Mental Health Week 2023
Last week Uppsala Student Union celebrated Mental Health Week. Our focus during the week was on students' need for recovery. We wanted to highlight that students have a need for rest and time off, even if the conditions differ between the different programs we represent. Each day of the week, we published a statement from one of our four sections to highlight the challenges faced by their students.
The week also started with a debate article in Ergo where we presented our overall position on the issue of recovery. Our message was that students' need for recovery is not taken seriously enough. On the contrary, student life is often perceived as full of laziness and students as lazy. In our opinion piece, we made it clear that we do not buy this picture. The problem lies not in students' work ethic but in the conditions we are given to complete our studies.
In parallel with the release of the opinion piece on Monday during Mental Health Week, we also started publishing the statements of the section presidents and the vice-president of the union. You can read these statements below:
Elsa Ewert
President, Humanities Section
A day on placement involves a journey of up to 90 minutes one way, as well as an 8-hour working day filled with auscultations, lectures and meetings. When you get home and it's time to rest, there are writing assignments and memos waiting to be written. There is a lot a student teacher can do during their internship, but what we rarely find time for is recovery.
Evina Zebili
Chairperson, Section Teaching
The counter-arguments we hear when we talk about the pressure we experience on placement are that working in healthcare is stressful. It is simply best that we get used to it. This is not a reasonable attitude to our training. We should not have to get used to being burnt out before our professional life has even begun.
Ernst Bergman
President, Medical Section
As a social science student, you not only need to complete the week's reading, but also create your own framework for how to get through the reading. Studying full-time without proper support, while struggling to make time for recovery, puts many students at risk of running into walls and being forced to pause or opt out of their studies.
Lies Youcefi
President, Social Sciences Section
No other group in society would be expected to put up with the blurring of the lines between work and leisure as students are forced to do. Studying 30 credits per semester means engaging in a full-time occupation. A full-time job should be designed in such a way that there is room for rest and recovery. This is not the case for the country's students. Uppsala Student Union therefore demands that all students be given good conditions for rest and recovery.
Linnea Rydén
Vice President, Uppsala Student Union
Students' mental well-being needs health factors. A day off after graduation, paid vacation, more teacher-led hours and better conditions during internships are some examples of such wellness factors. Uppsala Student Union has been fighting for these issues for a long time and will not give up until they become reality. We deserve better recovery.
Do you want to work towards better recovery and a healthier working environment for students?
If so, you should get involved in your section and become a student representative. Contact details for the sections can be found here and more information on being a student representative and our vacancies can be found here.
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