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Following student criticism this semester, Student Wellness Services (SWS) is launching a Student Advisory Committee to help improve the service.
Initially advertised March 31 on the Queen’s University Be Well Facebook page, students who are interested in applying to the SWS Student Advisory Committee can email SWS Director Cynthia Gibney explaining why they’d like to become an advisory board member, what they think the goals for the advisory team should be, and whether they are able to commit to a minimum of one monthly meeting. Applications for the committee are due on May 1.
“Student Wellness Services is committed to listening and responding to the needs of the students we serve. While we are always happy to get informal feedback, we believe it is important to have structured mechanisms to ensure student voices are being heard,” Gibney wrote in a statement to The Journal.
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Queen’s is reporting three new cases of COVID-19 this week, as of Thursday evening.
All three cases were found off-campus. Queen’s has seen a total of 104 cases since Aug. 31: 10 in residence and 94 off-campus. Ninety-nine cases have been resolved, leaving five active cases at Queen’s.
Queen’s cases represent 14.3 per cent of the total cases found in the Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) region. With 17 current active cases, the region entered the green zone Feb. 10
The University is recommending that those who leave the region self-isolate for 14 days upon return. The Student Wellness Services (SWS) COVID-19 testing centre at Mitchell Hall is currently offering asymptomatic and symptomatic testing.
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Queen’s will be receiving additional funding from the Ontario government to increase mental health resources for students.
The provincial government announced on Feb. 9 it would be investing an additional $7 million to increase mental health resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. Queen’s will be receiving approximately $195,800 to put toward mental health supports.
Conversations surrounding increasing mental health supports have dominated the Queen’ sphere this year, with emphasis on the University obtaining better resources to offer students during the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and BIPOC students.
In a written statement to The Journal, Student Wellness Services (SWS) Executive Director Cynthia Gibney noted that, though the University is still in the process of determining how to use the funds, the extra funding will “certainly increase our capacity to meet student mental health needs.”