RALEIGH — Student athletes at the University of North Carolina Wilmington received a text message offering counseling from the athletic department following the election of President Donald Trump this week.
The message was from Dr. Meghan Krasnow, the director of “Student-Athlete Well Being,” who was hired into that role in June.
The UNCW press release on her hire states, “Dr. Meghan Krasnow is a Licensed Psychologist who specializes in counseling and sport & performance psychology. In her role, she will provide clinical services, education, resources, and programming to support the holistic development and well-being of student-athletes at UNCW.”
The message sent sent to athletes read:
From athletic department at UNCW
Dear Student-Athletes,
As we navigate through the results of the United States presidential election, it is natural to experience a range of emotions, including fear and uncertainty. Please know that your experience and feelings are valid. Please also remember you are not alone.
Our Athletic Department is here to support you. If you find yourself needing someone to talk to or a confidential space to express your thoughts, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Additionally, the UNCW Counseling Center is another available resource on campus for support.
Tomorrow evening (Thursday, November 7th) from 5-6:30pm in Almkuist-Nixon SM-101, an open space of community and support for student-athletes will be offered to navigate thoughts, feelings, and the impact of the presidential election results. Feel free to come by any time between 5-6:30pm.
Please take care of yourselves and each other.
In solidarity,
Dr. Meghan
North State Journal contacted Krasnow via email and received a response from UNCW’s communications staff.
“Leading up to Election Day, some student-athletes expressed feelings of stress about the extensive media and social media coverage of a major national event,” wrote media relations and communications specialist Sydney Bouchelle in the response email.
“As a former Division I student-athlete and a new Seahawk who joined our team over the summer, the counseling professional who sent the message wanted to be very responsive to their needs. The counselor indicated that several student-athletes had made individual counseling appointments to talk through concerns in their lives. The counselor regularly communicates with student-athletes, reminding them about university services designed to help them navigate the college experience, which includes teaching them to successfully manage their stress while being a full-time student competing at the Division I level.
“No cost was associated with the support offered by the counseling professional.”
The message reached UNC Board of Governors member Woody White, who told North State Journal he inquired about in an email to Krasnow and UNCW Chancellor Aswani K. Volety.
White confirmed to North State Journal that the Nov. 7 session did take plac,e but he was told no one attended.
White also said he had a conversation both on the phone and in email with UNCW Athletic Director Michael Oblinger and received nearly the exact same response from Oblinger that North State Journal received from Bouchelle.
In his email to Oblinger, White said he had spoken with the UNC System Board chair, members of the board and the UNC System attorney about the counseling event and informed them he believed the event “violated the recent neutrality policy passed by the Board of Governors” and that he will “be talking with them again, and canvassing our board to ensure that this is addressed at the appropriate level.”
“Whether or not planning for and holding this event violated policy, it was, nevertheless, an unnecessary thing to do,” White said in the email to Oblinger. “Suggesting to students — athletes or not — that their feelings over an election result was worthy of mental health services is ridiculous. It undermines the value of when those services are truly needed, such as when deaths occur, or shootings or natural disasters when young people have nowhere else to turn. But it is grossly inappropriate for a University to offer support services because of who won or lost a Presidential election.”
The UNC System repealed its “equity policy” earlier this year and replaced it with a policy focusing on institutional neutrality, various student support measures and a return to the system’s core mission.
All schools received legal guidance on the changes in July, well ahead of the November election. A key point in that guidance is for schools to promote student success while maintaining institutional neutrality on political and social issues. That includes avoiding endorsing specific ideological content or views.
In September, the UNC System also cut associated positions tied to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) totaling more than $17.1 million. During its September meeting, the UNC Board of Governors reviewed a report detailing that 59 positions had been cut and 132 positions were reassigned across the system’s 16 schools.
The text to students at UNCW follows reports of multiple universities across the country offering “mental health support,” and “safe spaces” to students, as well as even canceling classes following last week’s election.
“Students at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy were reportedly offered treats like ‘milk and cookies’ and ‘hot cocoa’ as well as ‘Lego’ toys and ‘Coloring and Mindfulness Exercises’ to get their minds off the election results,” according to Fox News.
