HEALTH &
WELL-BEING
2014-2015
ABOUT THIS REPORT
This survey and report were prepared by Joël León (M.Arch 4) Roxanna Lilova (M.Arch 4) Brie Smith (M.Arch 4) Jocelyn Squires (M.Arch 3) Logan Littlefield (M.LA 3) Elise Hunchuck (M.LA 2) Gareth Hammond (M.Arch 1) Karima Peermohammad (M.Arch 1) Julie Wong (M.LA 1)
Based on the original 2013 survey created by Joël León (M.Arch 3) Roxanna Lilova (M.Arch 3) Jocelyn Squires (M.Arch 2) Alex Daros (Department of Psychology)
On behalf of the 2014-2015 GALDSU Executive Council. Joël León, President Elise Hunchuck, Vice-President Leah Gibling, Treasurer Nithin Kadayil, Social Events Chair Kelsey Nilsen, Health and Sustainability Officer Jocelyn Squires, Secretary 2
This report presents the results of the Graduate Architecture Landscape and Design Student Union (GALDSU)’s second annual mental and physical health survey reflecting on the student experience at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto. This survey was developed in collaboration with a doctoral candidate of the Department of Psychology of the University of Toronto as part of GALDSU’s Mental Health Initiative and has been updated and reviewed by a student committee. The voluntary survey was distributed electronically on December 5, 2014 and closed on December 24, 2014; results were processed during the month of January 2015 by a group of student volunteers from a variety of years and programs. This year we have renamed the report as the Health and Well-being Report (previously known as the Mental Health Report) in recognition that mental and physical health are mutually dependent and should
be discussed and addressed holistically. We do not claim to be statisticians or psychologists, nor should this be confused with an academic study, but we firmly believe we have done everything in our power to represent the student experience without bias. We welcome any input or suggestions which will further improve our survey for years to come. We hope this report will serve as a starting point to discuss how mental and physical health can be improved in our unique academic environment, within our own faculty and beyond our walls.
“without mental health there can be no true physical health” Dr Brock Chisholm First Director-General of the World Health Organization University of Toronto alumnus 1924
RECAP: MENTAL HEALTH REPORT 2013-2014
A Brief History GALDSU’s Mental Health Initiative was created on September 18, 2013 when GALDSU’s General Council struck the Mental Health Committee. On December 4th, 2013 GALDSU launched its first mental health survey with the purpose of better understanding the needs and habits of the students we represent. The results of the survey were summarized into the 2013-2014 Mental Health Report and presented for consideration to faculty, students and staff in the hopes of sparking conversation and open dialogue. The report highlighted internal problems unique to our faculty, but also revealed a set of larger issues ingrained within the pedagogy of many design schools. On March 24, 2014 the dialogue expanded into the public sphere when the Mental Health Report became available online. By April the report had been covered by many frequented architecture blogs and websites, including Archdaily where the article received over 6000 likes. Its popularity was further proof
that the issues discovered went beyond our own four walls and resonated with design schools around the world. We hope this year’s survey will further the discussion started by the original 2013-2014 Mental Health Report. We firmly believe that only through transparency and open dialogue can we effectively address the physical and mental health issues ingrained in our academic culture.
What have we done? Last year’s report has been the starting point for two very different, yet intimately connected, GALDSU initiatives. On the one hand, we have tried to address the issues raised by last year’s report as quickly and effectively as possible, implementing low cost solutions to improve physical space and foster student engagement. On the other hand, we have become advocates for discussion on health and wellbeing within architecture schools and academia, participating in university-wide consultations looking at mental health on campus, outreaching to other
faculties and schools to create opportunities for collaboration, and participating in forums and events discussing the unique mental health issues affecting university students. Below we outline some of the current GALDSU projects and initiatives that are a direct result of last year’s report.
