Volume 125 Issue 35
kansan.com
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
UDK
the student voice since 1904
PERSONAL HEALTH
Campus mental health groups advocate for suicide awareness
RACHEL SALYER rsalyer@kansan.com
When she was 15 years old, she searched up and down the highway and streets looking for her mother.
Looking with her father and brother, Wichita sophomore Ashley Farris recalled the details of the day they spent looking for her mother, who left a suicide note saying she was going to run her car into whatever she found.
Farris has never been allowed to read the letter, but her father eventually got her mother on the phone, and the family went and picked her up.
"I was shocked and scared" Farris said. "I just remember wondering what I do if we didn't find her. I was absolutely terrified."
Her mom suffered from depression, and her father didn't understand.
"There was a lot of tension," Farris said. "My father always thought suicide was stupid and he thought it
was ridiculous having that many emotions"
But that wasn't the only time Farris was confronted with suicide. A close high school friend suffering from schizophrenia also tried to kill himself.
"I realized it's a bigger problem than we think," Farris said.
Since last fall, four University students or staff members have died from suspected suicide. Groups like the one Farris formed this year aim to prevent future occurrences.
Suicide Isn't Stupid, the KU chapter, formed by Farris works to educate people about suicide, mental illness and provide a discussion forum for the KU community. It is open to both those struggling with mental illness or thoughts of suicide themselves or those who know someone suffering. It meets biweekly and will meet tomorrow at 8 p.m. on the top floor of Nunemaker Center.
Despite the idea that college is full of the best years of your life, in 2009 the American College Health
Association found that nearly 30 percent of college students reported being so depressed, "it was difficult to function" during the past year.
At KU Counseling and Psychological Services, counseling, psychiatric services and ADHD screenings are offered to all enrolled students. Christian Vargas, CAPS outreach coordinator, stressed that no one is more or less susceptible to suicide and mental illness than others, and it is treatable.
"Suicide and mental illness do not discriminate," he said. "Anyone is susceptible. If someone talks to you about suicide, it is important to take them seriously."
Other campus groups like Active Minds, a mental health advocacy group, also offer support. Maggie Chiu, the group's president, said they want to reduce the stigmas associated with mental illness.
"We hear people referred to as crazy," Chiu said. "Stigma can be very powerful, as it provides unnecessary shame." She said
students often suffer in silence because they don't know where to turn.
To educate students about signs and getting help, the group is hosting a National Day Without Stigma today from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Stauffer-Flint lawn. Armed with candy and bubble wrap to stomp out stigma, Chiu said they want to create a community of understanding.
For Farris, creating moments of fun for those who are struggling makes all the difference. She said her mother received treatment and is back to her usual self.
"If you're in that low of a place, sometimes having fun with a group of strangers or friends makes a huge difference," Farris said. "I'm no psychologist, but I feel like giving them a moment of hope or fun gives them something they might be missing."
— Edited by Hannah Wise
What you should know about signs of suicide
Q. How does depression affect college students?
A. In 2009, the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment found in a nationwide survey of college students at 2- and 4-year institutions nearly 30 percent of college students reported feeling "so depressed that it was difficult to function" at some time in the past year.
Q. What are the signs or symptoms of someone who may be contemplating suicide?
Q. What causes depression?
A. 1) Personality changes
2) Too much or little sleep, headaches, weight loss/gain, nausea/fatigue.
3) Behavioral changes including withdrawal or isolation, not attending classes, difficulty with family or friends, excessive alcohol or drug use, breaking up in a loving relationship, giving away favorite belongings, engaging in risky actions (reckless driving or fights), or obtaining an item for killing themselves (gun, sleeping pills).
A. Depression does not have a single cause. Several factors can lead to depression. Some people carry genes that increase their risk of depression. But not all people with depression have these genes, and not all people with these genes have depression. Environment—your surroundings and life experiences, such as stress, also affects your risk for depression. Stresses of college may include:
- Living away from family for the first time
- Missing family or friends
- Feeling alone or isolated
- Experiencing conflict in relationships>
- Facing new and sometimes difficult
- Facing new and sometimes difficult school work
- school work
- Worrying about finances
How to Help Someone Who is Suicidal
• Show support by taking your friend's pain seriously, keep in touch, be interested and believe threats of suicide.
- Listen, be calm and if your friend's talk frightens you, say so and express concern.
- Talk and offer positive actions, alternatives and establish hope for the future.
- Stay close and find out if there is a plan for committing suicide and how far it has gone. Seek professional help immediately.
- Have your friend agree to not attempt suicide while you're finding help.
- Do not assume the situation will go away, leave your friend by him/herself, keep the situation secret or react in shock.
Important numbers:
- Suicide Hotlines: Headquarters Crisis Center
 841-2245
- Counseling and Psychological Services
  864-CAPS (2277)
- KU Psychological Clinic 864,4121
Sources: National Institute of Mental Health and Counseling and Psychological Services
TECHNOLOGY
CLAIRE HOWARD/KANSAN
A study released earlier this year by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business reports that college students are more likely to choose social media over sexual activity.
