Thread by @DrPetra

Drug use among students and staff, particularly when self medicating because of the stressors caused/worsened by universities undoubtedly need addressing. Am unsure if/how this proposed plan will centre or undo damage caused by unis themselves.

https://twitter.com/universitiesuk/status/1492452673601343495

At this point we have few comprehensive, inclusive or accessible #AcademicMentalHealth policies or practices. We need universities to recognise the role they play in making or maintaining situations. And we need better care and support for exhausted students and staff.

Addressing drug and alcohol use within a context of wellbeing is only going to work if there are structures in place to reduce harms and enable students and staff. That is largely missing and has broken further with the pandemic.

The scope for a focus on drugs to become a mechanism for further excluding, harming and profiling minoritised students and to increase problems on campus (particularly around security, safety and access) is a concern. What assurances are there around these issues?

This statement needs attention “Make student drug use visible as a welfare and health issue with consequences for exploitation,mental health, learning, employability and community.” Others in this field can you comment on a consequences based model of addressing student drug use?

Students and staff have repeatedly noted the need to attend to inequalities, accessibility and harms caused or worsened by universities or cuts to services externally, alongside problems within their wider lives and homes. Have these been adequately dealt with?

How many of the already reported and requested areas of help intersect with student drug use and what evidence is there that student drug use is a priority issue - why this and why now?
What do we also know from students about drug use that they need help or advice with?

Is this truly going to be focused on wellbeing (if so will that be part of campus wide support and meaningful change across issues/barriers/harms?) Or is this going to be consequence-based, housing and surveillance related with risks to minoritised students and staff increased?

Given how most students in the U.K. have not been on campus in the same numbers (pandemic) clarity is also needed on what the drug concerns here are. Is it about use away from campus during covid or using drugs on campus now? Each brings with it different issues and support needs

Also useful questions to ask are the focus on drugs as a priority but not, apparently, alcohol. Why? (I may have this wrong it might be alcohol too, I couldn’t tell). What support is missing already that students might have used? How have gaps in support contributed to issues

It’s difficult when questioning proposals to improve student welfare not to seem either automatically dismissive or uncaring. We need a conversation about joined up approaches on #AcademicMentalHealth ensuring responses in one area don’t increase or ignore harm in another