“It goes without saying that I’m also concerned that so much of the weight of this problem falls upon the shoulders of senior tutors who are supposed to devote to the Houses only half their working time,” Pertile wrote in the e-mail exchange obtained by The Crimson. “In the case of Eliot House, we are fortunate that Oona Ceder is such an outstanding senior tutor, whose devotion to the House has no limits. However, I would not be surprised if one day the weight she is bearing turned out to be too much, even for her!”

Ceder declined to comment on this e-mail exchange.

For a student with a mental health concern, the senior tutor’s main job is helping the student get to care, according to Lowell House Senior Tutor Jay Ellison.

Ellison writes in an e-mail that senior tutors are not expected to be mental health professionals, but rather to be aware of all the resources available to students.

But in recent years, some senior tutors and Masters say the role has expanded beyond its original intent.

“It’s certainly getting harder,” Cabot House Master Jay M. Harris says of the senior tutor’s role. “They are obviously still doing it, but I think it’s an enormous task.”

Harris says he thinks senior tutors may need more assistance because of the “enormous proportion” of time that they now need to devote to student academic and mental health issues.

“It may be time to start looking at getting them some help,” he says.

Leverett House Master Howard Georgi writes in an e-mail that he thinks perhaps Sept. 11 and the war in Iraq may have contributed to an increase in issues for senior tutors to deal with in the past few years.

“The past few years have been a little more difficult then the few before that, and the senior tutors have had an even tougher job,” writes Georgi, who has been Master for six years.

He also suggests that senior tutors have gotten better at identifying mental health problems and, as a result, have more work.

Quinn says this huge work load is impairing the ability of the House system to help students with mental health problems.

“Given the increased need, the current system, which places the lion’s share of responsibility for 400 students on a single part-time administrator trained only in an academic discipline, seems dangerously outdated,” Quinn wrote in her letter to administrators.

University Provost Steven E. Hyman says he wants to work to improve training for tutors and outreach efforts from senior tutors and Masters.

Making the Grade