For Tommy Edwards, Things Come Full Circle
description: by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com General Manager and Managing Editor Apr 17, 2008 The events of April 16th, 2007 touched many people. Lives were changed and altered in various ways, from the victims to the survivors to the first responders to the university community. For former Virginia Tech running back Tommy Edwards, the aftermath of the tragedy was a call to action, to return to a place he had left years ago, to try to make a difference. Hokie fans who have come on board in the last 12 years, since the 1995 Sugar Bowl, may not know who Tommy Edwards is. In nearby Radford, Virginia, Edwards had a storied high school career that saw him amass 57 rushing touchdowns and nearly 4,000 yards in just two years of high school football. A decorated recruit, he followed his father (Kenny Edwards, a VT running back from the early 1970s) to Virginia Tech in 1992. In the 1993 season, as a redshirt freshman, Edwards scored nine touchdowns, and his future was bright. By 1995, though, he was gone, transferred out to Division 1-AA Boise State, where his college football career ended quickly. It was the pre-Internet age, and the large majority of Hokie fans were in the dark, wondering what had happened to "Touchdown Tommy" Edwards to cause him to flame out so quickly. Tommy Edwards's story is not the story of a prima donna unhappy over playing time, nor is it the story of a smalltown athlete who wasn't talented enough to make the big time. His story is about mental illness and the effects it can have, how it can derail the most promising of lives and careers. The story of Tommy Edwards not only answers the question, "Whatever happened to Tommy Edwards?" It tells you what the events of April 16th mean to him, and why he is inspired to do what he's doing today. A Promising Start As a child, Edwards struggled academically due to dyslexia, but as he matured and started to excel in track and football at Radford High School, athletics helped him gain acceptance. "I always felt like som…
creator: Will Stewart
date: 2008-05-02
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
rights: Will Stewart (will@techsideline.com)
language: eng

On-campus mental illness issues unique
description: By Dick Durbin RRSTAR.COM Posted Apr 17, 2008 @ 10:59 PM This week, our nation marked the anniversary of the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech that took 32 lives and wounded 17 other people. Just two months ago, our state was stunned to witness a similar tragic shooting at Northern Illinois University in which 5 students were killed and 17 were wounded. I cannot imagine the magnitude of heartbreak and pain for friends and families of those killed or the trauma borne by those who survived these tragedies. As we mourn the loss of so many promising young lives, it is important also to learn from these tragedies. So what are those lessons? The first is to consider the tortured mind of the shooter. Mental illness is an illness, not a curse. It can and should be treated. Many who receive appropriate counseling and medication lead normal, stable and happy lives. But our laws ignore this reality. We have created legal and financial obstacles to appropriate care. This year, for the first time in a decade, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill to give mental health parity with physical health under the law. The House of Representatives also has passed legislation, and we are negotiating a compromise to fulfill the promise of health parity for millions facing mental health problems. But the challenge of mental health on our college campuses is unique. Many mental illnesses manifest themselves in this period when young people leave the security of home and regular medical care. The responsibility for the students' well-being shifts many times to colleges and universities struggling with limited resources. The situation is growing worse. Studies show that 10 percent of college students have contemplated suicide and 45 percent have felt so depressed that it was difficult to function. Colleges also are encountering students who 10 to 20 years ago would not have been able to attend school because of mental illness, but who can do so today because of advances in treatment of such illnes…
creator: Dick Durbin
date: 2008-04-19
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
language: eng

Anniversary Reactions to a Traumatic Event
description: Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:00:00 -0400 From: Unirel@vt.edu To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU> Subject: Anniversary Reactions to a Traumatic Event Here is some information from the university's Cook Counseling Center and the university Employee Relations Office. Source: National Mental Health Information Center of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Anniversary Reactions to a Traumatic Event: The Recovery Process Continues As the anniversary of a disaster or traumatic event approaches, many survivors report a return of restlessness and fear. Psychological literature calls it the anniversary reaction and defines it as an individual's response to unresolved grief resulting from significant losses. The anniversary reaction can involve several days or even weeks of anxiety, anger, nightmares, flashbacks, depression, or fear. On a more positive note, the anniversary of a disaster or traumatic event also can provide an opportunity for emotional healing. Individuals can make significant progress in working through the natural grieving process by recognizing, acknowledging, and paying attention to the feelings and issues that surface during their anniversary reaction. These feelings and issues can help individuals develop perspective on the event and figure out where it fits in their hearts, minds, and lives. It is important to note that not all survivors of a disaster or traumatic event experience an anniversary reaction. Those who do, however, may be troubled because they did not expect and do not understand their reaction. For these individuals, knowing what to expect in advance may be helpful. Common anniversary reactions among survivors of a disaster or traumatic event include: Memories, Dreams, Thoughts, and Feelings: Individuals may replay memories, thoughts, and feelings about the event, which they can't turn off. They may see repeated images and scenes associated with the trauma or relive the event over and over. They may have recurring dreams…
creator: University Relations (unirel@vt.edu)
date: 2008-04-14
contributor: Brent Jesiek
language: eng

