For decades, Yale University had maintained stringent policies regarding medical leaves of absence, which required students to withdraw and reapply if they needed a break from their studies. However, a tragic incident on campus set off a wave of activism and prompted a reevaluation of these policies.
In 2021, Rachael Shaw-Rosenbaum, a first-year student at Yale, tragically died by suicide. In the aftermath of her passing, a group of concerned individuals began gathering on Zoom to discuss the university’s approach to mental health. Some were familiar with Ms. Shaw-Rosenbaum, while others only knew of her struggles with suicidal thoughts and the difficult decision to seek hospitalization.
Among the group’s members was a physician in her early 40s who had been instructed years ago to withdraw from Yale during her hospitalization following a suicide attempt. She vividly recalled the impersonal and distressing experience, likening it to being processed through a mechanical system. Another member, a classical pianist in his 20s, had withdrawn from Yale due to episodes of hypomania and depression. He felt not only excluded but also rejected and abandoned by the institution.
The common complaint among the group was that Yale’s strict mental health leave policies were punitive and detrimental to students at their most vulnerable moments.
Dr. Alicia Floyd, one of the group’s founders, stated, “We discovered that there were just generations of Yalies who had had similar issues, who had kept quiet about it for decades and decades. And we all felt like something needed to change.”
The collective efforts of this group, known as Elis for Rachael, led to a significant legal settlement reached last month, resulting in the overhaul of Yale’s medical leave of absence policies.
Under the revised policy, students will now have the option to extend their health insurance coverage for up to a year. They will no longer face bans from campus spaces or loss of campus jobs when on leave. The process for returning from a medical leave will be simplified, with more weight given to the opinion of the student’s healthcare provider.
Notably, Yale has agreed to offer part-time study as an accommodation for students facing certain medical emergencies, a concession that was previously resisted.
Dean Pericles Lewis of Yale College expressed his hope that these changes would make it easier for students to seek support, prioritize their well-being, and take time off as needed, with the assurance that they can resume their studies when ready.
Yale University’s strict withdrawal policies had previously come under scrutiny, with a Washington Post investigation in November 2022. In the same month, Elis for Rachael filed a class-action lawsuit against the university, accusing it of discriminating against students with disabilities.
It’s worth noting that Yale is not the only prestigious university facing legal challenges over its mental health policies. Brown and Princeton have faced Department of Justice investigations, and Stanford confronted a similar class-action lawsuit in 2019.
