I

belong 
to 
“The 
Broken 

Generation”, at least according 
to a story run by Maclean’s 

(think Canada’s The Atlantic) in 
2012.

Aggregate survey data from the 

Healthy Minds Network run out of 
the University of Michigan show 25 
percent of college students report 
having depression. This statistic 
comes from no small study; Healthy 
Minds has had over 175,000 survey 
respondents to date.

Mental health is just as important 

as physical health, and mental 
illness is a serious public health 
issue. Depression is the leading 
cause of disability worldwide. 
Among young adults aged 15 to 
24, suicide was the third leading 
killer in 2010. Alcohol use disorder, 
which is a form of mental illness, 
is also widespread among college 
students (20 percent) with about 
one in four of us reporting academic 
consequences from alcohol and 
more than 1,800 of us are dying 
each year due to an alcohol-related 
injury.

Of course, you probably already 

knew that mental health was a 
concern on campus. Regardless of 
how you feel about the University’s 
handling of student mental health, 
their messaging has been anything 
but subtle. For what seems like 
a thousand times, I have been 
told about the existence of the 
Counseling 
and 
Psychological 

Services, also known as CAPS: by 
housing staff, by professors and by 
University administration in tritely-
worded emails. CAPS is only the tip 
of the iceberg, though. Almost every 
unit or group on campus seems to 
want to do something surrounding 
mental health, be it the backpacks 
on the Diag commemorating those 
lost to suicide to Central Student 
Government’s myriad of destress 
events. Like I said, anything but 
subtle.

As a University student with 

a mental illness, I appreciate the 
amount of positive discourse the 
subject gets; however, important 
points, ones that have been critical 
in my own journey, are too often lost 
or glossed over.

I have had a mental health 

problem since at least middle 
school; however, I did not face my 
depression until the very end of my 
senior year of high school. It took 
the advice of a very good friend for 
me to realize what was going on and 
to seek help. Then began a journey 

toward overcoming that mental 
illness, a journey that I am still on 
today.

The first point that campus 

discourse on mental health, in my 
opinion, misses is the power of 
knowing your enemy. I believe that 
a diagnosis, be it for depression, 
general anxiety, social anxiety, etc., 
can be an important step toward 
improving 
mental 
health. 
For 

me, having something to expect 
from my mental health problem, 
i.e. 
racing 
negative 
thoughts, 

empowers me to put these thoughts 
in their context so they do not cause 
me distress. Incessant, percussive 
doubts like those that told me I 
had no true friends used to make 
me feel even worse. Now, however, 
I can recognize those thoughts as 
a symptom of depression and that 
there is no logical basis for those 
doubts. It’s not easy to do; after all, 
these are my thoughts. Nevertheless, 
learning to understand symptoms 
as symptoms has been enormously 
helpful to me.

According 
to 
University 

research, only 34 to 36 percent 
of college students with mood 
disorders (e.g., depression, bipolar 
disorder) seek treatment. Why are 
so many students neglecting care? 
It’s not because they are not aware 
of treatment options on campus. 
Instead, the most common given 
reasons are “I prefer to deal with 
issues on my own,” “I question how 
serious my needs are,” “stress is 
a normal part of college” and “no 
time.” 

Many people I have talked to 

who do not seek treatment for 
mental illness espouse a similar 
idea: that they know what is causing 
them stress and therefore can act to 
relieve it and relieve their mental 
illness. While I often know the 

source of my stress (e.g., an organic 
chemistry exam) and what I need 
to do (get the exam over with), that 
stress has a life of its own. This can 
most clearly be felt when I have done 
everything imaginable to ensure 
a satisfactory outcome but still the 
stress persists. Furthermore, just 
because the source of the stress 
is known does not mean that that 
stress is any less real or burdensome.

The journey I have been on, with 

mental illness as my companion, 
has not been a linear progression. 
Sometimes, in fact, it seems that for 
every step forward I take, I must 
take three steps back. A second 
issue that mental health discourse 
on campus neglects is painting a 
realistic picture of treatment. There 
is no guarantee that any medication 
your doctor prescribes will help, and 
the same goes for psychotherapy. 
When promoting mental health, the 
University and other entities need 
to be candid about this nuance. 
Otherwise, I fear that those who do 
seek help will be turned off to the 
process far too early.

