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Imagine you’re sitting down with a group of seasoned college counselors, their faces etched with years of experience and genuine care for students. They’ve just sent a powerful letter to the university’s top brass, the Board of Trustees, and they’re here to explain why. “Look,” one of them begins, leaning forward, “we’ve been working in the CSU system for a combined century, helping students navigate all sorts of challenges. And frankly, we’re really worried about some misleading information coming out of the Chancellor’s Office regarding student mental health.” It’s not just about correcting facts; it’s about making sure everyone understands the real picture, not some distorted version. They emphasize how crucial it is for the Trustees to approach this with an open mind and a sense of responsibility, because at the end of the day, it’s about the well-being of thousands of young people they all serve.
The counselors then recount a specific incident that really got their alarm bells ringing. “Just last month, at a Board meeting,” another counselor chimes in, “two high-ranking Dr. Dilcie Perez and Dr. Carolyn O’Keefe, gave a presentation. They claimed that our CSU students were experiencing suicidal thoughts at ‘double the national average.’ They even put it on a slide: ‘28.3% of CSU students, compared to a national average of 10-15%.’ And then they declared, ‘This is a system-level crisis!'” You can almost see their frustration as they explain, “But here’s the thing: that comparison just isn’t right. It’s not only incredibly misleading to the Trustees, but to everyone who deeply cares about our students. It’s like they were comparing apples to oranges, or even apples to entirely different fruits, using numbers from different surveys that shouldn’t be matched up that way.” They reveal that, according to the proper comparison using the National College Health Assessment survey, CSU students actually reported lower rates of suicidal ideation (24.2%) than the national average (25.9%). “It leaves us wondering,” a counselor pauses, “why would they present such skewed data? What was the real motive behind painting such a dire, and inaccurate, picture of our students’ mental health?”
Their concerns don’t stop at the numbers. The counselors feel strongly that this “crisis narrative” wasn’t just a mistake, but a calculated move. “From our perspective, and honestly, from anyone looking at this logically,” one explains, “it seems like this misinformation was planted to build a case for pushing through a major contract with a company called TimelyCare.” They point out that immediately after exaggerating the crisis, the presentation pivoted to advocating specifically for TimelyCare’s after-hours services. “They used words like ‘mandate’ and ‘duty’,” another counselor recalls, “almost as if they were trying to scare the Trustees into signing up. They even suggested that our campuses weren’t providing adequate after-hours support, which is simply not true!” In reality, most, if not all, CSU campuses already use a well-established and respected service called ProtoCall by Welltrack, which has been the industry standard for over 30 years. “And here’s the kicker,” they add, “TimelyCare is not only unproven, but it’s also a for-profit company that costs a lot more, which is a huge concern when budgets are already so tight. We’d encourage the Trustees to look into how little TimelyCare is actually being used on some campuses, despite its high cost.”
The counselors then highlight another document, a report on student mental health spending, that also raises red flags. “There’s another report, the ‘Student Mental Health and Basic Needs Initiatives Report – 2024-25’,” a counselor states, “and based on our review, it also contains some questionable information.” They’ve noticed inconsistencies between what the report claims and what they know to be true on the ground. “For instance,” one elaborates, “it talks about adding counselors because of new funds, but it doesn’t always account for counselors who left during that same time, or it seems to inflate the actual number of staff. Even more concerning, there’s evidence that some of the ‘additional’ mental health funds weren’t actually added to existing mental health budgets. Instead, it looks like they might have been used to offset other university or departmental budget shortfalls, essentially redirecting money meant for student mental health.” This, they emphasize, is a serious issue, especially when nearly $16 million was specifically designated for additional support to students.
Bringing their discussion to a close, the counselors reiterate their deeply ethical motivations for speaking out. “As counselors within the CSU system, dedicated to our students’ mental health,” one concludes, “we feel it’s our duty to raise these concerns, guided by the principles of doing good and being truthful. We, just like we believe you, the Trustees, do, deeply care about the well-being of our students. We work tirelessly to ensure they have every opportunity to succeed and thrive.” They emphasize that as the governing body, accountable to both students and the public, the Trustees have a responsibility to ensure that all future efforts to support student mental health are built on accurate information, communicated openly and honestly, and firmly rooted in evidence. Their message is clear: when it comes to the mental health of thousands of young people, transparency and integrity are not just ideals, they are necessities.