Reflections on a Mass Homicide (Commentary)
description: (PDF, 30KB; Full text below.) Commentary Reflections on a Mass Homicide Jimmy Lee,1 MBBS, MMed (Psych), Tih-Shih Lee,1,2 MD, PhD, FRCP (C), Beng-Yeong Ng,1 MBBS, MMed (Psych), FAMS 1 Department of Psychiatry, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore2 Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore Address for Correspondence: Dr Tih-Shih Lee, Department of Psychiatry, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Outram Road, Singapore 169608. Email: tihshih.lee@gms.edu.sg Introduction The names "Virginia Tech" and "Cho" will be associated forever with the tragic mass homicide of 32 persons cum suicide by Seung-Hui Cho on 16 April 2007. In the aftermath, many questions have been posed: "What happened and why?", "Was he crazy?", "Could it have been prevented?", "Could it happen here?" This was the third mass killing in a US campus, with the largest number of fatalities. The first was in 1966 in the University of Texas with 16 dead and 31 wounded, then the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, in which 13 students were killed. We do not profess to know more about what happened in Blacksburg, Virginia, or Cho's neuropsychiatric condition than whatever is published in the popular press.1 But through a series of questions, we reflect on this tragedy, attempt to place it into a human and psychiatric perspective, and offer insights into if, and how, it can be averted in the future. Question 1: Was Cho insane? Cho was described as a shy and quiet child, who was good in mathematics, but struggled with English. There were allegations of him being taunted and bullied in school since young. Both his pastor and relatives had suspected he might be autistic and suggested professional assistance. There was no record of him being involved in overt violence except that he had harassed 2 female classmates, one of whom called in the campus police. He expressed suicidal ideation and was involuntarily committed by a judge in a mental health facility briefly for assessment. A psychiatrist wrote in his…
creator: Jimmy Lee, Tih-Shih Lee, and Beng-Yeong Ng
date: 2007-08-26
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Kirat Kaur (Ms) Editorial Executive Annals, Academy of Medicine, Singapore annals@academyofmedicine.edu.sg
language: eng

Enlightened
description: My youngest son, Travis Miller graduated from Virginia Tech in 2006, and my experiences goe back gto my early teens. As a woman, a Mom, and a researcher, the events of April 16, 2007, grabbed my full attention, and still do. You see, since 1993, I have been treated for a condition, called Bipolar/Manic Depression. My losses have been many, and severe, as in those 14 years, due to the disease, I had no judgment, no sense of reality. I have all my charts, and I now know I was very over medicated by my EX Dr of some 12 years. Life altering changes occured, for myself, and my 3 sons [who were not educated, nor had therapy] which resulted in Dad walking away, after 5 years. Treating mental illness, as something one chooses, or can "snap out of" is extreamly uneducated. The past 3 years, I have dedicated myself to research, and to understanding the past, as to understand the present, and hopefuly simplifly the future. Including my sons somewhat in the exploration, led to estrangement, and Family Protective Orders. I was not included in my son's graduation of 2006. Isolation, since 1993, continues from my family, but I now have a better understanding, throught my faith, Buddhism. I accept my part, and thankfully, injoy a full remission, which requires no prescriptive medication at present. But there is still fall out, and I am fighting the good fight, to bring awareness to Virginia, the Nation on the subject of Mental Health. Trying to understand April 16, 2007, I did know perhaps better that most, how Cho might have acted out his terror, his emense anger, at his perceived rejection, his isolation. I think he fell through the many "cracks" as it were, and that as a state with a D- rating by Nami, [mental health ass.] we have the chance for change. I wrote a Letter to the Roanoke times, on a bill before Congress, up in September for vote, on teaching K-12, good mental health. Yes, we need the tools, we need the education, to demistify, what is baseicaly a "chemical imbalnce…
creator: Dona Wheeler
date: 2007-08-19
contributor: Dona Wheeler
language: eng

