Stanford’s New Policy for Student Mental-Health Crises Is Hailed as a Model

Harrison Fowler found himself handcuffed by the police after he was put in touch with Stanford University’s (CA) counseling-services office when he experienced suicidal ideation. Now he is back at the university, where he expressed excitement about the settlement and called Stanford a place “of many opportunities.” Students are regularly urged to reach out for help if they are suffering from anxiety or depression, thinking about suicide, or struggling with other mental illness. But when they did that at Stanford University, according to a class-action lawsuit brought last year, they were often coerced into taking involuntary leaves, or leaves that were “voluntary” in name only — even banned from the campus without being allowed to collect their belongings from their dorms.