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In the last few years, there’s been no shortage of commentary lamenting college student’s mental health.

But a recent University-wide survey found that Harvard students enjoy better mental health on some metrics than those at peer institutions across the nation. According to the results, students here reported less frequent symptoms of anxiety, depression, and suicidality compared with the national average.

Of course, these findings are heartening — but they should prompt more than a pat on the back. Harvard still has a ways to go to track mental health reliably, and build an environment that makes for findings deserving of celebration.

For one, we have our doubts that any one survey is robust enough to carry the weight of an optimistic headline. This one demanded 25-30 minutes to complete, prompting a 25 percent response rate — a figure all the more troubling when the very outcomes being measured (stress, depression, lack of time) also affect willingness and ability to respond.

Not to mention these results represent only a snapshot in time, reported in aggregate across the College and the 12 graduate and professional schools housed under the Harvard banner. To be sure that our students are less stressed than average, we need more convincing.

But we don’t require impeccable survey methodology to know there’s still a problem. Mental health struggles are a crisis for our generation, and buried beneath this survey’s topline findings are indications of ample room for improvement: Harvard students reported high rates of impostor syndrome, disordered eating, and binge drinking.

The shuttering DEI offices, which provided a familiar entry point and visible staff for formal care and informal support networks, certainly hasn’t helped. And as the University places a great emphasis on academic rigor, we hope that comes with an accompanying expansion of resources to support classroom success.

Still, to address concerns about wellbeing, we all have a role to play. The most commonly cited barrier to care was lack of time. Harvard students barely think they have time for a 30-minute survey, let alone attend a 50-minute therapy session. Too often, we allow our academic and extracurricular commitments to take priority over our mental health. It’s time for a campus-wide priority shift.

On Harvard’s part: Mental health resources require reliability, not just availability. In September, Harvard canceled psychiatry appointments for those using TimelyCare, a free telehealth platform due to contractual friction — despite the very real impact on many students. Harvard Counseling and Mental Health Services might report shorter wait times for therapy, but care that starts and sputters is care that students stop trusting.

On campus mental health, we’re not sure Harvard has all that much to celebrate yet. A step in the right direction is just that — when it comes to wellbeing, our campus needs a paradigm shift.

This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.

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