These things take time. I have 

been on four different medications 
since I was diagnosed with clinical 
depression in 2015 and have just 
started going to CAPS in addition 
to the medication I am currently on. 
Mental illnesses are complex but 
treatable. The right treatment is out 
there, it just may take a while to find. 
I wish I had really known that when 
I started my journey.

I acknowledge that everyone 

is different, and so is their mental 
health. I present the lessons I have 
learned in my own journey both 
to continue my healing and to 
hopefully inspire further nuanced 
dialog on this critical subject.

Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Monday, January 8, 2018

DAYTON HARE

Managing Editor

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

ALEXA ST. JOHN

Editor in Chief
 ANU ROY-CHAUDHURY AND 

ASHLEY ZHANG
Editorial Page Editors

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. 

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

ALI SAFAWI | COLUMN

Carolyn Ayaub
Megan Burns

Samantha Goldstein

Emily Huhman
Jeremy Kaplan

Sarah Khan

Max Lubell

Lucas Maiman

Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy 

Jason Rowland

Anu Roy-Chaudhury

Ali Safawi

Sarah Salman
Kevin Sweitzer

Rebecca Tarnopol

Stephanie Trierweiler

Ashley Zhang

Higher standards for male rappers

CARLI CONSENZA | COLUMN

Missing the mark on mental health

KEVIN SWEITZER | COLUMN

New year, same bad policy

Ali Safawi can be reached at 

asafawi@umich.edu.

NIA LEE | CONTACT NIA LEE AT LEENIA@UMICH.EDU

WANT TO JOIN OUR TEAM?

Come to The Michigan Daily’s mass meetings!

Mass meetings will be located in the newsroom at 420 

Maynard on Jan. 11, 16 and 17 at 7 p.m. Hope to see you there!

A

s 2017 turns to 2018, 
and the age of President 
Donald Trump continues 

into 
its 
second 
year, 
the 

emotional roller coaster that 
has taken place for progressive 
Americans has been nothing 
short of exhausting and difficult. 
From Special Counsel Robert 
Mueller’s 
investigation 
into 

the Trump campaign’s alleged 
collusion with Russian interests 
to sway the 2016 election, to 
the 
numerous 
attempts 
to 

repeal 
the 
Affordable 
Care 

Act, Democrats have been left 
without a single topic with 
which to focus their opposition. 
This has led many progressives 
down a dangerous path of 
disorganized 
brinkmanship 

that will only serve to advance 
Republican 
policy 
proposals 

into the remainder of the Trump 
administration.

Last year’s biggest policy 

debate was the Republican led 
effort to repeal the Affordable 
Care Act, commonly known as 
“Obamacare.” Democrats were 
steadfast in their opposition 
to the repeal of the ACA - 
dramatically defeating a repeal 
bill on the floor of the US 
Senate in September. However, 
while 
we 
were 
celebrating 

the preservation of the ACA, 
progressives 
unknowingly 

walked Obamacare to its grave.

December’s 
GOP-led 
tax 

overhaul bill - called the Tax 
Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017- 
represented 
the 
culmination 

of a year’s worth of policy 
objectives built into one bill. In 
addition to cutting corporate 
taxes and reducing tax brackets, 
the bill - which was signed into 
law by President Trump on 
December 22nd - also repeals 
the “individual mandate” of 

the ACA, which requires that 
all Americans purchase health 
insurance - or pay a tax penalty.

The passage of the Tax Cuts 

and Jobs Act is a failure on all 
levels by progressives to come 
together to advocate for the best 
interests of their constituents. 
President Trump tweeted on 
December 26th “Based on the 
fact that the very unfair and 
unpopular Individual Mandate 
has been terminated as part 
of our Tax Cut Bill, which 
essentially Repeals (over time) 
ObamaCare, the Democrats & 
Republicans 
will 
eventually 

come together and develop a 
great new HealthCare plan! [sic]” 
correctly suggesting that the 
repeal of the Individual mandate 
will bring about the end of ACA 
health insurance markets. This 
means more expensive insurance 
for everyone in addition to tax 
cuts for wealthy Americans. At 
the least, a complete repeal of 
the ACA would have elevated 
discussion of replacement, but 
the repeal we see now leaves 
everyone worse off.

