college mental health – The Sophie Fund

“Friend of Children Award” for The Sophie Fund

December 4, 2025December 4, 2025thesophiefund

The Sophie Fund received the 2025 Friend of Children Award from the New York Association of School Psychologists at NYASP’s annual conference on November 13.

“The Sophie Fund has demonstrated unwavering commitment to transforming the lives of young people facing mental health challenges,” said Conference Co-Chair Taylor Ayres at the NYASP awards ceremony. “This exceptional nonprofit organization works tirelessly to create a vibrant community where young people thrive by supporting and enhancing mental well-being throughout the greater Ithaca area. Their innovative work exemplifies the spirit of this award by placing children’s well-being at the center of everything they do.”

Ayres cited The Sophie Fund’s “comprehensive approach, which includes implementing impactful mental health initiatives, reducing stigma around mental illness, advancing a Zero Suicide ethos, and serving as dedicated community advocates.”

Beth Taplitz, an Ithaca-based conference committee member, thanked The Sophie Fund for “your compassion and willingness to always be a resource for support whether it’s sharing resources via email, talking on the phone, or paying for professional development for local professionals.”

Taplitz added: “In Ithaca, we have seen and experienced The Sophie Fund’s community outreach first-hand, with students at our local schools and the larger community.”

Scott MacLeod, co-founder of The Sophie Fund, expressed his gratitude for NYASP’s recognition. He said the award was especially meaningful because his organization regards school psychologists as true heroes on the front lines every day meeting the challenges of youth mental health. He noted that the digital era and the accompanying spike in youth anxiety and depression makes the work of school psychologists even more difficult and necessary.

Beth Taplitz, Scott MacLeod, Taylor Ayres

NYASP’s 2025 conference, “School Psychologists Blazing Trails Together,” took place at the Downtown Ithaca Conference Center from November 13-15.

The Friend of Children Award is presented by the NYASP conference in appreciation of a local individual or organization whose dedication and work supports the lives of children and their families.

Per the tradition of supporting a local charity that aligns with its mission, NYASP also donated $1,258.10 in proceeds from its conference raffle to The Sophie Fund.

NYASP’s mission is to serve children, their families and the school community by promoting psychological well-being, excellence in education, and sensitivity to diversity through best practices in school psychology.

The Sophie Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and enhancing the mental well-being of young people in the greater Ithaca community. It is named for Sophie Hack MacLeod, a Cornell University student who died by suicide in Ithaca in 2016.

How to Stop Hazing at Cornell

September 26, 2025thesophiefund

Hazing continues to be a problem on college campuses. Accurate statistics on hazing are difficult to obtain because many colleges do not publicly report hazing incidents, even though state laws require them to report, and because most students who are hazed do not report being hazed. In this context, Stop Hazing at the University of Maine reports, based on a national survey, 55 percent of college students involved in clubs, teams, and organizations experience hazing.

Phi Sigma Kappa, one of many Cornell fraternities sanctioned for hazing

Cornell University has reported hazing incidents on its website since 2005. During the Spring 2024 semester, six student organizations were found to have hazed new members and were disciplined for their behavior. In 2011 and 2019, two Cornell University students tragically died because of hazing. George Desdunes died in a so-called reverse hazing incident, in which junior members haze senior members. Antonio Tsialas died in a fraternity rush organized by Phi Kappa Psi. The fraternity was permanently banned from campus as a result.

Cornell is planning a new hazing prevention program to educate the entire community—all students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents—about what hazing is, their role in preventing it, and how to report hazing violations. In addition, under the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act, colleges are now required to include hazing incidents as part of their annual reporting on campus crimes required by the federal Clery Act.

From September 22-26 Cornell honored National Hazing Prevention Week, with school leaders urging student organizations, athletic teams, fraternities and sororities to affirm a shared responsibility to create spaces of connection, pride, and belonging that are free from harm. In November, Sorority and Fraternity Life hosts its annual Antonio Tsialis ’23 Hazing Prevention Week.

No one wants to be hazed because these actions are physically and psychologically harmful and do not build group loyalty. For example, according to a survey 93 percent of Cornell students believe “it’s never okay to humiliate or intimidate new members.” Welcoming new members by including them in celebratory activities such as a special dinner or group trip is a better way of developing members’ loyalty and preventing hazing from occurring.

Everyone believes that he or she knows what hazing is. We read about hazing in the news and see it in the movies. It is an initiation process, where new members join an organization, too much alcohol is consumed, and someone dies because of alcohol poisoning or a dangerous action such as falling downstairs or being punched.

