Students with psychological problems and mental health issues have nothing to fear from the university.

Micky Sharma, director of Counseling and Student Development Center, said that NIU bases its decisions on student behavior.

“If a student becomes psychotic, that alone is not basis for the university to dismiss a student,” Sharma said. “However, if they start acting out in class and disrupting it, then the university will.”

Freshman accountancy major David Hansell said that the university has a priority in keeping students safe.

“They should do whatever it takes to keep the students in the classroom and the student having the [psychological] episode safe,” Hansell said.

Hansell added that the university should verify that a student’s behavior is the result of their disorder.

“If what they’re doing is completely out of their control, and it can be verified it is out of the control, then no they should not be punished,” Hansell said. “Under other circumstances, yes, they should be punished.”

Sharma noted that out of 25,000 students, a number of them will have depression or anxiety. However, even if a student did have a psychological episode during class, Sharma said that NIU will not immediately adopt the role of punisher.

“We look at what the university can do to support you,” Sharma said. “I don’t think we jump to dismissing students.”

John Mahoney, a pre-communication studies major, said he thinks it’s a good idea for the university to support its students.

“I believe the university should support the students as much as possible,” Mahoney said.

Sharma said that if a student’s physical or mental health is interfering with their academics, they can medically withdraw from NIU for a semester.

Medical withdrawal was one of the options offered to Jill Manges, an Eastern Illinois University student. Manges, a sufferer of post-traumatic stress disorder, suffered a flashback during a class, and EIU gave her the option of a medical withdrawal or expulsion, the Chicago Tribune reported Dec. 27, 2007.

Manges was eventually banned from the campus by EIU’s judicial board, but was offered the opportunity to return in 2008. Manges relocated back to her home in Boston.