Collegian Page 8 Stress By Debra L. Malone Collegian Staff Writer You arc tensed at your typewriter trying desperately to get out the first draft of that final term paper. The topic is established and the research completed, but the words will not come. Your mind is frozen and the clock is ticking. Your heart begins to race, your ears vibrate with a strange hurt, the keyboard blurs, and your hands begin to shake. You arc sitting'itNhc classroom staring at an exam but look like they are written-in a foreign language. You feel the sweat on your forehead and a wave of nausea passes over you. You begin to hope you will pass out so you can take it later, but it does not happen, so you struggle through. The common element in both of these cases is anxiety or stress. An everyday occurrence for most college students, stress becomes a way of life. What can be done, however, to prevent it from becoming so severe that it effects our academic standing? ~ The Ycrkes-Dodson Law, named after the psychologists who noted it in 1908, states that performance is best when arousal is moderate. Therefore, a level of anxiety when Easter Egg Hunt by Thang Tran Collegian Photographer On most Saturdays, the halls of * he " lhc the Reed Building are usually £° , g if saw Cal ™ Filing «n an peaceful, but not the Saturday Q f Easter Bunnysuil Some were awed, April 2nd, 1988. At 10 A.M. an S ° mC WCfC f W,th horror wh,le Easter Egg Hunt was scheduled, with ‘ff 5 ngh ! “PJ 0 bunn y L l ° approximately 100 eager eyed shake hands and take Photographs youngsters participating. The ages Wl , * n . . . ~ , ranged‘from little toddlers to 12 year BuUcr - 3 me u mber u Vet's olds. Hie children consisted of ? ub ex P rcsscd lbat the Minority children of the community and R ‘*n»‘™nt and Special programs relations of students and staff. They f" d ? e , Vcl * Club who sponsored were divided into four age groups: 0- lbc EaSlcr Efig Hunt wcre />“ ,lc 2 1-4 5 8 and Ot? F pleased with the outcome of Egg ’ The hunt was originally planned HunlCrs ‘ 0nl >; 20 t0 I ?° P art , ici P ants for the outdoors on the soccer field wcre ® x P cc . ted 1 * but lhe . rcsuUs were across from Eric Hall. But due to the suipnsmg. gloomy weather conditions, it had to EIZ lh,nks the "umber of be held in die Reed Building. cbddren that participated shows that The members of the Vet’s Club “ a for Bchrend to inlcract decorated with balloons and Wlth ** comm nn.ty. streamers, and hid the goodies in the Hopefully, this event will help Gorge. The "Go Ahead" was given start other clubs and organizations to and the kids invaded the cafeteria, interact with the community. As of 432 Chocolate eggs and several now, a Halloween Carnival for the baskets were hidden for the anxious fall semester is planned as an raiders. The youngsters who found alternative to "trick or treating", the most eggs in each of the four age groups were awarded prizes. r(n‘try corner The mind escapes the body, The two are supposed to be one . This happens almost instantly. TeCi me how it‘s done. Thoughts leave through the cracks, Ideas tftraitoh the holes. Xt’s air Host gone, Now, there goes my soul. X see everything In front of me, Day after day after day. X see you standing there too, And X don't know what to say. Catch me.. .I'm faCCing, X don't know what to do. The truth ready is, X hope.ym fading out of love from you. r y How To Reduce It entering a testing area or beginning a new assignment may well make the difference between "A" or a "B". When the anxiety becomes so severe that we arc either impaired or totally paralyzed we must be able to take action to save ourselves. There are several techniques for stress reduction, but they must be so well practiced that they arc initiated with minimal conscious effort. Anxiety and stress are personal, therefore the same techniques that workTbr one person may not work for another. Experimenting with several techniques is the easiest way to discover which type works best for you. Once you've made your choice keep practicing it, rehearsal is the best way to learn your part before you get on stage. The first step is to recognize when normal everyday stress is becoming severe anxiety. Anxiety charges the body with such extreme tension that some physical discomfort is almost inevitable. These symptoms, though frightening are not dangerous. Many people experience horrible chest pains and shortness of breath, but its not a heart attack and they are not going to die. Nor do anxious feelings mean you are going crazy. According to Stuffed animals were awarded to the 0-2 age group. Packaged Easter Baskets were awarded to the 3-4 age group. And 4 gift certificates from Max Toy World were given to winners in the age groups of 5-8 and 9-12. Even though not all were victorious, all enjoyed themselves Dr. Theodore Rubin, "People