State hazing laws generally reflect this understanding. However, building on research conducted by the University of Maine, colleges generally define hazing more comprehensively as any initiation or recruitment activity that could reasonably be perceived as likely to create a risk of mental, physical, or emotional distress or harm. Such activities lie along a continuum with those creating relatively minor psychological distress such as wearing a beanie or performing a silly skit to the extremely dangerous such as consuming a fifth of vodka or running a gauntlet of members armed with paddles.

Recruitment and initiation activities are rites of passage, rituals intended to confer a new identity upon individuals. By going through the ritual one becomes an insider, someone who understands the group’s values, norms, and beliefs and is expected to enact them when interacting with other members and outsiders. Through rites of passage, students become members of the football team, a fraternity or a sorority, the marching band, orchestra, or an acapella group.

When considering hazing, it is useful to understand two rites of passage: rites of enhancement and rites of degradation. Rites of enhancement are rituals that welcome the newcomer as a valued member, integrate them into the group, and focus on building up one’s identity and loyalty with the group. Hazing is a rite of degradation, which seeks to devalue new members, highlighting how little they know and that they cannot become a full member in the group unless they are willing to be humiliated by engaging in a degrading activity such as wearing a beanie or chugging a quart of vodka.

Groups that engage in hazing mistakenly believe that it builds loyalty and commitment to the group, but this is a myth. For instance, Van Raalte and her colleagues collected data from athletes on their experiences with hazing and team building experiences and examined the relationship between those experiences and team cohesion. They found that the more team building behaviors that athletes were involved in, the more socially cohesive they perceived their team to be and that the more hazing activities they reported doing or seeing, the less cohesive they perceived their team to be in sports-related tasks.

Welcoming or Hazing New Members?

Student groups can prevent hazing by welcoming new members, by using group-building activities to encourage commitment and loyalty, by disavowing hazing, and by teaching members to intervene and stop hazing before it begins. Hazing does not occur in a vacuum; members are always present when it is first discussed and when it occurs. Members can shut down talk about hazing when it starts and when they see others initiating unacceptable behavior.

Ways to be a welcoming, no-hazing organization:

Formally commit to being a welcoming, no-hazing organization. While colleges have hazing policies, student organizations should embrace them as their own and affirm their commitment to welcoming new members. Individuals in organizations with a written policy are more likely to enact the expected behaviors than individuals in organizations without a written one. Having a written policy means taking ownership of the problem and teaching members how to prevent it.

Review recruitment and initiation rituals to ensure that they are welcoming. All organizations have rituals for initiating new members. If current practices might make new members feel humiliated or threatened, revise them or get rid of them. Create new rituals that make new members feel valued. Among the most valuable activities for building group loyalty and cohesion are special dinners that highlight the organization’s values and special trips that include new and old members in fun activities.

Teach members to recognize hazing. Colleges define it more expansively than is commonly understood. Preventing hazing, therefore, requires educating members about what it is. Colleges have online training programs to help educate members, but these are not sufficient. Social norming research highlights the importance of group discussion to counteract misperceptions about hazing. By discussing what hazing is, members’ perceptions of hazing, and the organization’s policy about welcoming members, group leaders underscore members’ obligation to welcome new members and not haze them.

Train members how to intervene and prevent hazing. Bystander intervention is popular on campuses because it reinforces students’ responsibility for keeping campuses safe and trains them to intervene safely to prevent problems. Intervening is scary, but one can learn to do it constructively. One key to intervening safely is to do it with others. For instance, if someone suggests hazing new members, one can remind everyone that this is not acceptable group behavior. Simply speaking up is often enough to prevent it.

Hold members accountable. When members know what is expected of them, they will comply because they want to be seen as committed to the group. Still, some will misbehave. Members can hold one another accountable by intervening so that the misbehaving members comply with expectations. Unfortunately, even with the best efforts to prevent hazing, a few members may engage in it. In these circumstances, college administration will become involved, initiating an investigation of the hazing incident, a formal hearing for those involved, and a decision about either dismissing the charge or leveling an appropriate punishment. Initially, student leaders may want to deny and cover up the hazing; a better strategy is to engage with the administration to expedite a fair investigation and outcome. If there is a violation, accept responsibility and commit to doing better.

