Christopher Newport University

Date: Aug 06 2017
Major: Neuroscience/Cognitive Science (This Major's Salary over time)
CNU silences students they don't want to deal with.

Disclaimer: I realize that my experience at CNU was extreme and the direct result of my mental health issues. However, I think it was still unacceptable and indicative of a much larger problem at CNU. This comment is gonna be pretty long, TL:DR and a more general review at the bottom.

My dream school was William and Mary, but I suffered from anxiety (panic attacks) and depression in high school, and as a result my grades were not very good, so I settled for CNU.

During my first two weeks at CNU, I was having a hard time adjusting, and as a result I was very anxious. On the first day of classes, I had a panic attack in my dorm room, during which I took some Advil for the headache/stomachache combo I was experiencing. My roommate called my RA, who called CNU PD, who told me they would need to take me to the ER because of a possible overdose (the 4 Advil tablets I had taken). They proceeded to handcuff me and escort me out of the building and into a police car. At the ER, the community services board came to evaluate me, and decided it would somehow be in my best interest to stay in a psych ward for 72 hours, even going so far as to get a temporary detention order to maintain legal custody of me during this time. During my first week of classes. Because of a panic attack. This incident isolated me and sent me into a depression, which was topped off by my boyfriend breaking up with me a week later, which led to another panic attack. Again, my well meaning friends called an RA, who called CNU PD, who were convinced that I was going to hurt myself and said that they would have to take me in for an evaluation. When I refused, they proceeded to drag me off my bed, push me to the ground, and handcuff me. They then dragged me down the hall and out of the building and again, shoved me into a police car, and took me to the ER for yet another evaluation. I had another psych ward stay, after which CNU notified me that I was banned from campus until I attended a hearing concerning my mental health status, or took a medical leave. I decided on the latter. Fun fact, during this leave I was diagnosed with PTSD stemming from my experiences at CNU! Fast forward 6 months and I'm back for the spring semester. My former friends ignored me, and I realized that I would have to start over socially. Long story short, I fell in with the wrong crowd (the losers who come to college exclusively to kill brain cells by getting blackout drunk every night). Over the course of the semester, I made bad decisions, hung out with toxic people, and experienced a shift in my mental health state that I was later told was the onset of bipolar disorder. As a result, I overdosed the week before finals. My friends got me to the hospital, where the nurses mocked my "wimpy" attempt. I should also mention that Riverside, the closest hospital/health complex in the area, is absolute garbage. The doctors and nurses are condescending, rude, and suck at their jobs. They once diagnosed my best friend, who is diabetic, with high blood sugar when he came in for chest pain. But anyway, I stayed overnight, and guess who shows up like clockwork? No, not CNU PD. The Newport News sheriff's department! They already have a TDO in hand, and (in front of my sobbing mother, while I was 120 lbs and not a threat) they handcuffed me (and nearly broke my arm, I had bruises for a week), chained my feet, and whisked me off to the psych ward for the 3rd time (the only time it was actually kinda necessary). When I came back, I was banned from campus and taking my finals. I had to wait until AUGUST to take my finals (for classes that may not even transfer). I utterly regret snubbing GMU, and am in the process of transferring there.

TL:DR CNU does not accommodate students struggling with mental health issues. My rights were violated by CNU PD and Newport News law enforcement multiple times for ridiculous reasons, which left me with more mental health complications than I came in with. CNU was a waking nightmare for me. I wasted a year of my life, and I have nothing to show for it.

In a more general sense…

Pros: The professors I had were sweet, approachable, and experienced in their field. There were also a few (emphasis on few) admins who I felt cared about me, and went beyond their job description to help me. The president of the school is very committed to preventing sexual assault, given his wife's experiences in the past. The dorm rooms are a decent size (if you're not tripled), and there's a lightsaber club.

Cons: There is no decent party scene. All of the parties I went to were cramped, trashy, and ran out of beer within the first 2 hours. Despite a lot of the student body being Christian, there is a very strong hookup culture. Then again, it's college and everyone's getting it on so not really a big deal. RAs are pretty uptight, especially about little things like candles and extension cords. A lot of the student are very fake and chirpy, and practically shove rainbows and sunshine down your throat. The leadership program is a scam and requires the students in it to attend pointless events, complete an insane amount of service hours, and maintain a 3.5 GPA. Greek life is obnoxious, there's constant construction, Newport News is awful, 75% of the students are mayonnaise white, and the school cares more about appearance than their students.