often believe that strong reactions to stress are actually signs of impending insanity. They frequently become disoriented and suffer a loss of identity - the sense of being almost literally beside yourself. You feel mysteriously attacked and think you will never recover." In fact, however, almost every severe bout ends in less than twenty minutes. The above mentioned fears will only aggravate the attack and increase its duration and intensity. Therefore, understanding that this is an "anxiety attack" and not a life threatening situation is the first crucial step in eliminating it, or at least regaining self control. By associating the tension with energy, the revving up of the body for "fright or flight" is easier to understand. Your body is charged to fire, and therefore must be safely discharged. Getting physical, exercise can accomplish this without a negative reaction. Regular exercise offers continual protection against a repealed buildup by increasing your sense of calm and confidence. Take deep breaths in a slow rhythmic fashion. This allows the body to alter its intake of oxygen, and decrease the feelings of dizziness which accompany stress. The second value is your focus of concentration is diverted from a feeling of panic to one of soothing self control. Amnesty International by Darren Boyce Collegian Staff Writer The local Amnesty International group is becoming active. The group, currently with 15 members, meets every Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. in the Library Conference Room. There, the group discusses some concerns of A.L, writes letters to prisoners of conscience, and plans activities. There are no dues; it costs no money to join. New members are always welcome. The group, lead by coordinator David Friend, is now gearing up for the largest campaign ever undertaken by Amnesty. This campaign, called Human Rights Now!, marks the fortieth anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The main intention of the campaign is to broaden the awareness of the rights guaranteed in UDHR worldwide. AI The Collegian wants You! If you are interested in writing, taking pictures, typing, or learning about layout, think about joining the Collegian . Extensive experience isn't necessary-the desire to work , learn and make a contribution is. Schedule Commit 001 for fall semester. Empty days and empty nights would become weeks filled with joy if it were only his, that very special toy. During these episodes allow /ourself to relate to another person. Whenever possible talk with a friend and express your feelings, or allow your focus of attention to be diverted. This can often be done simply by picking up the phone or talking momentarily with a classmate before the test begins. Dr. Deßosis states, "Identify the source of your anxiety, then state it aloud to yourself. Question why you are afraid and then talk back to yourself. Become confident with the idea that words have power and you can talk yourself out of feat and into success." Maintain rational goals, do not expect more from yourself then is possible to achieve. Eliminate the stresses before they become too severe by identifying problem areas early. When it becomes apparent that your having difficulty with an area of study get help then, not the day before the test. Review early and often, develop good nutrition and sleep habits, and remember one failure does not mean the end of the world. By placing everything in perspective and establishing priorities unnecessary stress can be eliminated. When stress does occur recognize it and take steps to alleviate it as quickly and effectively as possible. Coping with stress is a fact of life, how we do it makes the difference. members across the world will participate. Other goals of the campaign include counteracting repression of human rights activists, encouraging more governmental promotion of human rights concerns, making human rights a more prominent feature of foreign policy, and strengthening A.i.’s relation with other human rights organizations. From now until the end of the semester, Bchrcnd’s local A.I. group will hold a petition signing campaign. Students and faculty will be asked by A.I. members to sign the petitions. The petitions, along with thousands of others across the country, will be presented to the United Nations and government representatives on Human Rights Day, December 10, 1988. Be sure to sign up as these petitions protect your rights. Speak out! Love doesn’t happen all by itself you cause it to happen or not For love is a feeling you choose to share and I've chosen to share all I’ve got How you share your love is very essential indeed; an ingredient of the Golden Rule, "give as much &s you need." I cannot express enough the happiness that I feel because we have chosen each other and I know in my