What We Can Learn From Virginia Tech
description: By Dr. Thomas Parham In the wake of the tragic events that occurred at Virginia Tech University, many in our community will be forced to wrestle with and confront some tough questions and concerns. Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and families, as well as the broader campus community. No amount of planning and preparation can ever truly prepare one for the events that unfolded on April 16, and yet our thoughts cannot resist the tendency to delve into spaces that invite critical reflection and analysis about our own vulnerability to such a tragedy within the borders of this campus. Times like these challenge our individual and collective sensibilities as we seek to desperately cling to notions of life that are far more predictable, less scary and less unsettling. Our designs for living and patterns for interpreting reality have been shaken by this single act of horrific proportion, which dislodges us from our comfortable spaces of intellectual, emotional, behavioral and even spiritual comfort. As people struggle to cope with this horrific tragedy, it is likely that some will experience a broad range of emotional reactions, including anxiety, confusion, depression, insecurity, anger, resentment, sadness, vulnerability and fear. Some may experience difficulty sleeping, eating or concentrating on their studies. These feelings are normal and reasonable, and consistent with what mental health professionals predict. Over time, these feelings will diminish for most people. We want each member of our community to know that we are here for you in ways that ensure, to the best of our ability, your safety, as well as address your emotional and psychological well-being in this time of extreme distress. In recalling the incidents of last week, I want to invite each of you to resist the temptation to espouse what could or should have been done. Hindsight is always 20/20, and none of us really knows what it was like in the moments surrounding the tragedy. What I do want…
creator: Thomas A. Parham
publisher: New University
date: 2007-08-19
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Zachary Gale <newueic@gmail.com>
language: eng

UC Irvine's Counseling and Health Services Are Under-Funded
description: By Emilie Doolittle Staff Writer Three weeks ago, before midnight, a student was found with a gunshot wound to the head in the Social Science Building at UC Irvine. He had committed suicide. Two weeks ago was the Virginia Tech massacre. In the aftermath of recent tragic events, students at UCI wonder how safe our campus is and how psychologically healthy the students are. Is the Counseling and Health Center doing enough to make our campus psychologically healthy? What provisions are they making? If the Health Center gets a distress call, where someone is either a danger to themselves, a danger to others or gravely disabled, then they can send a psychologist to mentally evaluate the person. However, psychologists do not have the capacity to attend distress calls beyond the working week hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For after-hour coverage, it is up to the on-campus police to handle distress calls. If the police officer feels that a mental health professional needs to be involved, they will call California's Welfare and Institutions Code 5150, which mandates that the distressed person be sent to a clinician. Generally, the person would be sent to the UCI Medical Center where they can have psychiatric help at any time. Students who are not sent to psychiatric help by law enforcement, may be in need of psychological support. How can they get support when the Counseling Center is closed? Currently UCI has no psychological counseling hotlines such as suicide prevention or sexual assault victim counseling. Students have to seek psychological support from sources outside of UCI. For any student to find psychological assistance, they have to look up a service, generally via the Internet, or have someone else look it up for them. This may cause a problem for someone who is already in a vegetative state of depression and has no one around to notice that they are in dire need of psychological help. If a student was severely depressed and did not have a friend to help them get couns…
creator: Emilie Doolittle
date: 2007-08-19
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Zachary Gale <newueic@gmail.com>
language: eng