Student Lounge Renovation Last year’s survey revealed a pressing need for a variety of spaces within our crowded faculty, a problem we hope will be ameliorated with the faculty’s eventual move to a new facility currently under construction. In the meantime, GALDSU made the decision that it was necessary to look at our existing spaces and provide improvements which increased functionality and helped addressed current deficiencies. The graduate student lounge, a mostly abandoned room which had become an informal dumpster for forgotten projects and undesirable furniture, was identified as the space with most potential for improvement. 3
During the summer of 2014 a group of student volunteers led the renovation project of the now renamed Lounge 058. Today the lounge provides a space to eat, relax, gather, study, worship and rest, directly addressing many of the needs highlighted in last year’s report. The lounge renovation showcases that improving physical spaces does not need to be an expensive undertaking, and that modest changes within the physical space can have a tremendous effect on the health and well being of its inhabitants.
greatly improved the attendance to social events and student participation within committees, volunteer activities, and student life. We hope to continue building on this year’s success and continue to strengthen the student community at Daniels.
Improved Communication
Making Healthier Choices Easily Available
One of the most worrisome findings from last year’s survey was the high levels of student apathy and lack of communication within the faculty. In response, GALDSU made it a priority to tackle issues of communication and student engagement. From orientation material and events, to a brand new website and consistent email communication, GALDSU has been able to more effectively engage our student population. We are happy to report that these small changes have 4
At the same time, we have strived to improve communication between the registrar’s office, faculty members and students. Some improvements have been made, but much more work needs to be done in this area.
As our community strengthens, we have also tried to improve the kinds of services and options we provide to our members, making healthier choices easier and more accessible. Our biggest success in this aspect has been the increase in physical recreation options. From a new weekly running club to numerous intramural teams (hockey, volleyball, soccer, innertube waterpolo, ultimate frisbee, to name a few), many students are now willing to take an
hour out of their week to join their peers in friendly competition. Our student-run Cafe 059 has also continued (and grown) its healthier choices, providing delicious and affordable sandwiches once a week and making fruits and water available during weekdays.
Outreach We have also actively reached out to other faculties and schools, sharing our experience and knowledge gained from last year’s survey and trying to find opportunities for collaboration. In particular, we have reached out to several design schools in hopes of establishing an open dialogue about design pedagogy and its health implications. We hope to continue this work in the upcoming year and expand our survey across Canada and North America, in order to better understand which issues are unique to our faculty and which belong to the wider discussion of design pedagogy.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: 2014-2015 HEALTH & WELL-BEING REPORT In this page we summarize what we believe are some of the important findings of this year’s survey, based both on the quantitative and qualitative data presented in this report, as well as the dozens of pages of comments we received from our respondents. We encourage readers of this report to look beyond our summary and look at the data presented in this report in order to draw their own conclusions.
Student apathy still exists, but it’s improving
Space is a major challenge
Bad habits haven’t changed, but attitudes have
Students continue to be apathetic towards many faculty initiatives but their participation has improved in student-led projects and events. 39% more students answered this year’s survey when compared to last year’s results, and participation in events, sports, and volunteering opportunities has visibly increased.
Space issues were the leading challenge for working in studio, with personal workspace and model making space leading the concerns.This year, the number of students who reported to prefer working at home is double the amount of those who prefer to work in studio. We are hopeful many of these will be ameliorated with the move to One Spadina.
Students continue to report little sleep, skipping meals, irregular sleep schedules, and not exercising. However, compared to last year the general attitude of respondents was more positive and optimistic, seeing this as a “rough patch” instead of a “lifelong sentence”.
The last two weeks of studio are taxing
Students appreciate the effort, but still want more
Campus resources are underutilized
Over half of us have considered quitting
The last two weeks of studio continue to be physically and mentally demanding. Students expressed feeling anxious, stressed, grouchy, constantly being tired, having little interest or pleasure in doing things, feeling angrier than usual, and having unexplained aches and pains.
Students recognize the efforts made to improve infrastructure, course selection, resources and services, but express concern over the speed and scale of these improvements. Many students express gratitude towards GALDSU for undertaking this report and its subsequent initiatives, and feel the faculty could do more to support these efforts. In particular, many students expressed a desire for having a more open discussion about pedagogical changes.
Campus resources continue to be underutilized, even though most of them are located on the same city block as the faculty’s main building. More effort should be made in connecting students to the many resources on campus and ensuring these resources are relevant and easily available.