heart it is real. By Robert Eggleston Special Toy There is a toy a boy cannot buy. it makes him angry, it makes him cry. Some {day with this toy, some already have, to the boy it is a puzzle, the pieces he hasn't. He sees this toy in many {daces and that alone makes him glad, but when he must leave it, its absence makes him sad. features View Point On Life by Terry Anthony and Jim Hale Collegian Staff Writers The morning their column was due Jim and Terry were in a major pickle, they had no ideas on what subject they could write on for their column. The creative spring from which they had drank from so many times before had gone dry. So for inspiration, they sat around in their Winnie the Poo pajamas, ate doughnuts, pondered the true meaning of life, and read the National Enquirer. As Jim was starting to read the Masters and Johnson Report on Sex and the professional pancake turner, an idea struck him. Just the day before, a member of the administration here on campus told our two whizzes of the journalist world that they were apathetic. Jim misunderstood the meaning of the word and thought it was a complement so he gave this person a big sloppy kiss. Needless to say, Dean Lilley was not impressed with Jim's pucker power. After this embarrassing display of emotion, Jim and Terry decided to consult with Mr. Webster on the meaning of the word apathy. So they dusted off their copy of Webster's Illustrated Children's Dictionary and after several minutes of debate as to whether A is at the beginning or end of the alphabet they found apathy. The dictionary defined apathy as "lack of interest, concern; indifference see apathetic." Jim and Terry thought 'Yea, so what’ and quickly moved on to the word apathetic which meant "Showing little or no emotion; spiritless." Spiritless, Jim and Terry were not spiritless. Why they just went and bought a case of spirits the night before. Since our legends of the black and white page look upon themselves as role models for the entire campus community, they decided to do something to solve this crippling disease that affects Behrcnd. Jim and Terry bounded into their linen closet and re-emerged, with towels wrapped around their necks as CAPTAIN APATHY BUSTER and his sidekick KID SPIRIT, ready to combat apathy wherever it raised its ugly head. The first stop was the Wintergrcen Cafe. Captain Apathy Buster and Kid Spirit jumped on top of a table and started preaching the gospel of involvement. After two brief minutes, our heroes were pelted by a dozen half-eaten subs, pizza crusts, and that apple stuff the Wintcrgreen Cafe serves. Well at least our pals of the printed page didn't go hungry that day. Next stop was the T.V. lounge during Days of Our Lives, prime apathy busting territory. Just as Jim and Terry walked in, Jennifer had announced that she was pregnant and the father was not Frankie but a travelling gerbil Gypsy named Spike. The occupants of the T.V. lounge were devastated and once they realized the capcd crusaders in front of them were Spike's legal guardians, the scene got nasty right quick. They were furious at Jim and Terry for not teaching Spike the ABC s of safe sex and threw the two out a third story window in Lawrence. Lucky for Captain Apathy Buster and Kid Spirit, they remembered to wear their super suits which saved them from any permanent injury. After nursing their wounds, Jim and Terry decided they were bruised but not yet defeated and they headed for the Behrcnd weightroom. As they leapt into the room, every eye in the place noticed them. The guys in the weightroom must have felt a twinge of envy as Jim and Terry stood there in tight spandex with capes flowing behind them because within ten seconds some amazon took our heroes of apathy busting, tied them up into a ball, and headed up to the gym mumbling something about dweeb volleyball. So these jealous musclebound mealheads played a game of volleyball with Jim and Terry as their ball. After a holly contested match, the two wonder writers managed only to escape after an errant spike sent them through a window. Jim and Terry decided that, Hey! maybe apathy wasn't really all that bad. When they were apathetic they lived happy, ignorant lives, but when they tried to become active they were pelted by Gorge food, thrown out a third story window, and used as a volleyball. It looks like it is back to a life of beer, ESPN, and blowing off classes for these two Bchrend studs, but then that is the way everybody loves them. Numbness creeps in. A dull void opens up. I all in and |all down. Darkness surrounds me I can t turn hack now. 1 ve come too jar. /\y only hope is my sanity Even that is d windling. You Jon t know what s going on. Neither do 1. v I hope and 1 pray it ends soon. Can t you see what you ve done.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers