Specialinvestigation Continued from page 7 “Some of that is going to be the workload stress, some of it's going to be students moving away from home perhaps for the first time so they can attend school, some of it may be unique aspects of school life itself unrelated to exams,” Berland said. Rachel Anthony, a former Lan- gara student, went to counselling services about a year ago for similar reasons. “I was going through an emo- tional roller coaster and I went in to talk to one of the counsellors just about how to ground myself and focus back on doing my exams or studying for them,” she said Anthony has sought services from a private counsellor because she thought student services didn’t offer her the adequate help she re- uired. “T felt like they just didn't want to talk about anything emotional and didn't want to know you person- ally. They were just there to give you facts,” she said. Bowers, who also worked at UBC, said the issues are not limited to Langara. “The mental health trends we are seeing is a phenomenon across all post-secondary schools,” she said. Elida Izani, a graduate of the film production program at UBC, felt she was not prioritized when she sought help. “I wasn't critical; my grades were fine, I was handing in my work on time, I had very high-functioning depression and anxiety, essential- ly...But I didn't feel like my illness was all that legitimate, and to this day, I still have those doubts,” she said. “I'm not saying that UBC coun- selling was the cause of those doubts, but they certainly exacer- bated them.” Izani said she thinks because of counselling services lack of resourc- es, they have to prioritize those struggling with school. Ji-Youn Kim is the founder of The Tipping Point, an advocacy group that aims to encourage post-secondary institutions to bet- ter support student mental health. She said she used to go to UBC, but dropped out due to her mental health. “If universities have the money, EDITOREVANHAGEDORN | wt Ji-Youn Kim is the founder of The Tipping Point, an advocacy group that aims to encourage post-secondary institu- tions to better support student mental health. suairreo PHOTO they're not allocating it for the students. They're allocating it for things like research...but also, who funds that research? The undergrad students,” Kim said. “We need to start shifting from research based universities to stu- dent learning based because univer- sities cannot function, they cannot continue to do the research without the students and the students aren't going to come in unless they're happy and they're doing well.” Kim said she is seeing effort be- er ing made, but not necessarily where it’s needed. She said she sees it be- ing put into short-term fixes, but feels the need for post-secondary institutions to start looking deeper and focus on prevention. “Listening to the needs before TUESDAY, NOV. 28,2017 | THE VOICE 9 Mental health services stretched a ee crisis, before emergency is so key. And so, I would ask universities and staff and faculty to get curious,” she said. Kim said she thinks there is a better chance for smaller institu- tions to implement changes. Langara Student Services are aware of the shortcomings in men- tal health care and are implement- ing change, Bowers said. “The college is currently engaged in many initiatives supporting the wellness of the college community,” she said, adding they are hoping to create a unique system that bet- ter serves the individual needs of students. Berland said issues that counselling services may be fac- ing are not necessarily a result of a higher demand. “There's precious little in the way of data. And that's a problem. ‘There's not enough investment in actually keeping track of what's go- ing on,” he said. Data for Langara was unavail- able. The last updated survey about mental health in Canada was done by the American College Health Association last year. Statistics Canada latest mental health statis- tics were posted in 2014. Students that have spoken about their experiences agree that seeking treatment is personal. Annalise Fischer, a UBC student, said she thinksit’s important to find a counsellor you like. She said she has been to appointments where she felt her situation was trivialized. “That's definitely part of the issue with getting treatment from either a counsellor or psychiatrist. Some people need the sort of tough-love and that's what gets them going,” Fischer said. “Some people respond really well to that and then they kind of realize that they are capable. But other people, that just proves to them the opposite.” Organizations are working on developing more comprehensive mental health strategies in post- secondary schools. Bowers said that Langara is currently engaged in many initiatives to support the wellness of the college community. She said counsellors are visiting classrooms, they have hired more staff and are implementing new models to support students’ different mental health needs. International students struggling Continued from page 7 “I have merchants reducing the number of hours their businesses are open because of this shortage, so this is an important issue.” Ryul Kwon, owner of Aperture Coffee Bar, said the work limit makes it problematic to hire inter- national students for his two loca- tions on West Broadway and Main Street. Learning the job becomes challenging when students can only work limited hours, he said. “I might just keep training them forever because they don't work enough.” According to the federal _Immi- gration and Citizenship website, if an international student meets cer- tain requirements, they can work up to 20 hours per week off-campus. Vancouver East MP, Jenny Kwan, the NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said cost of living and education for inter- national students in Vancouver is horrendous and that many of them don't have the resources they need. “Relying on work is critical to that financial pressure,” Kwan said in an interview. Kwan also said international stu- dents’ work experience is not count- ed towards their permanent status application. “I think this is something that needs to change as well,” she said. According to Statistics Canada, international students pay up to four times more than Canadian students for tuition fees for degree programs. A recent Vancouver Sun report said international students contribute more than $3.5 billion to B.C.’s economy annually which is more than the forestry, pulp and paper and fishing industries. Andrew Langille, a labour law- yer based in Toronto, said the fed- eral and provincial governments see international students as a way for universities to balance the budget in the face of persistent underfunding. “Do we see these students as po- tential citizens? Or do we see them as cash cows? I think it’s a bit of both,” Langille said. Langille said Canada is not only exploiting international students for their tuition, but is leaving them vulnerable in the workplace. “If you go to the labour side of things, certainly there’s quite a bit of evidence that international stu- dents are working off the books [or] working as sex workers,” Langille said. The Langara Voice asked the fed- eral government twice why the 20- hour work limit exists for interna- tional students. In an emailed statement, media officer, Rémi Lariviére, said “An in- ternational student’s primary intent in Canada is to study. The off-cam- pus work authorization available to many study permit holders allows them to gain Canadian work expe- rience and benefit from social and cultural experiences. “While in Canada, international students must continue to meet the conditions of their study permit, including being enrolled in a desig- nated learning and actively pursu- ing their program of study. The 20- hour off-campus work limit during the academic session encourages the international student to meet those conditions.” While the federal government is concerned about the study habits of international students, they are not advising Canadian students to only work 20-hours per week. An international Langara stu- dent, who asked to remain anony- mous, said while he understands why they are imposing the limit, he feels it is unfair to students who can handle both their course load and a higher workload. “They could just work more num- ber of hours per week without af- fecting their education and time,” the student said. Another international Langara student, who also wanted to remain anonymous, described the work limit as confiscating his ability to be independent. “My parents are supporting my tuition fee but I really want to make money [by] myself as much as pos- sible,” the student said. or cash Kwon said most international students come to Vancouver on their own. “They need to be more indepen- dent — they don't get any help trom anyone,” he said. Kwon, Wyles and MP Kwan all said that they would support an in- crease of the work limit imposed on international students. “It should be longer hours — at least 24,” Kwon said. On Nov. 15, Kwan and the Alma Mater Society at UBC met to dis- cuss several concerns about the treatment of international students in Canada including the work limi- tations placed on them. Kwan sug- gested to the AMS that they start an e-petition to push the govern- ment to change its immigration policy. Kwan believes that when it comes to Canada’s immigration policy, the government should adopt the prin- ciple that if you're good enough to study here, you're good enough to work here and you're good enough to stay here.