Over half of the respondents have considered quitting the program, with 17% of them reporting to having these thoughts often, and 29% reporting thinking of it “a few times.”
5
DEMOGRAPHICS AND PARTICIPATION Introduction This section collects some of the main participation and demographic information of the respondents to our survey. This year the survey was sent to 446 email addresses using the listserv of students made available to us by the Faculty. However, data provided to us by the Office of the Registrar and Student Services states only 394 students were registered in the Fall 2014 semester. While we are confident that the responses contained in this report correspond only to current students, it is of great importance that the listserv be revised and corrected in order to increase reliability and confidence. Due to confusions regarding year of convocation we have decided to exclude this data set from this year’s survey.
Summary of Results We received 133 answers of which 131 were considered valid for this report (the two eliminated were given outside the survey period or were incomplete). Compared to last year’s survey, participation has increased by 39% (from 94 to 131 answers) and now reaches 33.76% of our membership. In particular, it is important to highlight that this year’s survey includes participants from all four graduate programs, including the Master of Visual Studies program which had previously been excluded. In our view, these are positive signs that students feel more engaged, less apathetic, and willing to participate in faculty wide initiatives. It also further emphasizes how important health and well-being is to our members. Architecture continues to be slightly over-represented within the responses, while Landscape Architecture is the most underrepresented program.
photo: Halloween T.G.I.F. Party 2014 6
Participation Who completed our survey? Master of Architecture
Master of Landscape Architecture
listserv: 283
listserv: 112
# registered students: 275*
# registered students: 84*
# answers: 100
# answers: 22
MVS MUD (2%) (5%)
MLA (17%)
MARC (76%)
MARC
MLA
(36%)
(26%)
Distribution of respondents by program
Master of Urban Design
Master of Visual Studies
listserv: 26*
listserv: 25
# registered students: 21*
# registered students: 14*
# answers: 6
# answers: 3
MVS (4%)
(29%)
(5%)
MLA
MARC MUD
MUD
(21%)
(70%)
MVS ( 21%)
Distribution of students by program* * data on the number of registered students for the Fall 2014 semester generously provided by the Office of the Registrar and Student Services. ** percentage represents the number of students who answered the survey as a proportion of the total number of registered students in each program.
7
Demographics Commute Time
Age of Respondents # of respondents
18%
53%
7%
5
21
22%
10
15
20
22 23 24 less than 10 minutes
11 - 30 minutes
31 - 60 minutes
60+ minutes
25 26 27
mean = 27
28 29
Cohabitants
30 # of respondents 0
10
20
30
40
50
31
60
32
Alone
33 34
Parents/siblings
35
Partner, not married
36 Married partner
37 38
Relatives
Age
Roommate/roommates
39 0
8
DAILY LIFE Introduction The following section summarizes some aspects of daily life of students at Daniels. Four main categories were explored: sleeping habits (including all-nighters), physical activity, eating habits, and social life. The following legend applies to all stacked bar graphs in this section. Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree or Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree
Summary of Results 6o% of respondents did not believe they had regular sleeping schedules and 47% of students admitted to often pulling all-nighters to finish projects on time. A clear majority of students also admitted to having done multiple nights with less than three hours of sleep. Continuing last year’s trend, a large percentage of students also admitted to often skipping meals and rarely exercising. Physical activity of the respondents continues to be below the daily recommended exercise quota. A clear majority, 73% of respondents, stated that they felt pressured to maintain unhealthy work habits in order to keep up with their workload.
photo: volunteer student run Cafe 059 9
Sleep Sleeping Habits
All-Nighters
I have a regular sleep schedule.
I often pull all-nighters to finish a project.
26%
34%
13%
22%
Strongly Disagree
5%
Strongly Agree
25
25%
20
15
15%
26%
Strongly Disagree
How many all-nighters have you done this semester? 60
50
40
30 10 20 5
0
10
10
0-2
3-5
6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30
Number of nights with less than 3 hours of sleep
30+
21%
Strongly Agree
Number of respondents
Number of respondents
How many nights have you slept less than 3 hours this semester?