Social media harder to resist than sex
REBEKKA SCHLICHTING
rschlichting@kansan.com
To Amelia Magerl, a senior from Lawrence, social media is more important than sex.
"Personally, sex has never been something I'm interested in, whereas social media is such a big part of life these days," Magerl said. "It would be really hard to live without it to be honest."
It may be hard to believe, but according to a study released earlier this year social media is harder to resist than sex.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
They recorded 205 adults' desires over one week and found that sleep and sex were the strongest desires, but the need for social media and work were the hardest to resist. The study also shows alcohol and cigarettes, although highly addictive, were some of the least desired.
Magerl said she is addicted to social media and that it's hard for her to be away from it for more than a couple hours. She said social media is a convenient way to see what her friends have been up to in their lives.
Paul Atchley, a psychology professor, said people aren't addicted
to social media; they are constantly reminded of it. He said social media is likely to show up in a study like the one in Chicago because people are interacting with social media constantly.
"Because something is thought about frequently doesn't mean that you are addicted to it," Atchley said. "People think about sleep frequently because they're tired, that doesn't mean they're addicted to sleep."
Wilhelm Hofmann, the head researcher for the study, told The Guardian that social media is one of the hardest desires to resist because of its availability and the low cost to engage in these activities.
"Even though I use social media, I don't like it," Jeremy Carabajal, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., said. "I think it's a waste of time. Sex is a pretty big thing and it's something everyone should experience. People should hold that as an important experience, and instead, people are constantly on their phones on their computer."
Carabajal said people are addicted to social media and cell phones. He said when he rides the bus, he notices that everyone is on their phone because distractions are a way to avoid talking to people.
Edited by Hannah Wise
ENVIRONMENT
Student groups focus on improving campus recycling
CHRIS SCHAEDER
cshaeder@kansan.com
Blaine Bengston, the director of the group, said the Homecoming football game on Oct. 27 will serve as the group's launching pad for its recycling efforts this year.
Recycling is now more convenient for University students and Lawrence residents with the help of the student-run organization Recycle & Blue KU.
"Although we've had minimal presence on campus thus far, we are trying to get the ball rolling." Bengston said. "The Texas game is going to be the start of us having a big impact on recycling at sporting events."
The group, a student senate initiative and KUnited platform, started two years ago and focuses on recycling at sporting events such as football and basketball.
The Texas game will also be the first sporting event where the group
KU Recycling, another established group on campus, is also working to make the University more ecofriendly. The group, organized by the Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP), is responsible for all of the recyclables on campus, which are collected in 1,000 bins located in 90 different locations around campus.
According to Kari Canataero, the program manager for the ESR, KU Recycling recycled 615 tons of material last year. The group hopes the amount will increase in 2012.
"We are trying to educate people how to recycle," Canatarero said. "We have noticed that a lot of people don't know what bins certain materials go in and we are finding that a lot of things are being improperly
will keep track of the amount of material that is recycled in its provided bins.
A main focus for the group this year is reaching a campus-wide audience.
Freshman Erin Riffel recycles her plastic bottle on campus Friday morning. The recycling efforts have improved throughout Lawrence.
RENFE NIIMI ER/KANSAN
KU Recycling's website explains how to properly recycle materials. The group collects the following materials at most locations: office pak, newspaper, aluminum cans and plastic marked with a "1." These materials are separated into the aforementioned bins, which have signs that indicate where each type of material should go.
recycled."
The group will table in front of Wescoe throughout the semester and will provide information for students during Campus Sustainability Week this week.
The City of Lawrence is also strengthening its efforts in sustainability. Lawrence officials are working on a recycling program for residents.
After years of debate, Kathy Richardson, operations supervisor of waste reduction and recycling, said a citywide curbside recycling program could be implemented within the next year.
"There's been a long, ongoing conversation about it," Richardson said.
A year ago, the city commission formed a task force of Lawrence citizens to develop recommendations for curbside recycling. City officials have developed a curbside recycling proposal. Recommendations from the task force and the city are due at the end of October.
If a curbside recycling program
were implemented, each residential customer would have a recycling bin. The costs of the program would be a small portion of the monthly service fee for garbage collection and would depend on the monthly rate that a citizen is paying. The residential monthly rate is $14.95.
Lawrence residents have the option of using one of seven private recycling services in the city. According to Richardson, there are
about 5,500 citizens in Lawrence who use these private recycling services.
Index
There are also three community drop-off recycling centers located throughout Lawrence: Wal-Mart Community Recycling Center, 12th & Haskell Recycle Center and Lonnie's Recycling.
CLASSIFIEDS 11
CROSSWORD 5
CRYPTOQUIPS 5
OPINION 4
Edited by Allison Kohn
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 5
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
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Don't forget
KU Jeeva dance team tryouts are at 8 p.m. in Hashinger Hall.
Today's Weather
Mostly cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. Very warm.
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