Counseling and Support Information for Students and Employees
description: Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 13:34:30 -0400 From: Virginia.Tech.news@vt.edu To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU> Subject: Counseling and Support Information for Students and Employees August 17, 2007 Counselors from Cook Counseling Center and ValueOptions will provide drop in counseling services from two locations, a tent on the Drillfield and in Squires Student Center: Sunday, August 19 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday, August 20 and Tuesday, August 21 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Cook Counseling Center, McComas Hall, will also be open Sunday, August 19 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday, August 20 through Thursday, August 23 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday, August 24 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For additional counseling support for students please contact Cook Counseling Center at 231-6557 or 231-6444 after hours. For additional counseling support for faculty or staff, please contact Employee Relations at 231-7772. Counseling and Support Resources for Faculty and Staff Tom Brown, Dean of Students, and Christopher Flynn, Director of Cook Counseling Center, will be offering a series of seminars on "Identifying and Referring the Distressed Student" tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 5 from 4 to 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 6 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and Monday, Sept. 10 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Registration is not required. Participation is open to everyone the Virginia Tech community. Locations to be announced. The Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching is sponsoring a workshop on Thursday, August 30 on "Pathways to Resilience - From Surviving to Thriving". The workshop will be led by two clinical psychologists from James Madison University. Sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 5 p.m. at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. To register, visit www.ceut.vt.edu. Registration is open to faculty and staff. Faculty, staff, and dependents covered by Virginia Tech health insurance always have full access to counseling referral through ValueOption…
date: 2007-08-17
contributor: Brent Jesiek
language: eng

Universities mull privacy
description: BLACKSBURG, Va. - The revelation that Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui had a documented history of psychological problems is likely to intensify an already heated debate about how campuses handle troubled students. A number of high-profile court cases in recent years have centered on the constraints and responsibilities university officials confront in deciding whether to take pre-emptive action on behalf of at-risk students. Christopher Flynn, director of the Cook Counseling Center at Virginia Tech, alluded to that difficulty in discussing Cho's history of strange behavior. "There are lots of issues that are present on a college campus," Flynn said during a Wednesday press conference. "The extent to which we can make a judgment about whether someone is a danger is a separate issue." For universities, it is an issue fraught with moral and legal complications. Officials have to balance concern for campus safety with an obligation to protect individual privacy, often with vague guidelines. "Schools walk a real fine line," said Johnne Armentrout, assistant director of counseling services at Wake Forest University. "The tricky thing is that they face lawsuits on both sides, either from not doing enough or from violating their students' privacy rights." Federal law prohibits universities from revealing a student's psychological problems, even to parents, unless they have a signed waiver or believe the student poses an imminent danger to himself or others. Deciding when to break that confidentiality is difficult, but universities typically have erred on the side of protecting student privacy. In recent cases, universities have prevailed in court against parents arguing that they should have been better informed about their children's psychological problems. "When in doubt, my decision is to respect the student's right to privacy," said David McCord, head of the psychology department at Western Carolina University. "The students' right to privacy is mandatory training f…
creator: Erin France and Eric Johnson
publisher: Daily Tar Heel
date: 2007-07-27
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kevin Schwartz <kschwartz@unc.edu>
language: eng

Thoughts About Media Coverage of the Virginia Tech Tragedy
description: posted 5.01.07 Otto Wahl, Ph.D., University of Hartford The tragic death of 33 students at Virginia Tech has shocked and saddened us all. Given the mental health aspects of the situation, it is not surprising that there has been much in the coverage about mental illnesses and their treatment. Unfortunately, the articles and editorials that followed the shootings have often been troubling in what they convey to the public about mental illnesses and mental health interventions. One troubling aspect of the media coverage has been the frequent vilification and dehumanization of the troubled young man who perpetrated the killings. Appropriately sympathetic descriptions of the background and lives of the "32" victims were widespread, and such descriptions helped us to better appreciate the tragedy on a more personal level. However, descriptions of the 33rd person who died in the tragedy, Cho Seung-Hui, focused almost exclusively on his pathology, his anger, and his menacing manner. Some media sources characterized Cho as motivated by "meanness;" others labeled him as a "fiend," a "psychopath," or "just plain "evil." Such coverage ignored the fact that Cho's death—and much of his life—was also a tragedy. His alienation, isolation, anger, and ultimate suicide are probably not the life goals he set out for himself. Much of the media coverage did discuss Cho's mental health, but mostly without notable empathy for his difficulties. Related is the mistaken implication in coverage of Cho's actions that mental illness and violence are synonymous. The widespread images of Cho brandishing weapons epitomized the already prevalent public image of the "menacing madman," and that image was underscored further by the fear-inducing labels Cho was given in many media accounts, such as "maniac" and "psycho" and worse. Likewise, the repeated discussions of the need to protect the college community—and the larger community—from such individuals served to reinforce unwarranted public …
creator: Otto Wahl
date: 2007-07-17
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Otto Wahl (owahl@hartford.edu)
language: eng