13%
0
0-2
3-5
6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 Other
Number of all-nighters
Physical Activity
Other Aspects
I engage in regular physical activity.
I often skip meals.
34%
31%
9%
21%
Strongly Disagree
5%
Strongly Agree
80
21%
70 60 50 40 30
14%
32%
25%
Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
How often do you go out per week for entertainment?
(e.g. dinner, movies, get-together, social stuff) Number of respondents
Number of respondents
How many hours per week do you exercise?
8%
60 50 40 30 20
20
10
10
0
0 0-2
2-4
4-6
6-8
Hours of exercise
8-10
>10
0
1
2
3-5
>5
Outings per week 11
Do you feel pressured to maintain unhealthy work habits to keep up with your workload?
NO
(10%)
unsure (17%)
yes (73%)
+/- 7%; 95% Confidence Level 12
FACILITIES Introduction & Methodology For this section we have grouped all questions which relate to the use of particular spaces at Daniels. This section helps us better understand how people feel about the Faculty’s physical infrastructure and what aspects need to improve in order to support a stronger studio culture. This year we have also included specific questions about student spaces in order to assess their value within our community. It must be noted that the Faculty is currently preparing to move to a purpose-built facility at One Spadina Crescent.
Summary of Results Answers favouring working at home were double the answers of respondents who prefer to work in Studio. Space issues were the leading challenge for working in studio, with personal workspace and model making space leading the concerns. We hope these concerns will be ameliorated once the move to the new One Spadina facilities is completed. The limited number of computers available at the lab were once again highlighted as one of the challenges of working in studio. Other challenges that were highlighted include noise and noxious fumes. Students overwhelmingly stated that the two student spaces, Lounge 058 and Cafe 059, were important faculty assets to student life.
photo: M.Arch 1 Studio Space December 2014 13
mean = 41
students
How many hours a week would you say you spend at the architecture building? 30
25
20
15
10 10
5
5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
hours spent in studio
I prefer to work at home instead of studio
Strongly disagree Disagree (9%) (16%) 14
Neither agree or disagree (24%)
Agree (27%)
Strongly agree (24%)
Do you find any challenges working in the faculty studio on campus?
problem area
Physical Space
lack of work space lack of collaborative work space lack of review/pin-up space lack of model space lack of storage lack of circulation space lack of exible space using other students’ work space lack of quiet space/break space lack of private space (meetings + phone calls) overcrowding dirtiness/messiness security restrooms expense and availability of food distance from home
Atmosphere stressful atmosphere air quality lack of control over temperature Lack of comfort in work areas unpleasant or toxic odours unpleasant lighting noisy unhealthy studio culture competition distractions
Production Facilities not enough computers in lab lack of appropriate software lack of support for technical problems lack of plugs plotters broken printers broken toxic smells from laser cutters/fabrication lab 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
# of respondents
15
Student Spaces I believe Lounge 058 is an important student space at Daniels.
NO (4%)
Neutral (26%)
above: Lounge space before summer renovations. The space had become a dumping ground for abandoned projects and was rarely used by students.
Agree (70%)
Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree or Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree above: lounge space after summer renovations financed by GALDSU and realized thanks to 16 student volunteers. The space has become a hub of student activity.
I believe Cafe 059 is an important student space at Daniels.
NO (3%)
Neutral (13%)
above: Once a week delicious and affordable sandwiches are made available to students, encouraging them to grab a bite and avoid skipping meals.
Agree (84%)
Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree or Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree above: The cafe is the social heart of our faculty, providing much needed friendly interaction outside the studio environment. Many of Cafe 059’s volunteers describe their shift as an opportunity to take a “mandatory” break every week.
