The Behrend beacon. (Erie, Pa.) 1998-current, February 18, 2005, Image 1

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THE BEHREND BEACON
Friday, February 18, 2005
Behrend ranks fourth
Students take advantage of depression screening
By Crystal Chisholm
staff writer
One of the many offices located in
the RUB is the Personal Counseling
Center which shares office space with
the Career Development Center. The
Personal Counseling Center is a sup
port service offered to all students for
free and has been an important part of
campus life for many. At the comple
tion of this school year, the office will
have seen approximately 1200 stu
dents.
In addition to coming into the office
for an appointment, students can par
ticipate in the counseling centers
newest service, online mental health
screenings. Every year in the month
of October, Behrend, along with other
colleges, hospitals, community centers
and various places of employment
around the country participate in
National Depression Screening Day.
National Depression Screening Day
has been held around the country
every year for 14 years and is used to
help raise awareness about depression
and other mental health illnesses.
Penn State Behrend was ranked fourth
(with 293 students) in the number of
colleges whose students have taken
advantage of the online screening.
Sue Daley, director of Personal
Counseling, has two psychologists on
her team: Allison Parr-Plasha, who is
on temporary leave, Nicole
Kirkpatrick and a consulting psychia
trist, Dr. Max Gsma.,_
The counseling office provides stu
dents with many services such as indi
vidual counseling, crisis intervention
and support groups. Each person who
comes to the office to talk with us is
different, so we "tailor a plan or strat-
Leg warmer do's and don'ts,
STUDENT LIFE, Page 7
Canseco confessions,
SPORTS, Page 9
Contents
News 1-3
Editorial 4
Humor 6
Student Life 7-8
Sports 9-10
Contact Us
Newsroom:
898-6488
Fax:
898-6019
E-mail:
Behrendßeacon@aol.com
Our offices are located down
stairs in the Reed Union
Building.
egy that works for you," said Daley.
Not only do students have the option
of actually coming into the office for a
visit, if they are a little apprehensive
about the confidentiality in the office,
they have the choice of taking the
online survey in the privacy of their
own rooms
"Each student that speaks with a
psychologist in the office should not
worry about confidentiality," said
Daley.
Anyone that comes in for a session
is given a counseling contract that
clearly explains what you can expect
from the counseling service. Most
things discussed in your session can
only be released with your written per-
mission
The National Depression Screening
can be accessed by visiting the Penn
State Erie website. Under the Student
Life headline, there is a link for the
webpage of Personal Counseling;
there one will find the link for the
National Depression Screening.
The Personal Counseling Center
offers not only face to face consulta
tions, but through The National
Institute of Mental Help, is able to pro
vide online screenings for Depression,
Bipolar Disorder, Generalized Anxiety
Disorder or Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder. The inventory of questions
and answers used in the screenings
prepared by the National Institute of
Mental Health are very brief. If inter
ested in taking any of the screenings,
visit the website http://www.mental
healthscreening.org/screening, key
word: "feelgood."
On Behrend's Personal Counseling
website, there are articles about ill
nesses such as Seasonal Affective
Disorder, Depression and Bipolar
Disorder. In addition to these articles,
there are links to other websites com
monly known to affect college aged
students. Many of these sites provide
students with a "virtual pamphlet"
which offer tips to college students on
learning how to cope with stress.
Daley realizes that full time students
may not always have the time to come
into the office and talk to a
COUNSELING, continued on Page 2
Gays face 'uncomfortable' climate
By Daniel J. Stasiewski
editor in chief
A satirical flyer titled "12 Reasons
Same-Sex Marriage Will Ruin
Society" was found burned on the
Women Today office door about two
weeks ago. Brittany Hess, president of
Women Today, discovered the sign,
which she said was put up to show sup
port for fellow Multi-Cultural Council
organization and campus GLBT group,
Trigon.
The incident was not reported to col
lege officials, but Chris Strayer, secre
tary of Trigon, said most vandalism of
Trigon signs goes unreported.
According to Strayer, the signs get
pulled down on a regular basis.
"I was pleasantly surprised to find a
sign still hanging in the engineering
building," he said.
Bulletin board signs for Trigon were
ripped down as recently as Monday. In
most cases, it doesn't get much worse
than a few missing informational fly
ers. On occasion, the vandalism gets
more vicious.
Trigon has a folder full of signs that
have been defaced. Some signs simply
have the word "fags" written on them.
Others are more elaborate, with a
"Being Gay Is Not A Crime" sign
receiving the addendum "It should be."