As Congressional Democrats 

eye 
their 
next 
target 
for 

“resisting” 
the 
Trump 

Administration’s policy agenda - 
which may be shutting down the 
government over the Deferred 
Action for Childhood Arrivals 
program, commonly known as 
DACA. No progressives can feel 
good about what has happened 
thus 
far 
during 
President 

Trump’s first term in office. Even 
as the focus of pundits shifts to 
the upcoming midterm elections, 
and the special elections in 
Alabama and elsewhere, many 
on the left have placed their 
hopes in the impending “wave” 
of Democratic wins that will 
reclaim control of the legislature. 

With this shift of focus goes 
any hope of creating change, or 
ensuring the best representation 
of the people.

While dreaming of 2018 wins 

and celebrating the symbolic 
preservation of Obamacare are 
good for public perception of 
Democrats, 
progressives 
are 

failing their constituents on 
all levels to protect the values 
that they believe in, and are 
failing to stop the Trump 
Administration’s 
objectives, 

which fly in the face of the 
demonstrated 
interests 
of 

progressive Americans. In order 
to serve their constituents best, 
progressive 
Congressional 

Democrats have to get real 
about stopping Trump’s policy 
proposals - even if this means 
giving 
in 
on 
other 
policy 

areas that are less important. 
If every Democratic call to 
action is a boilerplate “call your 
senator” and “elections have 
consequences” then the call to 
action isn’t action, but is rather 
kicking the can down the road, 
with the hopes of Democratic 
majority in the future.

This isn’t an outcome we can 

accept, as progressives, students, 
or members of communities that 
will be affected by public policy 
changes in 2018. Doing nothing 
is a statement in and of itself, 
and while beneficial to the party, 
cannot benefit the people of the 
United States, and only those in 
Congress can avoid it. Democrats 
have 
already 
made 
their 

disdain for President Trump 
expressly clear, but the time for 
grandstanding is over, and the 
time for protecting American 
institutions is in order.

Kevin Sweitzer can be reached at 

ksweitz@umich.edu

T

he 
average 
American 

consumer spends 24 hours 
per week listening to 

music. Among those consumers, 
the most popular genre to listen 
to is R&B and hip hop. In fact, 
Forbes reports R&B and hip hop 
are responsible for 25.1 percent 
of all music consumption in the 
United States. 
 Earlier this fall, it was almost 
impossible to turn on the radio 
and not hear the song “Rockstar” 
by Post Malone and 21 Savage, 
which led the Billboard Hot 100 
for eight consecutive weeks. So, 
it’s reasonable to say a significant 
portion of our population likes 
rap music. It’s even reasonable 
to say rap music, and rappers 
specifically, exert an influence on 
the values of their listeners and 
thus popular culture. 
 Take a look at the anticipation 
surrounding the release of Kanye 
West’s new clothing collection, 
Yeezy Season 6, for example. 
This is why rappers, with such a 
massive platform and the ability 
to influence millions of fans, must 
also face responsibility for their 
words and actions.

As an outcome of the #MeToo 

movement, 
which 
denounces 

sexual assault and harassment, 
several 
men 
in 
positions 
of 

power, from Sen. Al Franken of 
Minnesota to comedian Louis 
C.K., have finally been held 
accountable 
after 
decades 
of 

getting away with horrendous acts 
of sexism. As a dedicated fan of hip 
hop, I understand its significance 
as a cultural phenomenon with a 
deep-rooted history of art, words 
and movement. And as a cultural 
phenomenon, it must lead by 
example, particularly in the way it 
treats women. It is time for rappers 
to be held accountable.