Creating a welcoming student organization and preventing hazing requires sustained effort. New members join and some old members leave every year, requiring the organization to renew its commitment to being a welcoming, no-hazing organization annually. Fortunately, student leaders have excellent resources to help them. For example, Cornell University’s excellent hazing website defines hazing, has valuable information on building group solidarity without hazing, bystander intervention training, and reporting and dealing with hazing when it occurs. Check it out: https://hazing.cornell.edu/

—By William J. Sonnenstuhl

William J. Sonnenstuhl is Emeritus Professor, School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), Cornell University and a member of the university’s Fraternity and Sorority Advisory Council

What Happened to Cornell’s Mental Health Review?

September 22, 2025September 22, 2025thesophiefund

In 2020, a task force handed the Cornell University administration a 34-page Mental Health Review Final Report containing 130 core and sub recommendations for improving support for student mental health and well-being on the Ithaca campus. Five years later, Cornell has failed to present a full account to the Cornell or Ithaca communities of how it handled those recommendations as it had pledged to do.

Cornell University campus

Our daughter Sophie ’14 died by suicide in Ithaca in March 2016 during a health leave of absence from Cornell. We wrote to Cornell University President Martha Pollack in April 2017 asking her to commission a task force for a comprehensive review of Cornell’s policies and practices related to student mental health.

In our letter, we observed “systemic failure” in Cornell’s mental health policy and practice affecting areas such as suicide prevention, mental health counseling, and sexual violence. We wrote that we witnessed “an institutional mindset reflecting complacency and defensiveness that appears to prioritize Cornell’s public image over the welfare of students struggling with mental disorders.”

In January 2018 Pollack rejected our request. But in September 2018, she announced the establishment of a Mental Health Review (MHR) after graduate and undergraduate student organizations petitioned the administration to launch a review.

The MHR task force began its work in Fall 2019. As we had requested, the task force was led by external experts, including Michael Hogan, a former New York State mental health commissioner and a widely recognized expert in suicide prevention.

In April 2020, the task force handed the Cornell administration a report on its comprehensive review, which called for “culture change” and made recommendations for improvements in areas such as mental health and medical services, academic policies, student well-being, and proactive support for struggling students.

The task force characterized recommendations as “immediate,” requiring “limited time and resources”; “intermediate,” which “may take a year or more to achieve”; and “aspirational”—“goals that involve a significant investment of staff time and financial resources, or long-term culture shift.”

When making the report public in October 2020, a six-month delay owing to campus focus on responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, Cornell announced the creation of a seven-member Executive Accountability Committee.

The committee’s four “executive sponsors” and three “change leads” would evaluate and work toward implementing the MHR report’s “robust series of recommendations” in three key areas—academic community, campus community and clinical services.

A statement from the committee posted to the Cornell Health webpage announced: “Progress Updates will be provided by members of the Executive Accountability Committee at the end of each academic semester. Updates will include progress toward specific recommendations from the Mental Health Review.”

The MHR task force had recommended “a widely representative permanent committee on mental health to ensure the implementation of immediate recommendations, and to monitor progress and conduct further review of those recommendations that will require more time and resources to enact.”

The Sophie Fund, which we established in 2016 as a nonprofit advocacy organization supporting mental health initiatives for young people in the greater Ithaca community, commended the task force’s recommendations and the Cornell administration’s commitment to a transparent process for implementing them. We publicly thanked Pollack and Vice President for Student & Campus Life Ryan Lombardi for “recognizing the need for continuous attention to student mental health.”

Over the next two years, however, the Executive Accountability Committee provided sparse and incomplete updates on the implementation progress. In 2022, Cornell halted the specific recommendations updates and disbanded the Executive Accountability Committee.

In October 2022, Pollack announced that Cornell had adopted the international Okanagan Charter and launched a “Health Promoting Campus” initiative.

Cornell administrators said that responsibility for the MHR recommendations and campus mental health policies and practices would now fall to a 25-member Student Well-Being Council (and its six subcommittees) under a “campus-wide Community of Practice.”

On April 30, we asked Pollack’s successor, President Michael Kotlikoff, “to provide a report to the Cornell and Ithaca communities on the status of the 60 core recommendations (130 including sub-recommendations).”

In a letter to Kotlikoff, we wrote that such a report “will illustrate the concrete improvements deserving of recognition that have been made over the past five years as the result of the review commissioned by President Pollack. It will highlight the areas where work still needs to be done, and how Cornell intends to proceed in those areas. Finally, transparently fulfilling a commitment to hold itself accountable will enhance confidence and respect in how Cornell is supporting its students’ well-being and acting as a responsible and valued part of the greater community.”