Student privacy under scrutiny
description: Shooting sparks national debate By: Eric Johnson, Senior Writer Posted: 5/24/07 Congress is wading into the turbulent debate about campus safety in the aftermath of last month's shootings at Virginia Tech and is considering possible changes to federal laws governing student privacy. A bill to loosen disclosure restrictions for campuses dealing with at-risk students is already attracting attention in the House, and similar measures are being drafted in the Senate. Meanwhile, the UNC-system will consider during the next few months whether to back any move to alter long-standing federal policy about the disclosure of student health records. "In Washington, there's a lot of attention on this issue," said Kimrey Rhinehardt, UNC-system vice president for federal relations. "I think that certainly now, more than ever, the university is going to be a part of that discussion." The April 16 shooting of 32 students at Virginia Tech by a classmate with a documented history of mental instability has prompted colleges across the country to reevaluate their security procedures. It has also drawn national attention to the vague guidelines that govern when and how campuses can respond to threatening or self-destructive behavior by a student. Federal law prohibits universities from contacting a student's parents unless the student presents an imminent danger to himself or others, a standard that is open to wide interpretation. In recent years, campuses have been sued for taking preemptive measures against troubled students in some instances and for failing to take preemptive action in others. As a result, most campus administrators have welcomed the opportunity to review the existing statutes. "I think there's enough confusion now that most institutions would tell you that it could hardly get any worse," said Becky Timmons, assistant vice president for government relations at the American Council on Education. "Institutions may assume that scrutinizing this legislation would lend som…
creator: Sara Hood
date: 2007-07-16
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kevin Schwartz <kschwartz@unc.edu>
language: eng

Health service lacking funds, staff
description: By Elise Ma Tuesday, April 24, 2007 Since last week's shootings at Virginia Tech, officials at UCLA's Student Psychological Services have received many more calls than usual from people reporting concerns about other students. While SPS has set up specific services to address the incident, it is also working to expand its general services in response to research suggesting college students require more mental health assistance than is currently offered. And though SPS offers various services both in person and online, funding remains problematic, and some students said they are unsatisfied with both the quality of the staff and the availability of appointments. "Short-staffed, we try to do what we can and are usually pretty successful in addressing the needs of most students who come in, but it would be easier for the staff here to manage if there were more of us," said Elizabeth Gong-Guy, SPS clinical director. Christina, a first-year English student who asked to be identified by her middle name, said she was dissatisfied with her visit to SPS, specifically noting concerns about the conduct of the psychologist she met with. She said at her appointment she was surprised to be met by a graduate student trainee, who immediately asked, "Do you mind if I record this? I want to study this later." "It really turned me off because it seemed very unprofessional to me," Christina said. "I didn't want someone who is just 5 years older than me to use my therapy session for practice." The environment made her feel uncomfortable, so she did not return to SPS. Instead, she decided to return to the therapist she went to at home, she said. Gong-Guy said some students prefer one-on-one counseling with graduate student trainees, who are supervised by the professional clinicians on the SPS staff, and that students have the option of requesting a different counselor. "A lot of psychotherapy is about the match between the clinician and client, and sometimes it takes one or two tries to …
creator: Elise Ma
publisher: The Daily Bruin
date: 2007-07-15
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Saba Riazati <editor@media.ucla.edu>
language: eng

Forum looks at current issues
description: Media's responses to Virginia Tech shootings spur discussion about ethnicity, mental health, violence By Eli Rosenberg Tuesday, May 1, 2007 The issues of ethnicity, mental health, and violence in American society were some of the key topics addressed yesterday at a forum organized in response to the shootings at Virginia Tech. The talk, titled "Media, Ethnicity and Public Response," was sponsored by both Student Psychological Services and the Dashew International Center, and was moderated by Elizabeth Gong-Guy and Bob Erickson, the directors of each organization, respectively. "International students and scholars have great concern about issues of violence in American society, and this event gives them opportunity to participate in the discussion of this issue at UCLA," Erickson said. He said Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus on April 16 before taking his own life, was originally reported erroneously to be an international student. A few people expressed surprise that the issue of Cho's Korean ethnicity was such a focal point of debates that took place after the issue. Gong-Guy described how she was brought to tears after listening to the apology of Cho's sister on the radio. "(It was) the idea that she was apologizing not for herself or her brother, but for all Koreans and Asians on the whole," Gong-Guy said. The discussion, which covered questions of violence, mental health and racial relations in American culture, highlighted some of the issues brought up in the media after the shootings. Most of the seven participants seemed critical of the media's handling of the shootings, particularly in the early stages of the crisis. "Media seeks to take the most sensationalized portrayal of issues in this era of 24-hour news," Erickson said. The talk also touched on the changes and debates that UCLA has experienced in the aftermath of the attack. "One of my first reactions is that it could have happened here," Erickson said. The issue of menta…
creator: Eli Rosenberg
date: 2007-07-15
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Saba Riazati <editor@media.ucla.edu>
language: eng

