Princeton University hosted the first in-person Ivy League Mental Health Conference since 2020, with delegates from all eight schools in attendance.
The event was organized by Undergraduate Student Government (USG), with 50 people — two-thirds of registrants — in attendance. USG Mental Health Chair Allen Nieva ’26 said that turnout was lower than USG had hoped and cited the tight budget as a major hurdle.
“One of the biggest important factors is that this is a particularly constrained financial year,” Nieva told the Daily Princetonian in reference to University budget cuts caused by uncertainty in federal funding.
Nieva also had the challenge of reviving the conference after five years of inactivity and having to rebuild much of the framework, such as organizational contacts.
“We anticipate that for future conferences, that’s not going to be as much of an issue, because now there is an established network,” Nieva added.
In the opening ceremony, Debra Wentz, the President and CEO of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction agencies, spoke about declining mental health in universities across New Jersey.
“I urge all of you to engage in advocacy to your schools and administrative leaders for policies that support accessible, 24/7 services, including for substance use, prevention and treatment,” Wentz said.
Throughout Saturday, participants took part in a policy workshop, wellness activities, and small group discussions.
The policy workshop, led by Andrew Buher, a lecturer in the School of Public and International Affairs, modeled a seminar, with students comparing mental health policies across schools. One Princeton student noted the choice to halve mental health copays in 2024, making counseling more affordable for students overall. However, students also discussed school administrations often seeming to gloss over mental health issues, such as student deaths, rather than emphasizing the importance of each student’s wellbeing.
Dan Iosifescu, Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine, also discussed the challenges that come with working in the psychiatric field.
“You also have to be mindful of that toll, and try to hold on to the unglamorous but essential ways of staying positive, or at least thoughtful, in the midst of these very challenging, and sometimes negative situations,” he said.
“I was just primarily interested in learning from other students,” Hubert Ngọc Huy Tran, a junior from Yale University and member of the university’s Student Mental Health Association, said. “I want to see how grassroots advocacy looks like at different universities, student movements, collaborations, and to think of ideas to bring back to Yale.”
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The conference was closed by Anika Rahman ’87 on Sunday. Rahman serves as Director of Policy at Active Minds, a nonprofit working towards promoting mental health awareness for young adults based in Washington, DC.
“Policy isn’t made by experts. It’s made by people who just care enough not to give up,” said Rahman.
Toby Chang is a News contributor from Prescott, Ariz. He can be reached at toby.chang[at]princeton.edu.
Clara Docherty is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Lafayette, N.J., and typically covers campus clubs and institutional legacy. She can be reached at clara.docherty[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.