Kotlikoff declined our request, which was repeated in a series of four further email exchanges in May, June, and July. He explained that Cornell has moved on from a focus on the MHR recommendations in favor of the “Health Promoting Campus” initiative.

On May 7, Kotlikoff wrote:

“Cornell adopted the Okanagan Charter in 2022. This commitment is the next phase of our Mental Health Review, representing a holistic approach focused on promoting health across all aspects of our campus. Through this commitment, we have made significant strides in enhancing support: mental health and well-being have been complemented by policy changes aimed at fostering a supportive environment for our students, guidelines to make policies more health-promoting, embedding well-being into classroom settings, and continuing to provide training to students, staff, and faculty in how to identify individuals in distress.”

Thanking us for our “continued advocacy on behalf of student mental health and well-being in the Cornell and greater Ithaca communities,” Kotlikoff wrote on May 29:

“Since the publication of the Mental Health Review Final Report in 2020, Cornell has made significant progress in implementing in full or part many of the recommendations outlined in the report, as was shared via reports published through October 2022. However, because the landscape of student needs, service delivery, and institutional priorities has shifted dramatically in light of the profound changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, other recommendations have necessarily evolved or been reconsidered. These shifts led Cornell to move from a focus on meeting MHR recommendations to the October 2022 adoption of the Okanagan Charter and launch of the Health Promoting Campus initiative.”

On July 15, Kotlikoff wrote that Cornell has adopted “a much more rigorous assessment and evaluation approach to our work.” He shared that a publication, authored by a Cornell health administrator, “has revealed marked improvement via a simultaneous increase of student flourishing and substantial decreases in levels of students’ anxiety, depression, and psychological distress.”

Kotlikoff, though responding promptly and with courtesy to our emails, did not agree to our request to meet with him to discuss our concerns in person, referring us instead to subordinates in the Cornell administration.

Our current concerns about student mental health at Cornell go beyond the status of the MHR recommendations, as we wrote in our initial letter to President Kotlikoff on April 30.

We said that our concerns include the constant turnover and lengthy gaps in filling key positions at Cornell Health, which we said “raise questions about the administration’s commitment to ensuring robust and consistent leadership for student mental health.”

From our April 30 letter:

“In early 2020, the university created a new position of Assistant Vice President of Student & Campus Life for Health and Well-Being who would be responsible for overseeing student mental health and well-being on the clinical side of Cornell Health and importantly on the academic side of Cornell’s various schools. The AVP was put in charge of supervising implementation of recommendations in the MHR Report, which she declared “underscores the need for significant culture change at Cornell.” At the end of 2021, the AVP announced her resignation citing “all-consuming and exhausting” work that included leading the university’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Despite the critical importance of this particular leadership role for student mental health and well-being and specifically for implementing the MHR recommendations, the Cornell administration left this AVP position leading a 200-person staff vacant for two and a half years until finally promoting an internal applicant in mid-2024. Cornell Health has now had three directors in six years.

“Cornell Health’s Counseling & Psychological Services, which provides essential day-to-day clinical support for Cornell’s students, has also seen three directors in six years, with the most recent director leaving the position just weeks into the current academic year with no permanent replacement appointed thus far seven months later.

“Another key unit, Cornell’s Skorton Center for Health Initiatives, has likewise had three directors in the past four years. As you of course are aware, the Skorton Center is charged with directing campus public health education and training programs for issues such as mental health, alcohol and drug addiction, sexual assault, hazing, and suicide prevention.”

By Scott MacLeod and Susan Hack

Scott MacLeod and Susan Hack are co-founders of The Sophie Fund, established in memory of their daughter Sophie, who died by suicide in Ithaca during a health leave of absence from Cornell.

UPDATED: A Parent’s Guide to College Student Mental Health

September 16, 2025September 16, 2025thesophiefund

Political division and violence at home. Conflicts around the globe. Tense debates over everything from climate change to public health. Not to mention the pressures of succeeding in college and finding a job after graduation.

These are very stressful times for today’s college students. They require parents to fully grasp the serious mental health challenges their students may face and be equipped to provide support.

Cornell University students participating in a campus suicide prevention walk in April 2024

Did you know that the majority of college students today meet the criteria for at least one mental health complaint? Or that there are often wait lists to receive support from college counseling centers, community clinics, and private therapists?

