/7
M
Behrend
by Ryan Anthony
and Sarah Orr
staff writer
and health page editor
“Why did I go to that party? What
was I thinking? I don’t even see how
I could have ever thought it would
be fun. I am so stupid. I cannot be
lieve I went. Why did I do that? 1
only had a couple beers. 1 was with
my friends all night. I was with them,
wasn’t I? Why did they leave me?
This is their entire fault. They said
they would only be gone for half an
hour. Why didn’t they think about
me? Don’t they know a lot can hap
pen in half an hour? This is their
fault —their fault and his fault. 1 told
him no. He flirted with me all night.
He offered me drinks and even
danced with me. I told him no. He
was so cute though—wait, no, I told
him NO. Why did my friends leave
me? We went to that party as a group.
It was supposed to be girls’ night out.
What happened to that? I didn’t want
to go to that party. They made me
go. It’s their entire fault, not mine.
What do I do now? Oh God, I hope
I’m not pregnant. I hope he didn’t
have an STD. Why? Why didn’t I
leave the party with my friends? I
should have gone with them. This
wouldn’t have happened if I left with
them. They told me I would be safe
with him. They trusted him. I trusted
him. What if I see him again? I told
him no. I told him NO! Should I
talk to him? Did I flirt with him too
much? 1 told him NO! Is this my
fault? What do I do now? What do I
say to him? Should 1 tell someone?
Telling someone won’t make it never
have happened. It’s my fault. I can’t
tell anyone. What do I do? I need to
talk to someone. Not my mother,
she’ll take me out of school. What
do I do? Who can I talk to? HELP!”
This may be some of the thoughts
or feelings of someone that has been
a victim of rape. Rape is a violent
crime that should be reported ifit
Get to a safe place as soon as you can.
Try to preserve all physical evidence. Do not bathe, Contact a close friend who can be with you until you
douche, use the toilet or change clothing. feel safe again. Your friend can also accompany you
to the hospital and/or to the police department.
Contact the Health and Wellness Center and/or Police
and Safety.
No doze, no duh!
ZZZZZZZzzzzzz Don’t you
wish that you were enjoying an
afternoon nap on a cold and
overcast day wrapped in the warm
security of your favorite blanket?
Head lying gently on the soft pillow
on your bed, you serenely doze off
into a deep and tranquil slumber
accompanied by music playing
softly on the radio. Your afternoon
catnap is making up for an all night
studying binge for that marketing
470 test. Nice picture, isn’t it?
Yeah right.
We are all students who know
that sleep deprivation is a part of
Healthy living
offers new ontions for student rape victims
happens. The Chronicle of Higher
Education published a report stating
that three percent of female college
students will be the victims of rape
or attempted rape each year. The re
port was named “The Sexual Victim
ization of College Women.” It says
that approximately 350 rapes happen
each year on the campuses that en
roll 10,000 or more women.
This was a national study that com
bined two different surveys that mea
sured the type and extent of sexual
victimization on women. There were
4,446 women chosen randomly from
across the country that were students
attending a two-year or four-year
school. This is where the main sur
vey was distributed. A second sur
vey was conducted from late March
to mid-May where 4,432 were ran
domly selected to participate. The
study focused on different elements
and types of sexual abuse such as
stalking, unwanted sexual contact or
threat of contact, threats of rape, at
tempted rape, or actual rape. It found
that sexual victimization happened at
a rate of 35.3 occurrences per 1,000.
Approximately sixty percent of rapes
that happened on college campuses
took place in the victim’s living quar
ters, but fewer than five percent of
these rapes were reported to officials.
Rapes can occur among both the
male and female population. Penn
State Behrend is fully equipped to
deal with a rape assault with such ser
vices as Health and Wellness, Police
and Safety, and Personal Counselors.
Health and Wellness has added a new
aspect to the services that they can
provide students who are victims of
rape. It is a service that is offered to
both on and off-campus students.
Patty McMahon, who is a licensed
nurse practitioner at Health and
Wellness, has just been approved to
provide a forensic examination for
anyone who may want it at no charge.