17
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE Introduction This section is composed of a series of questions concerning the academic student experience at Daniels. The questions range from general feelings about the program to understanding the experience of the pin-up and review. For several of the questions we asked students to provide comments without previous categories. We have gone through the lengthy list of comments in order to extract their principle ideas. The resulting graphs and word clouds help us understand the issues facing the faculty today.
photo: mid-day lecture in Room 103 18
Summary of Results Workload is, by a large margin, the leading cause of stress for most students. It is followed by faculty-student interactions, difficulties in achieving work-life balance, and coinciding and conflicting deadlines. Overall students expressed a positive experience in what regards to pin-ups and reviews, although they also cited it as one of the leading causes of stress. A majority of students also believed they had the adequate resources to meet their school work needs and had a positive perception of the quality of their work. A large percentage of students (41%) also stated having difficulties scheduling time. Students identified themselves as well as external factors as possible reasons. A key challenge cited is professors not adhering to the syllabus, assignment requirements, and deadlines. On the personal side, students placed difficulties achieving work-life balance and time management issues as key obstacles to scheduling.
What do you find most stressful about your program? Pedagogy deadlines lack of breaks length of program (MArch) inability to take only one semester off workload pinups/reviews overemphasis of quality of product over quality of ideas Superstudio difficulty learning required technical skills group work difficulty balancing priorities of Studio/non-Studio courses
Communication lack of clarity over grading/evaluation lack of communication over malfunctioning resources lack of coordination between courses regarding deadlines lack of clarity over deadlines/changing deadlines lack of communication regarding pedagogy/direction lack of faculty transparency difficulty accessing/communicating with the front desk conflicting or unreasonable expectations from faculty feeling placated by faculty/administration responses language barriers
Faculty supervisor-student interactions faculty-student interactions feeling unrepresented in faculty communications professors' expertise mismatched with course content lack of accountability/consequences for professors
Students
lack of background in architecture/landscape meeting my own expectations competition studio culture (bullying, lack of engagement, stress, etc) time management financial stress lack of work-life balance uncertainty in professional future
Space/Resources
lack of personal designated work space unsafe atmosphere late at night lack of instruction on faculty resources use of faculty computers
0
5
10
15
20
25
# of respondents
19
Pin-ups and Reviews
Overall, how would you rate the experience of a pin-up or review? (1= Very Negative; 10 = Very Positive)
# of respondents
35 30 25 20 15 10 5
1
Very Negative 20
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very Positive
In one word (or a few more), how would you describe your overall feelings after you finish the pin-up and review?
Competitiveness How would you rate the overall competitiveness in the faculty? (1 = Not very competitive at all; 10 = Very competititve) # of respondents
35 30 25 20 15 10 5
1
Not competitive
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very competitive 21
of
ki
se e ng
on al
rs
Pe
22
l
na
NO yes
itu tio
(28%)
st
Unsure
In
# of respondents
Do you find it difficult to schedule your time?
w tim o co ely tim rk/l m c e ife m om m ba un m an la ic u no ag nc a n tio ic e e g la t a ro me n ati ck dh o up n i ss n of er ue fr w t e ing or s om xi to k am f bi s ac lit y o ng ul y lla ba reg bu f ty la ar s/ Co acu /pro nc d re in lt f pr in ing qu ci y es d m s of g es st de irem ing em ors so ud ad e d b rs io lin nts ea ers d w e in can ith s/r /de line co c e a m elli all qui dlin s pl ng ot re e et /n he m s e e co ot s r co nts ur ho ur se w se in ing s fo rm up w ati or on kl oa d
ck
la
Perceived Performance What challenges do you face in scheduling your time? 15
10
5
(48%)
(30%)
I am generally satisfied with the quality of my school work.
Strongly disagree Disagree (5%) (17%)
Neither agree or disagree (28%)
Agree (45%)
Strongly agree (5%)
I have the appropriate resources available to me to successfully address my school work.
Strongly disagree Disagree (2%) (19%)
Neither agree or disagree (32%)
Agree (41%)
Strongly agree (6%)
23
Have you ever considered quitting the program?
NO
(37%)
yes (62%)
+/- 7%; 95% Confidence Level 24
FINAL STUDIO SNAPSHOT Introduction & Methodology The following section presents how students felt during the final two weeks of studio in December 2014. The following introduction was placed before beginning the questions in this section. “The questions below ask about behaviours or feelings that might have bothered you recently. For each question, click on the option that best describes how much (or how often) you have been bothered by each problem during the PAST TWO (2) WEEKS. ”
For each question we have produced a pie graph to visualize how frequently students identify with a specific feeling or behaviour. The darker the graph, the more people reported it.
