How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
For most freshmen, Parents' Weekend involves nice dinners, shopping and attending Broadway shows with Mom and Dad. But on Saturday, CAS freshman Sue Schaller's parents were in town for a different reason: to pack her up and bring her home.
After Schaller felt depressed this fall - at times contemplating suicide - NYU told her to take an indefinite medical leave of absence, she said, giving her no choice but to pack up and return home to Arlington, Va., last weekend.
NYU sends about 10 students home on medical leave against their will each year, advising students that it's in their best mental health interest, university spokesman John Beckman said. Schaller said she's feeling better and that she wants to stay in school.
Schaller's story
On Sept. 29, Schaller called NYU's new Wellness Exchange health hot line. She was referred to a counselor, Marcos Quinones, with whom she met several times. Quinones felt Schaller was calling too frequently between appointments, Schaller said, and on Oct. 11 told her to try not calling for a week.
Two days later, feeling 'worse than ever,' Schaller called the Wellness hot line at 8 p.m. instead of calling Quinones. Unable to reach an NYU counselor, she decided not to use the after-hours alternative, LifeNet, though the citywide hot line's counselors have worked closely with NYU.
'What I liked about the NYU hot line was that it was part of the NYU community,' she said. 'I don't like to tell random people my problems.'
Schaller said she then thought about swallowing Tylenol pills.
'I was feeling suicidal without intent,' she said. 'I had a plan, but I did not intend to carry it out.'
Later that night, Schaller e-mailed Quinones. He was out of town, so he forwarded her e-mail to Roger Chabot, a CAS-affiliated counselor, who met with Schaller the next morning.
'He made it clear that he thought the best course of action was to voluntarily admit myself to the hospital,' she said. 'I wasn't too comfortable with that, but they didn't offer me any alternative.'
Chabot would not comment for this article.
After spending four nights in the psychiatric ward at NYU's Tisch Hospital, Schaller says she left feeling happier, confident that her depression could be treated.
'It turns out that the doctors found that my symptoms came in recognizable patterns and were treatable,' she said. 'I was ready to get out of the hospital and get back to classes and my life at NYU.'
A sudden turnabout
But when Schaller met with Chabot before returning to classes, he said he would probably advise her to take a medical leave, she said.
'I asked him for a trial period, a few days to catch up on my work, but he seemed to brush it off,' said Schaller, who had not previously considered leaving school. 'I told him I wanted to be here. I love classes and my life here. I was getting A's and B's in all my classes and never missed a class until the week I was hospitalized.'
Schaller's mother called CAS Freshman Dean Anita Farrington-Brathwaite the next day.
Farrington-Brathwaite, whom Schaller said had previously discussed her case with Chabot, told her mother the decision was final.
NYU: Forced leave rare
Of the 3,400 students who use University Counseling Service each year, about 100 to 120 students take medical leave, and in about 10 cases the student does so unwillingly, university spokesman Beckman said. He said it is against university policy to comment on a specific student's health or academic matters.
'In those rare instances that we do not agree, we make a carefully considered decision, weighing a variety of factors and individual circumstances - including a professional evaluation as to whether a student is a threat to him or herself or others - in mandating a medical leave,' he wrote in an e-mail.
Universities, with advice from counselors, can decide that a student would be healthier after a temporary break from school, Beckman said.
Farrington-Brathwaite, who also declined to address Schaller's case directly, said that academic performance is just one factor in determining how to handle situations in which students are dealing with medical issues.
'Sometimes a mental health issue is of such a concern that a student could be doing well in class, but their health issues override the situation,' she said.
Expert: Leave might be best
It could be difficult for a student to jump back into a hectic college schedule after being in the hospital for a few days, said Dr. Mark Freeman, president of the American College Counseling Association and director of Personal Counseling Center for Rollins College.
'Students who come right back into their environment at school will most likely have to deal with the same stressors as before,' he said. 'Imagine going from the safe environment of the hospital, where there are no stressors, right back to school.'
Freeman said the administration and counseling services at any university should remain as separate as possible, except under extreme circumstances.
'The students should feel that the counseling services are not an arm of the administration,' he said. 'But they can cross lines in confidential situations, when it's a matter of life or death.'
What's next?
Schaller, who said she's not sure whether she'll eventually return to the university, said she doesn't see how being forced to leave NYU when she is feeling better will help her.
'I haven't had suicidal thoughts since I was admitted to the hospital,' she said. 'I can't see how making me leave NYU is going to help anything.'
But Beckman said that students who take medical leave usually find it to be a positive experience.
'In most cases, students who take a mandated break come back and succeed at the university,' he said.
Schaller said she believes NYU's decision to force her to take medical leave may be more about the university's own interests than her well-being.
'There are risks involved with going to the University Counseling Service, because the university is worried about liability issues,' she said.
CAS freshman Terri Scott, who lived next door to Schaller in Goddard residence hall, said her friend's situation has implications for other students here on campus.
'We had a meeting on my floor, and what happened to Sue has made us all think twice about calling the Wellness Exchange,' she said. 'I have friends that are going to counseling outside of school because they don't want it to backfire and end up getting kicked out of school.'