She attended five full days of train
ing dealing with evidence collection
and aiding a recent assault victim.
increase the amount of stress on the
body and the body’s ability to deal
with it. It may increase the body’s
, Sweat, and Tears“ s “ p,ibili ' y “ ward off disease ’ as
hOrr Another interesting, yet disturbing
side effect of sleep deprivation is an
increase in the likelihood of car
accidents. Fifty-one percent of all
adults admit to driving while feeling
drowsy. In a North Carolina State
study, 55% of fall-asleep at the
wheel crashes involved people 25
years old and younger. Seventeen
percent of all individuals
interviewed in the 18-29 year old
range actually report falling asleep
at the wheel. Adding to the cost of
“drowsy” driving is the 12.5 billion
dollar price tag annually attached to
that diminished productivity and
property damage.
To avoid falling too far into a pit
of sleeplessness, I have some tips to
keep you awake and alert in class
and on the road. To function at your
best, you want to make sure that you
get the recommended hours of sleep
each night. For most people that
number is eight. It could be
different depending on the
individual. Get into bright light as
soon as possible in the morning, and
stay away from it in the evening.
page editor
everyday life
while attending
college. On average,
college students can
accumulate a sleep debt of
about ten hours during the
ive-day school week,
jproximately 15%-25% of all
ilts suffers from some form of
p deprivation. Insomnia is
just one of the many types.
Insomnia is clinically defined as the
dissatisfaction with the quantity,
quality, or timing of normal sleep.
This is a common sleep complaint
among various individuals.
Ok, so maybe you don’t suffer
from insomnia, but changes in
sleeping patterns, high levels of
stress and tension, and eating habits
can all factor into the quality of
sleep that you receive each night.
Not getting the proper amount of
sleep can result in mood changes
such as irritability, sadness,
crankiness, and anger. It can also
in college
Melissa Heidt, RN, will be assisting Patty Pasky-McMahon, CRNP, with the forensic exams to be
performed on rape victims that choose the option.
This service includes follow up con
sultations, but it is not a mandatory
choice for all students. It is just an
other option that Health and Wellness
is offering to students to help them
through the process, but it is com
pletely up to the student’s discretion.
Health and Wellness feels that it is
important to incorporate as many vi
able options for victims as possible
so that they can receive the help that
they need. Patty McMahon remains
If You Are Raped
Get medical attention as soon as possible.
and
on-call after hours. The Coordina
tors and Police and Safety have her
home phone number in case of an
emergency. Any rape victim is
treated as a medical emergency and
given top priority at Health and
Wellness. There are many reasons
why it is important to seek medical
assistance immediately. They include
the risk of physical injury, sexually
transmitted diseases, or pregnancy. If
physical evidence is to be collected,
Understand your circadian rhythm,
After lunch, avoid coffee, sodas
with caffeine and nicotine. Don’t
drink too much alcohol either. I
know, I know, but alcohol has been
shown to disrupt normal sleeping
patterns. Make sure to relax before
going to bed, and don’t exercise too
close to bedtime.
One of the better ways to stay on
track with sleeping habits is not to
go off schedule for more than two
nights in a row, especially on
weekends. Do not go to sleep more
than one hour later on the weekends
that you do during the week. This
technique promotes healthy
sleeping patterns, which will help
reduce fatigue during the day. And
even though the weekends provide
ample “sleep-in” time, you
shouldn’t sleep more than two to
three hours later than your normal
.chedule.
Everyone is different, so what
works for one person may not aid
another. Find out the amount of
sleep that you require each night,
get it, and stick to your schedule. If
that doesn’t help, seek a
professional’s advice. Happy
napping!
it is ideal if it takes place immedi
ately following the assault, but can
be collected up to 72 hours after a
rape has occurred. The collection of
the evidence is significant if the vic
tim wishes to prosecute the offender.
Just because evidence has been col
lected, it does not mean that the vic
tim is faced with no other choice than
prosecution.
Victims of rape may suffer from
many emotional scars, as well as the
Women’s Health Program
Tues, March 13
7:00 p.m.
2nd Floor Lawrence
Blood Drive
Wed, March 28
11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
“Spring Screening” Health Fair 2001
Wed, April 4
11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Reed Commons
physical ones. An array of emotions
may be displayed, such as anger, fear,
denial, shame, guilt, depression,
shock, and anxiety. Physical symp
toms can include disruption of the
sleep pattern, nightmares, stomach
disorders, nausea, and changes in eat
ing habits.
Even though rape is a horrific
crime, there are ways of coping, and
Penn State - Behrend offers a vari
ety of services to aid those in need.
Beer Game
Tues, Feb 20
8:00 p.m.
2nd Floor Ohio
Beer Game
Thurs, March 15
7:00 p.m.
2nd Floor Almy
PHOTO BY NEIL MAKADIA