CHRIS SILL
Special to The Leader
If you attend Fredonia, you probably received an email from the SUNY Student Association on April 3, asking you to fill out a “SUNY Mental Health” survey regarding SUNY’s mental health resources. In the email, students were told that this survey would be completely anonymous and that it would help advocate for “better resources and policies” for students.
What SUNY failed to realize is that the survey was not, in fact, anonymous. After the form is completed and submitted, students can access a button that reads, “See previous responses.” By clicking the said button, viewers can see statistics such as how many responses were recorded, which schools they came from and even the short answers that were input into the survey.
According to the page, Fredonia ranked one of the highest in terms of feedback rates with a whopping 27.5%, or 67 out of 244 responses. Though we can’t see which school each short answer came from, it would be understandable to interpret that many of these comments came from SUNY Fredonia students.
You’re probably thinking, “Even if we can see the statistics, that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t anonymous!” That’s what I thought at first too until I scrolled down to see where students were able to input their names and emails if they wanted to speak to the Director of Mental Health for SUNY. Viewers can also see the reasons why these respondents would want to meet with the director, exposing them to possible retaliation from anyone who reads it (especially if an answer mentions a specific situation that another individual knows of).
As a current student with multiple diagnoses (including generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, both of which directly correlate to this survey), I would have answered differently if I knew that the survey wasn’t actually anonymous. Something about other students, faculty and staff being able to see my personal responses without my permission makes me uncomfortable, and I’m not the only person who feels this way.
I spoke with a current Fredonia student with an anxiety diagnosis (who wishes to be anonymous at this time to protect their reputation) to get their opinion on the matter.
The student said that in their opinion, “[The survey] is a breach of confidence in the SUNY system, and discourages students from potentially seeking help in the future since, if they cannot keep a survey anonymous, how could they feel safe when being open about their issues?”
Next time a survey gets sent out, whether it’s by the SUNY system, your childhood best friend or even a major media outlet on the internet, be sure that you know where your feedback is going and who can view it. You never know who could get their hands on it.