Living Black at University Commission Report 2022/23 Living Black at University Commission Report 2022/23 2.1 INTRODUCTION Nicola Frampton Over the past decade, the HE sector has become increasingly Insight Manager, Student Minds aware of, and concerned about, students’ mental health. Evidence suggests that a large proportion of students are 3 experiencing poor mental health, with particularly high rates of 4 anxiety and loneliness reported during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to symptoms of depression and issues with food and 5 body image. The impact of poor mental health at university is clear: students experiencing mental illness are more likely to drop out or underperform, and less likely to secure higher-level 6 employment or postgraduate study. Although the sector’s approach to supporting mental health has developed substantially, there has been limited progress in understanding the role of inequalities in shaping mental health and support, including the relationship between race and mental health within HE. Some research, including that carried out by Student Minds, has found that Black students report lower rates of mental 7 distress than Asian and White students, whilst also reporting 8 disproportionately high rates of loneliness. Stoll et al. identi昀椀ed several key themes shaping the mental health of 9 Black students in the UK: academic pressure; learning environments; MENTAL HEALTH Black gendered experiences; culture shock; alienation and isolation; racism; and support. The study highlighted that “for Black university students, their mental health… may be deeply rooted in institutional factors or dimensions, largely racism, which negatively a昀昀ects most 2.1 Introduction 23 aspects of their higher education experiences.” This is echoed by the Living Black at University research, which found that 75% of Black 2.2 Recommendation 7 24 students surveyed had experienced a negative impact to their mental 10 health because of racism. 3 2.3 Case study: LSBU 25 Student Minds, February 2023: new research 昀椀ndings on student mental health, February 2023 Good student mental health requires a whole-university approach, 4 O昀케ce for National Statistics (ONS), and that includes understanding and dismantling barriers created 2.4 Case study: Student Minds 26 Coronavirus and higher education students, March 2022 5 and sustained by inequalities. This chapter highlights some of the ONS, Coronavirus and 昀椀rst year higher education students, England: 4 October to 11 October 2021, October 2021 good work happening across the sector that is speci昀椀c to mental 6 Gareth Hughes and Leigh Spanner, health, but it is important to remember that the work highlighted University Mental Health Charter, 2019 in other chapters will also have positive wellbeing impacts 7 Cibyl, Student Mental Health Study 2022, October 2022 8 too. As a sector, we must strive to not only respond to mental HEPI, Student Academic Experience Study, 2022 9 Nkasi Stoll, Yannick Yalipende, Nicola C Byrom, Stephani illness e昀昀ectively, but also to proactively create mentally healthy L Hatch, Heidi Lempp, Mental health and mental well-being environments for all students. of Black students at UK universities: a review and thematic BACK TO CONTENTS synthesis, 2022 10 Unite Students, Living Black at University, February 2022 2222 23