Summary of Results Most of the answers reflected similar results to last year’s assessment. A majority of students claimed to feel anxious, nervous, frightened, worried or on edge during most these two weeks. Many reported feeling grouchy, irritable, angry, depressed, down or hopeless during the final studio rush. Students also admitted to avoiding situations that make them anxious, feeling panic, having unexplained aches and pains, having problems sleeping, and not feeling as close to other people.
Nearly everyday More than half the days Several days Less than a day or two photo: M.Arch 1 Studio Space December 2014
None at all 25
A Snapshot of How We Feel During the Final Studio Rush
Little interest or pleasure in doing things
Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?
Feeling more irritated, grouchy, or angry than usual?
Sleeping less than usual, but still have a lot of energy?
Starting lots more projects than usual or doing more risky things than usual?
Feeling nervous, anxious, frightened, worried, or on edge?
Feeling panic or being frightened?
Avoiding situations that make you anxious?
Unexplained aches and pain (e.g., head, back, joints, abdomen, 26 legs)?
Feeling that your illnesses are not being taken seriously enough?
Thoughts of actually hurting yourself?
Hearing things other people couldn’t hear, such as voices even when no one was around?
A Snapshot of How We Feel During Final Studio Rush
Feeling that someone could hear your thoughts, or that you could hear what another person was thinking?
Problems with sleep that affected your sleep quality over all?
Problems with memory (e.g., learning new information) or with location (e.g., finding your way home)?
Unpleasant thoughts, urges, or images that repeatedly enter your mind?
Feeling driven to perform certain behaviours or mental acts over and over again?
Feeling detached or distant from yourself, your body, your physical surroundings, or your memories?
Not knowing who you really are or what you want out of life?
Not feeling close to other people or enjoying yout relationships with them?
Nearly everyday More than half the days Several days Less than a day or two None at all Drinking at least 4 drinks of any kind of alcohol in a single day?
Smoking any cigarettes, a cigar, or pipe or using snuff or chewing tobacco?
Using any medicines without a doctor’s permission, in a greater amounts than prescribed, or drugs
27
CAMPUS RESOURCES Introduction This section is comprised of a series of questions concerning the use of services on campus available to students at the University of Toronto. Additionally, we approached students on the topic of whether the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design was doing enough to address issues of mental health.
Summary of Results The majority of respondents (61%) did not believe the faculty was doing enough to address issues of mental health within our community. Many respondents felt the responsibility of improving mental health within the faculty had fallen to students and student governemnt but acknowledged visible improvements this past semester. While most of campus’s services are less than a block away from our building, the survey reveals that most of our students do not make use of them. Of those used, the campus Medical Centre was the most mentioned followed by Counselling and Psychological Services.
photo: Koffler Student Services Centre is on the same city block as our faculty, but our students rarely make use of the services available in it. 28
Do you feel the faculty does enough to address mental health?
yes (6%)
MAYBE (33%)
NO (61%)
+/- 7%; 95% Confidence Level 29
Have you personally used any of the following services available to UofT students?
Campus Medical Centre (38%)
Counselling and Psychological Services (13%)
Grief Support (1%)
Assault Counselling
Sexual & Gender Diversity Office
Accessibility Services (4%)
Family Care Office (1%)
Sexual Harrassment Office
Prefer not to answer
None (51%)
University of Toronto Graduate Student Union (UTGSU) 30 (5%)
31
32
? We would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to all of the graduate students at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto, for being part of this conversation. Your participation, both in this survey and in student life, is invaluable.
On behalf of the 2014-2015 GALDSU Executive Council Jo毛l Le贸n, President Elise Hunchuck, Vice-President Leah Gibling, Treasurer Nithin Kadayil, Social Events Chair Kelsey Nilsen, Health and Sustainability Officer Jocelyn Squires, Secretary
Have a question? Want to know more about our initiative? Have a suggestion?
Let us know!
@galdsu galdsu@daniels.utoronto.ca www.galdsu.ca www.facebook.com/galdsuatuoft
www.galdsu.ca