Graphic by Megan Eloise/The Gazelle

The departure of one of NYU Abu Dhabi’s two counselors, announced on Dec. 14 in a school-wide email, highlights the instability, shortage and disorder that has long characterized mental health support at this institution. Despite repeated requests for the university to offer better mental health services, many students feel that the counseling system at NYUAD remains inadequate.

The university is working hard to address student concerns. The Gazelle recognizes that administration face a challenging licensing and hiring system, in which delay is unavoidable. The university’s search for counselors has adhered to high standards of professionalism and a consistent concern for student well-being, and The Gazelle is heartened by the news of two incoming hires, who will begin counseling at NYUAD this spring semester. We hope university leadership will sustain this momentum until NYUAD reaches its goal of hiring four counselors for the entire student body. In the meantime, students can seek out alternative support through the REACH team, Residential Education and the Office of Mental Health Promotion.

However, students have waited a long time — already too long — for adequate mental health support. They have faced backlogs, difficulty booking appointments and a high turnover rate; in less than two years, students have seen the departure of five different counselors. The trust and understanding that students build with particular counselors have been cut off because of the temporariness of some counselors’ stay. These obstacles are particularly damaging due to the stigma surrounding mental health, and the related difficulty of asking for counseling.

At NYUAD, students quickly learn how to adjust themselves to an unpredictable, shifting environment. We are used to changes in university curricula, administration and even the campus itself, disruptive as these may be. Features of NYUAD may be offered and taken away at random. Some university policies are modified year-to-year. The tap water is safe to drink one day, and not so the next. This unpredictability is what we have signed up for, and in many ways, makes our campus a dynamic site of improvisation, innovation and critical thought.

But mental health is not negotiable. It is one area in which the university's promises and claims must be fulfilled. The Gazelle is enthusiastic about the possibility of four counselors, and the work administration is doing to reach this point. We hope NYUAD's administration and its students will hold each other to this goal as we move forward.