of students being banned from attending classes or being on campus following their hospitalization for mental health treatments.
Many universities have these blanket removal policies for students suffering from mental health issues. However, policies that ban mental ill college students from being able to attend their classes and continue at their universities is incredibly problematic, both in a legal and moral sense.
Incidents where students are forcibly removed from university might discourage other students from seeking psychiatric help out of fear that they will also be removed from campus. Removing students from campus during a mental health crisis also takes those students away from the resources that they have on campus, including counseling services, which are often free or at a reduced rate, and their friends.
Colleges with blanketed involuntary removal policies also might be violating federal disability laws. The Americans With Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against those with psychiatric disabilities and blanket removal policies unfairly target those with mental illnesses.
Colleges should be providing individualized assessments for suicidal or self-harming students in order to determine if they pose a legitimate danger to campus safety. It is important to provide these individuals with personalized assessments in order to determine if there are reasonable accommodations that can be made to allow them to remain or campus and continue with their studies.
It is highly important, in both the legal and moral sense, for colleges and universities to support and accommodate mentally ill and suicidal students without removing them from campus life.
Mentally ill college students deserve support and respect, and they do not deserve to be treated like they are threats to campus safety. Blanketed involuntary removal policies are highly discriminatory and have no place in university policies.