Disclaimer: machine translated by DeepL which may contain errors.

This is the third and final installment of a series of articles by the Student Support Office of the Faculty of Science. In this last installment, we introduce the characteristics of mental health of students caused by the coronavirus and our policy for supporting them.

The spread of the new coronavirus has brought about changes in lifestyles around the world, and universities are also undergoing major changes in academic and research activities, such as hastily preparing remote classes, limiting the number of students in lecture rooms, and implementing measures to avoid direct contact during experiments and practical training. However, the changes are not limited to visible changes in lifestyle, but also affect the mental health of the people living there in various ways. For example, many people are concerned about the impact on their studies and job-hunting activities and have vague fears about the future because they cannot lead their normal lives due to infection control measures. In addition, the government's declaration of a state of emergency and restrictions on the level of activities at universities have made social life in general inconvenient, and some people feel depressed because they cannot lead a smooth life as before, or are irritated and dissatisfied with the excessive patience they are forced to endure. In particular, there were many cases of students spending more time at home and feeling lonely as a result of remote classes and requests for self-restraint. One new student said, "I don't have a place to make friends. I don't know how to make friends. I don't know how to make friends." "I can't ask the person next to me in the classroom about the lectures. There are many cases of students feeling lonely or being left behind because they cannot keep up with their studies due to the lack of connections among students.

In addition to individualized treatment and general stress management methods, we believe that it is very important to support students in maintaining connections with their surroundings and avoiding isolation. The Student Support Office helps students who have difficulty in accessing faculty members to connect with their surroundings by arranging meetings with faculty members, referring them to other counseling organizations that are more suitable for their needs, and providing advice to Academic and Administrative Staff who are struggling to deal with students. Since our first task is to make our office known to the public, we actively conduct Public Relations Office activities, such as introducing our office at new student guidance sessions, and encourage teachers to introduce our office to students who are concerned about their health.

(We ask students to disinfect with alcohol and take their temperature when entering the room.

In terms of the interview format, we initially introduced online interviews as part of our infection control measures, but as a result, the environment has become more conducive for students to seek support. When mental and physical illnesses appear, students tend to be too lazy to go out, and they tend to be confined to their rooms. In such cases, it becomes difficult to provide continuous support, and the online interview is considered to be one method that can compensate for this. We are considering continuing the online interviews even after the infection situation has settled down.

In the rapidly changing social climate, the challenge for student support is to understand the problems and needs of the time, and to flexibly adjust the support system. We will continue to listen to the voices of students and Academic and Administrative Staff and strive to expand our support. Although face-to-face meetings are currently limited due to infection control measures, please feel free to contact the Student Support Office by e-mail or phone if you have any questions or concerns.

Faculty of Science News September 2021

Message from the Student Support Office for Gender Equality Committee