Big Red Flag
description: By Claire Readhead Apr 30 2007 The paradox of mental health services, generally, hovers around the issue of consent. Most mental health services require voluntary participation from the patient, except in extreme cases. Thus, the question becomes, how can someone suffering from mental illness possess the wherewithal to seek help? Even those who are not clinically ill, but just unstable, may feel that the stigma attached to mental health services is a huge repellent. In light of the Virginia Tech Massacre, all educational institutions should begin to reconsider old notions surrounding mental health and seek to make services more accessible to students. Issues of mental health are sorely misunderstood in this country, and not all medications and treatments are covered under insurance — emphasizing the cultural and political neglect of these matters. The fact that Cho Seung-Hui could fall through the cracks of a well-structured institution, such as a university, should be a Big Red Flag to all academic administrators to seriously address issues surrounding counseling services. The reality is that most students suffering from mental health related problems will not turn into Cho; however, they may fall through the cracks without such a "bang," if you will. Counseling services at universities should not be reserved for the deeply troubled, but should be open and generally administered like the flu shot. Clearly, just as with the flu shot, counseling must be voluntary on the part of the students. Students should feel free to visit a counselor without fear of censure from peers. Hmmm ... this isn't so easy. In terms of Gannett specifically, the first item of business should be that of privacy. For instance, I went in for a routine physical, and as I was walking away from the counter, the lady yelled out, "Oh by the way do you want to be tested for HIV today?!?!?!?" Wow, now that everyone in the lobby is staring at me, I really feel comfortable answering that question. I …
creator: Claire Readhead
publisher: Cornell Daily Sun
date: 2007-07-10
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Jonny Lieberman <jdl46@cornell.edu>, <lieberman.jonny@gmail.com>
language: eng

Student Mental Health Problems Rise at C.U.
description: By Gallagher Hannan Sun Staff Writer May 3 2007 The tragedy at Virginia Tech has put the entire college community on edge. Although it is clear that this incident was isolated, it has raised important questions about the prevalence of high stress and depression on college campuses. In an interview with Cornell's President David Skorton last week on mental health, he addressed the importance of these issues. "I am very, very concerned about depression, pressure on campus, suicide, homicide, violence; it's an enormous issue," he said.Ample Advice: Pamphlets line the walls of Gannett Health Clinic offering advice to students on a number of topics.Ample Advice: Pamphlets line the walls of Gannett Health Clinic offering advice to students on a number of topics. According to a recent study completed by Kansas State University, mental health issues like those described by Skorton are becoming increasingly prevalent on college campuses. The study indicated that since 1994, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of students seeking help for depression and suicidal thoughts. Greg Eells, director of Cornell Counseling and Psychological services, said that these trends are apparent Cornell as well. "We've seen a doubling of people coming in for counseling over the last ten years," he said, "but we've doubled our staff size as well, so we've tried to keep up." The question then, is whether mental health issues are actually increasing, or if students are just more willing to seek psychological help. "It's hard to know whether the increase in demand is about increased stress, or is about increased knowledge in campus [about mental health services] and [their] de-stigmatization," said Matt Boone, interim assistant director of CAPS. "While there have been claims that mental health problems among college students are on the rise, the data is not consistent," said Tim Marchell, director of Mental Health Initiatives and the Council for Mental Health and Welfare, "[But] we do …
creator: Gallagher Hannan
date: 2007-07-10
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Jonny Lieberman <jdl46@cornell.edu>, <lieberman.jonny@gmail.com>
language: eng

