How the DEI repeal affects students' mental health

“[Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] is super intertwined with mental health," Emma Serrano, treasurer of the Affirmative Action Coalition at UNC said. "Because it's a way to support students who otherwise would need perhaps more support as an aggregate community.”

Serrano said college is a time where students face greater mental challenges, saying the University's former DEI policy was a mechanism to support all students at UNC.

“It's attuned to the diverse challenges that those communities might face,” she said.

According to the University’s Counseling and Psychological Services website, public and mental health professionals have known that racism, discrimination, oppression and inequality have negative effects on physical, mental, and spiritual health.

A UNC study from 2019 found that mental health impacts minority students in different ways compared to their classmates.

The study found that Black and mixed-race students experience higher rates of anxiety and depression than their peers. Black and Hispanic students also reported higher prevalence for academic, appearance and work stressors than other demographics. 

The DEI policy repeal in May 2024 by the Board of Governors has raised questions about its impacts on the student community, including effects on the mental health of underrepresented and minority students.

Victor Schoenbach, director of the Minority Health Project in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, said in an email statement that even non-minority and ‘untraditional’ minority students may be troubled by the DEI repeal across the UNC system. 

“'Minority'" now can embrace so many more groups [e.g., sexual minorities, first generation students, neurodiverse students, international students, non-Judeo-Christian groups, etc.], so seeing the universities move away from actions designed to welcome, support, and include can be disquieting for many people other than ‘traditional minorities,’” he said.

Some campus entities, such as UNC's CAPS, have not been required to revise policies since the repeal.

CAPS Director Avery Cook said in an email statement that CAPS programs, such as the Multicultural Health Program, aim to address disparities including stigma and access to resources through outreach, workshops and more. 

“Counseling and Psychological Services staff are strongly committed to addressing the needs of a diverse student body and to developing multicultural competence among our staff,” they said. “As trained counselors, we know that aspects of individuals’ identity enhance the understanding and treatment of all people.”

Serrano said that academic centers such as the Asian American Center, the Carolina Latinx Center, the American Indian Center and the Sonja Haynes Stone Center were also integral in providing mental health support, community, and safe spaces for students. 

“A lot of them have been around for several years,” she said. “They've been involved in several important student movements. And even more important than that, I think, is the continuous support they've been providing to Carolina students. So I just can't imagine a world where we don't have our academic centers to support students at UNC. And I don't want to.”

Student Body President Jaleah Taylor had worked with the University Office for Diversity and Inclusion’s DEI Fellows Program. Taylor said the disbandment of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion could make it more challenging for minority students to find resources at UNC. 

She also said that this could add mental health strain on students — especially on student organizations and leaders advocating for diversity-related issues because a lot of the students’ advocacy work is not done in conjunction with the University.

“Being a marginalized student, it's already hard enough,” she said. “There's already natural stressors. But when you also have something as powerful as DEI being removed from the system that affects your very presence on campus and the future students that look like you, coming into campus, it definitely takes a toll on your mental health.”

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