It’s no secret that misogyny 

and sexism have troubled the 
hip-hop world for quite some 
time. It’s also no secret that the 
issue has, for the most part, 
 

been dismissed in the industry. 
Remember when the makers of 
“Straight Outta Compton” left out 
the part about Dr. Dre’s abusive 
behavior toward women? Or 
how about the fact that rapper 
Rick Ross refuses to sign female 
artists to his record label in fear 
that his desire to have sexual 
relations with them would get in 
the way? In a recent interview 

with The Breakfast Club, Ross 
openly explained his rationale: 
“I gotta be honest with you. She’s 
lookin’ good. I’m spending so 
much money on her photo shoots 
— I gotta f**k a couple times.” 
Not only is Ross unashamedly 
objectifying 
this 
hypothetical 

female artist, but his reasoning 
shows he believes he is entitled to 
the artist’s body because he spent 
“so much money” promoting her 
— he deserves sex. His ideology 
reflects a male-dominated field 
with little regard for women as 
professional equals, but instead 
as commodified sex objects.

In a more direct sense, lyrics 

hold the most direct influence 
over fans. Lyrics are sung by fans, 
used as captions for pictures and 

can even become common slang 
(remember “thot”?). As a female 
listener with a president who 
dismisses jokes about grabbing 
women’s 
genitals 
as 
“locker 

room” talk, it is growing more 
and more frustrating to listen to 
rap lyrics. Take the beginning of 
21 Savage’s verse from “Rockstar,” 
for example: “Drankin Henny, 
bad b*****s jumping in the pool/
And they ain’t got on no bra (bra)/
Hit her from the back, pulling on 
her tracks/And now she screaming 
out, ‘No Mas!’”

21 Savage paints the picture 

of a pool party filled with naked 
women who clearly have nothing 
better to do than drink and 
be sexy. Next, he jumps into a 
vulgar description of having 
rough, 
potentially 
unwanted 

intercourse with a woman who 
is begging him to stop. To me, 
the above exchange does not 
seem 
consensual. 
It 
doesn’t 

seem enjoyable for the woman; 
on the contrary, she wants it to 
end. To me, it seems like sexual 
assault. As a female listener, it is 
disgusting to hear lyrics like this. 

I ask myself, “How on earth was 
this song, with those lyrics, #1 
on the Billboard charts for nine 
straight weeks? How did listeners 
allow this to happen”?

Another one of most popular 

songs of 2017 was “Bad and 
Boujee” 
by 
the 
new-money 

Atlanta rap trio Migos. The song 
spent 36 weeks on Billboard 
Charts and skyrocketed the group 
into popular “Culture” (pun 
intended); however, the song is 
a misogynistic anthem. First of 
all, the title “Bad and Boujee” is 
a shortened version of Offset’s 
line “My b***h is bad and boujee”; 
this implies Offset’s ownership 
of a woman who he does not 
respect enough to call a woman, 
but rather a deprecating “bitch.” 
Second of all, the line “F*****g on 
your b***h she a thot, thot, thot” 
reinforces 
the 
objectification 

of these women as sex objects 
that are essentially being passed 
around among the rappers. There 
is no evidence of any respect for 
women, period. 

As a longtime and dedicated fan 

of hip hop, I have always been the 
first to defend my favorite music 
genre; however, my identity as a 
female has finally taken precedent. 
I used to look to rap lyrics as a 
source of confidence, but the more 
aware I become of the inequalities 
and 
sexual 
harassment 
that 

women face every day in this 
society, the more discouraged 
it makes me feel. I am deeply 
disappointed by the misogyny that 
continues to permeate hip hop. 
With the influence that rappers 
hold over popular culture, this 
behavior must come to a stop.

I now want to ask all music 

listeners: What do you think? 
Why are we still allowing this to 
happen? Do you feel okay rapping 
along to lyrics that degrade, insult, 
harass and objectify women? What 
kind of example are we setting by 
allowing this behavior to continue? 
We need more female leaders like 
Beyonce and Nicki Minaj. Women 
deserve to be treated equally in 
all industries, and hip hop has 
the ability to set the standard. 
We must hold these rappers to a 
higher moral standard in order for 
a society of consumers to do the 

Carli Cosenza can be reached at 

carlic@umich.edu.

Rappers must also 
face responsibility 

for their words 

and actions.