Looking Forward
description: By David J. Skorton May 2 2007 I had intended this final column of the academic year to be one mainly of gratitude to my colleagues at The Cornell Daily Sun and to readers of the newspaper for permitting me this space and for the tremendously helpful feedback I received as a result of these "From David" columns. I look forward to another year of useful interchange through this column and in many other fora in 2007-08. I believe we have made progress as a campus this year in confronting important issues, ranging from violence, to mental health, to what it means to be part of an inclusive campus community. Although we have not resolved some issues of importance to this campus, I believe we have learned a great deal together about how to have the sorts of conversations we need to have in order to create change. I am especially heartened by the progress we have made on diversity issues, and I look forward to continuing our progress with the support, leadership and encouragement of the University Diversity Council and through the self-governance processes underway to foster greater community involvement. As Cornellians, all of us can take pride in the achievements of our colleagues and friends this year. Some have won major national and international awards and many more have demonstrated a great willingness to share their skills and talents with the campus and the world — in the classroom, laboratory and studio; on the playing field; through public service; and through music, dance, theater and art. Eli Northrup '07 and Joshua Raff '07 have even come up with a rap to update the Alma Mater, which I heard performed last week by Pants Velour. Whether you are moving on to the next stage of your life or continuing on at Cornell, you have helped make this a vibrant and engaged community, and I congratulate you and thank you for your efforts. Unfortunately, the end of the academic year has brought with it the incomprehensible, horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech University. In…
creator: David J. Skorton
date: 2007-07-10
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Jonny Lieberman <jdl46@cornell.edu>, <lieberman.jonny@gmail.com>
language: eng

Mental hygiene weighs tough options
description: Published: Friday, April 27, 2007 Maggie Reid Staff Reporter In her sophomore year at Yale, Naasiha Siddiqui '07 found herself facing more problems than just the sophomore slump. Siddiqui was severely depressed, and when she checked into the Mental Hygiene Department at University Health Services, she was forced to leave school on medical withdrawal. Ever since, she has struggled to balance manic depression with a college career — taking three forced withdrawals and one voluntary leave of absence, and applying for readmission five times. "I was really frustrated," she said, referring to her first forced withdrawal in the fall of 2001. "Their attitude was, 'She's unstable, we don't want her at school right now.' In one respect, it seemed like discrimination because I was doing all I could to try to stay in school. But on the other hand, the administration should have some say over when students aren't fit to go to school." Mental illness has long been a hot-button issue on college campuses, but in the wake of this month's shootings at Virginia Tech, even greater scrutiny has been placed on university support systems for students with psychological illnesses. At Yale, the Mental Hygiene Department specializes in counseling and crisis intervention for suicide and depression cases. But in seeking to protect the psychological health of its students, Yale's mental health services must walk the fine line between enabling students to receive treatment while remaining in school and protecting the student's health and safety — or the health and safety of others — by sending seriously depressed students off campus. For the most part, universities across the country find themselves in a sticky situation with regard to mentally ill students. Universities may be found liable if they fail to detect and respond to cases that result in suicide or murder. But privacy and anti-discrimination laws limit the amount of information about students' mental health to which administrato…
creator: Sara Hood
date: 2007-06-11
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Editor-in-chief, Yale Daily News - Sarah Mishkin <sarah.mishkin@gmail.com>
language: eng

The vanity of reason: making sense of the Virginia Tech tragedy
description: Gene Koo - Thursday, April 19th, 2007 @ 5:52 pm Soon after an initial outpouring of shock and grief at the senseless murder of 32 members of the Virginia Tech community, we began seeking explanations for the tragedy. By all accounts Seung-Hui Cho, perpetrator and 33rd victim of this rampage, was a severely disturbed young man; the snippets of video released so far by NBC reveal profound paranoia. Inevitably our questions turn to what would lead him to commit such a heinous crime. We yearn for insight into his motives. Why did he do it? What was he thinking? These questions are familiar to me. I have asked them myself about my own mother, who probably developed paranoid schizophrenia some 15 years ago. I write "probably" because, like water filling a tub, the disease crept over her, imperceptibly, until suddenly it spilled forth in a flood. And somewhere in that tub, the loving woman who had been my mother drowned. I cannot know, but looking at the face in the video aired by NBC, I would guess that the real Seung-Hui Cho, someone capable of the kind of laughter and anger you and I would understand, perished long before he pulled the trigger on himself. People of sound mind often assume that individuals with mental illness think like we do: therefore, they must be misinformed, wrong-headed, or just pretending. We are, essentially, in denial. We delude ourselves into believing that we can figure these people out, and in so doing, learn how to "fix" them. In the first few years of my mother's illness, I challenged her claims that the "Chinese mafia" were spying on and stealing from her. Using lawyer's logic, I repeatedly demonstrated why it made no sense for criminals to go to such great lengths to inflict such petty wounds upon her. She would always win these fights, because madness is not susceptible to reason. What I lacked in communicating with her was not logic, but rather imagination. -- "Did you want to inject as much misery in our lives as you can," asks Mr. Cho…
creator: Gene Koo
date: 2007-06-07
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: CreativeCommons-Attribution-Sharealike 2.5
language: eng