Chris Rizzo, director of student
activities, is in charge of the Reed
Union Building and occasionally
receives re ..rts from Stra er on the
A Penn State Erie Student Publication FEB 1 8 2005
..‘
AMY
African Resurrection e ertains, teaches
Two youngsters participate in dancing led by African Resurrection. The five member group, composed of two
singer/dancers and two drummers, performed in the McGarvey Commons at noon on Feb. 15 as part of the Rhythms of
Life Series. The performers are Baltimore's premier African heritage dance ensemble and seek to raise awareness of tradi
tional West African dance and drumming
Challenge course considered
The Office of Student Activities is considering the con
struction of a challenge course on campus. Such a course, an
obstacle run and series of cables suspended from the ground,
would provide a setting for campus or community groups to
strengthen communication skills, cooperation, trust and con
flict resolution.
The consideration of a challenge course being constructed
is in its earliest stages. Student Activities, spearheaded by
Chris Fox, coordinator of student organizations and program
development, are gauging student interest, cost estimates and
insurance issues.
Two weeks ago, Student Activities sent out a survey
through zoomerang.com, selecting a random sampling of stu
dents to answer outdoor and challenge course related ques
tions. Survey results will be collected within the next few
days, but according to Fox, so far the responses to a chal
lenge course have been "pretty positive."
"The survey was created to get student feedback," said
Fox. Fox wants to ensure that if a course is constructed, that
students will take advantage of the opportunities it will cre
ate.
In examining information from the survey and in dialogue
with other campus units, Fox has found that ROTC, resi
dence life and the athletics department has a direct interest in
The Women's Today door where the burnt sign once hung. In response to the
torching, now a 'Please Do Not Burn' sign is posted to plead for tolerance.
vandalism. While he did say that all
clubs are victims of missing signs. he
saw Trigon's case differently.
"For me it's an act of intolerance,"
said Rizzo.
According to the student guide to
general university policies and rules,
intolerance is defined as contempt for a
By Bradley Stewart
news editor
group based on "race, color, national
origin, gender, sexual orientation or
political or religious belief."
The guide warns students that a vio
lation of the intolerance policy will be
treated more severely than other
behavior and may result in "separation
from the University."
the construction of such a course
"All athletic groups would benefit from the conditioning
the course would provide," said Brian Streeter, director of
athletics
Several sports teams train and condition in the campus
pool. In Streeter's opinion, the construction of a challenge
course would provide another means of strengthening the
body as well as teamwork skills.
"We used to have a course with pull-ups and dips and
more," said Streeter. "But we lost the course with the build
ing of the road."
Costs for such a course vary greatly depending on the com
plexity of the course. Possible course constructions include
a low ropes course, a high ropes course or both. While a high
ropes course is most appealing to the individual, the low
ropes would be more valuable in terms of team building and
would provide less insurance issues.
"Penn State's insurance will cover a low ropes course,"
said Fox. "General liability won't cover a high ropes
course."
Though no estimates have been made at this point, accord
ing to Fox, costs would be covered by grants, not any raise in
tuition or fees.
Possible locations considered for the course include the
Behrend Fields and behind the Junker Center.
Fox, who has worked with challenge courses in the past, is
optimistic about the addition and success of a course at
Behrend.
Strayer expressed a need to stick
together and forming niches like
Trigon help students feel less uneasy.
The organization, for Strayer, is active
only because GLBT students need it to
be.
"In a perfect world Trigon wouldn't
have to exist."
Vol. LII No. 21
Personal Counseling's Sue Daley is
a member of Penn State University's
GLBT Network and was, at one time,
adviser of Trigon.
A staff member since 1993, Daley
has talked to gay and lesbian students
who have found the climate at Penn
State Behrend "uncomfortable." Most,
she said, transfer to other schools.
"Erie is family oriented and that's
not gay family oriented," said Daley.
"I think the campus reflects the com
munity."
Parents of gay high school students
have called Daley asking for help find
ing a GLBT youth organization in the
Erie area. Her search came up with
nothing.
Some groups, not specifically youth
oriented, are forming in Erie. In the
recent issue of Erie Gay News, one
writer was organizing a Gay Bowling
League at Greengarden Lanes. A
GLBT Business Association is also in
the works.
Other groups do exist in Erie, but for
Strayer, an organization like Trigon has
the role of support and activism.
"Our purpose is to help GLBT peo
ple in society," he said, adding gays
and lesbians just want to be accepted as
people.