The Sophie Fund publishes “A Parent’s Guide to College Student Mental Health” to help parents—especially those whose children are attending college in Ithaca—better understand the challenges and how to deal with them.

The guide curates key resources about student mental health and lists support services on campus and in the Ithaca community. It also includes advice from local mental health experts, college administrators, current and former students, and parents of students who have dealt with psychological challenges in college.

DOWNLOAD: A Parent’s Guide to College Student Mental Health (PDF)

Rates of depression and anxiety are high among college students. In fact, many students carry suicidal thoughts. Sexual assault is prevalent among college students. Hazing violence as an initiation rite at fraternities and some student organizations is a serious problem.

All of these factors pose even greater risks for students who arrive on campus with a mental health or substance use disorder.

“It’s crucial for parents to understand potential signs of distress, and how to foster trust and open communication to support their child during this period of transition,” said Sigrid Pechenik, former associate director of Cornell University’s Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS).

“It’s never too early to start a conversation, do not wait until mid or late semester. Recognize symptoms beyond expected adjustment, such as changes in mood and behavior, academic struggles, social withdrawal, changes in communication, and/or loss of interest in things that they used to enjoy.”

Failure to understand these realities of college student life today, and to help with issues that may arise, can lead to serious consequences.

When parents do fully grasp the scope of the challenges, they are more attuned to how their student is handling the major life transition from home to college. Parents especially need to understand the risk factors and warning signs for a mental health crisis, and how to support their student if they should exhibit cause for concern.

Help can range from staying connected with moral support and positive encouragement to evaluating and navigating mental health treatment options at the college counseling center, in the community, or back home during a health leave of absence.

Our plea to parents: Even if you think you don’t need it, download and review the guide, and keep it close at hand during your student’s college years and beyond.

DOWNLOAD: A Parent’s Guide to College Student Mental Health (PDF)

Be Safe at College This Year

September 5, 2025September 8, 2025thesophiefund

As the school year begins, college students across Tompkins County have arrived on campus equipped with a variety of unique personal experiences. Many students will live away from home for the first time. Others might be met with academic and social challenges they have never encountered before. All students deserve safety, respect, and care.

New Cornell University students pose in front of the student union

Unfortunately, this time of transformation and growth can also coincide with sexual and relationship violence. Each year, between the months of August through November, instances of sexual violence at universities in the United States increase drastically.

This period of time is known as the “red zone,” beginning at the start of the fall semester and lasting through Thanksgiving break when many students go home. More than 50 percent of college sexual assaults happen during this time, according to the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN). Sexual violence does not cease as the “red zone” ends in December, so continuing these conversations is crucial.

The Advocacy Center of Tompkins County and The Sophie Fund partnered to create Be Safe at College, a simple flyer highlighting key resources to cultivate safer campuses, support sexual assault survivors, and hold perpetrators accountable. Pin a copy to your bulletin board, or upload it to your phone.

DOWNLOAD: Be Safe at College Resources

“I hope that the Be Safe at College flyer will be a resource for students to keep in their self-care toolkits, whether they think they will need it or not. It’s always helpful to know about support options for you and your friends because you deserve safety and compassion,” said Alex Kabat, Campus Educator at the Advocacy Center.

After graduating from Ithaca College in 2024, Kabat knew she wanted to provide support to the greater Ithaca community. Utilizing her own lived experiences as a college student, she provides trauma-informed education, connection to resources, and dedication to support at each local college campus: Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Tompkins Cortland Community College. She also provides programs, print materials, interactive tabling opportunities, and more. For any inquiries, email Kabat directly: akabat@actompkins.org.

“Trust your gut—you know what feels best for yourself, so lean into that innate knowledge,” said Kabat. “No matter what happens, violence is never your fault and perpetrators are the ones who should be held accountable.”

RAINN’s “Prevention Tips for Students” web page also has a wealth of helpful information for college students.

SUPPORT RESOURCES

Advocacy Center of Tompkins County

Free, confidential, local support and advocacy for survivors, friends, and families around domestic or dating violence, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse.

Hotline (607) 277-5000

Office (607) 277-3203

Instagram: @advocacytc

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network(RAINN)

RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline and provides programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.

Hotline 24/7 (800) 656-HOPE

Online (English)

Online (en español)

Instagram: @rainnn

EMERGENCY

911 Ithaca Police Assistance

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Cornell University

Cornell Police (607) 255-1111

Cornell Health & CAPS (607) 255-5155

Victim Advocacy (607) 255-1212

Title IX Office (607) 255-2242