Mental Health is Everyone's Business
description: 4-30-07 Mental Health is Everyone's Business: Historical Reflections on the Virginia Tech Shootings By Heather Munro Prescott Ms. Prescott is Professor of History at Central Connecticut State University. Her book, Student Bodies: The Influence of Student Health Services on American Society and Medicine will be published by University of Michigan Press in Fall 2007. A man's college days, collectively, are usually his happiest. Most of mine were not happy. --Clifford Whittingham Beers, A Mind That Found Itself (1908) Clifford Whittingham Beers's words came to mind as I followed the news coverage of Cho Seung-Hui's shooting rampage at Virginia Tech last week. I empathized with the victims and their families and for the community; it was a tragic and terrible loss of life. As the days wore on, I began to have another reaction to the events. Since I am a historian and a client of mental health services, the heated discussions about what to do with "deranged" students like Cho that appeared in various mainstream media seemed all too reminiscent of earlier incidents of discrimination against mentally ill individuals. One especially troubling article by crime novelist and psychologist Jonathan Kellerman in the Wall Street Journal, placed the blame for the shootings on the anti-psychiatry and deinstitutionalization movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He argued for stricter laws for involuntarily committing students exhibiting disturbing thoughts or behavior, declaring it was better to "err on the side of public safety rather than protect individual liberty at all costs." This cavalier attitude, combined with the sensationalistic footage of the "madman" on NBC, seemed to me a step backward in a century-long battle to safeguard the civil rights and enhance the public's understanding of mentally ill individuals. A Mind That Found Itself represented a landmark in this struggle. Likened to Uncle Tom's Cabin in its vivid description of the horrors of asylum life, the book launched a …
creator: Heather Munro Prescott
date: 2007-06-06
contributor: Heather Munro Prescott
language: eng

Cho Seung-Hui: A Lone Deranged Gunman?
description: Thursday, April 19. 2007 As all of America mourns the deaths which occurred on the Virginia Tech campus, bloggers are drawing comparisons to the body count that issues daily from Iraq. See a particularly poignant post from Floyd Rudmin of commondreams.org titled "32 Senseless Deaths: A Chance for Empathy, Change of Heart, and Change of Course" which concludes: The tragedy at Virginia Tech was caused by lone gunman, probably deranged. It was a one-time event. It is finished. The tragedy in Iraq was caused by the US government, with the over-whelming support of the US Congress, most of the US media, and much of the US population. This war was planned and executed by rational men and women, none of them deranged. The US decided to start the war against Iraq. The US decided to destroy the infrastructure of Iraq. The US decided to destroy the Iraqi government and to disband its police and army. The US decided to send too few soldiers to secure the nation after doing these destructive deeds. And the tragedy of Iraq is not a one-time event. It is not finished. It continues, apparently without end. By many reports, the US is now preparing to start another war, this time against Iran. Americans feeling the shock and grief of the tragedy at Virginia Tech should look into their hearts and realize that they through their government are bringing this same tragedy again, and again, and again, and again, and again, endlessly and needlessly, to other people in the world who also have hearts that can be torn out, who also feel grief and loss when family and friends are suddenly killed when doing ordinary things of life, like going to school. Tragic deaths force us to feel our humanity and to see we are similar to others in the world. The tragic deaths in Virginia might serve to motivate Americans to curb their militarism and to minimize the tragedies of sudden death that they have been bringing to other families in the world. Read the full article. It is heartening to witness a vigo…
creator: David Barker
date: 2007-06-06
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5
language: eng