THE UNIVERSITY OF DARLY KANSAS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2006
NEWS
3A
AWARENESS
MtvU works to reduce suicides on college campuses
BY MATT ELDER
MtU is leading a campaign to prevent student suicide and fight the stigma of emotional illnesses among the nation's college campuses.
MtU, MTV's college television channel, joined last week with the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit group committed to reducing young adult suicides, to create a campaign called "Half of Us." A national study conducted by mtuU found that almost half of college students have felt so depressed that they could not function.
The campaign is similar to the University's Counseling and Psychological Services, which gives local and professional assistance to KU students showing or experiencing psychological problems. CAPS offers treatments to students
in both individual and group settings. Depending on the severity of the situation, CAPS will either treat students internally or refer them for more comprehensive services.
Diana Robertson, interim director of student housing, didn't recall a suicide in her approximately seven years with the University, but she said the housing department did have a suicide-indication policy. Indications of suicide include roommates or friends noticing written or verbal evidence, such as notes or a diary.
The mtvU campaign will build from the success of the network's Sudan campaign for college students to help end the genocide in Darfur.
"It seemed clear that while we continued with our Sudan campaign that there was an issue much closer to home," said Stephen Friedman, general manager of mtvU. "There's
a driving and yearing need for discussion.7
The survey found that suicide is the second leading cause of death nationwide for college students, and seniors are nearly three times more likely to have considered suicide than freshmen. The study also found that college students were reluctant to speak about suicide.
"A big part of this issue is the stigma," Friedman said. "And when you realize its prevalence, you realize that stigma kills."
Of those surveyed, nearly half said they'd refer a friend to get treatment for emotional issues, but less than a quarter of the same people would receive the help themselves.
The mtuV campaign aims to connect students together and with professionals to receive local treatment. Students can also sign up at their
universities listed under each state As of now, the campaign lists several universities under Kansas, such as Kansas State University, but does not include the University. Students can still interact with others and get professional help outside their university.
The campaign's Web site allows both student interaction and a confidential "Self-e-Valuator" online mental health assessment created by Ranga K. Krishnan, chairman of the department of psychiatry for the Duke University Medical Center. "There doctors at a number of universities that are advising every step along the way," Friedman said. "We're not the experts, so for us it's raising awareness and driving them to the experts."
Unlike other nationwide college campuses, Robertson said suicidal
indications or attempts did not result in an automatic cancelation of a housing contract or expulsion from the University.
Both the network's channel and Web site are covering a portion of the screen with a gray haze, symbolic of the large percentage of college students suffering from emotional illnesses.
"We're just trying to make that point that if half of us go through it, all of us are affected by it." Friedman said.
The campaign can be reached through the network's channel or at halfofats.com.
Kansan staff writer Matt Elder can be contacted at melder@kansan. com.
Edited by Shanxi Upsdell
Study findings
> Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students.
Of the 15.2 million college students in the US, an estimated 1,000 die by suicide each year.
> One in 10 college students seriously considers suicide.
> Among adults, 18- to 24-year-olds think about suicide more often than any other age group.
> More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from all medical illnesses combined.
PROFILE
Source: mtvU College Mental Health Study
Curriculum equips students for museum jobs
Increased applicants almost 80 percent job placement define grad school program
BY KIM LYNCH
Abby Pierron's job is to catalog and tag the 302,000 specimen of reptiles and amphibians that make up The University of Kansas' collection.
This job is preparing Pierron, Olathe museum studies graduate student and curatorial assistant, for a career in the museum field.
Pierron is one of 32 students who make up the museum studies program, which has graduated 146 students since it started in 1981. The program has an almost 80 percent job placement rate in the field, said John Simmons, director of the museum studies program.
The program is structured around six core classes where students learn about everything from collection management to administrative roles. Eighteen hours are also required from one of the following areas: American studies, biology, geology, anthropology or history, Simmons said.
Although Pierron is not a trained biologist, her work with the fourth largest collection in the U.S. is more about learning how to catalog and manage large museum collections.
"I'm here for the skills" Pierron said.
This year the program had 60 applicants and only took six. The number accepted into the program varies each year, but is usually from eight to 10 students, Simmons said.
"I really believe it's important to pass along the skills and experience to future museum workers."
"The number of people that want
TERESA MACDONALD Museum studies instructor
to get into the program has gone way un," he said.
Teresa MacDonald, instructor for the museum studies program, teaches "Introduction to Museum Public Education," one of the core courses.
This weekend her class is having a free public event on Jell-O put together by the class so they could gain hands on experience, she said.
and experience to future museum workers", MacDonald said about teaching.
"I do it because I'm passionate about what I do, and I really believe it's important to pass along the skills
It's that passion that Simmons said was important because the pay in the profession didn't always reflect the amount of work.
"Museum jobs in general pay very low compared to other jobs with equivalent training, but the worker satisfaction is very high," he said.
- Edited by Erin Wiley
Pierron said she was happy with the program because it was teaching her about every aspect of how a museum runs and that despite the possible low pay, it was more important to have a job you enjoyed.
Kansan staff writer Kim Lynch can be contacted at klynch@kansan. com.
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
Karen Butler-Clary, Wichita graduate student, removes a reticulated python from a preserving tank. The python was captured in a cave in the Philippines by two KU graduate students, and transferred in a formillin solution of 95 percent alcohol before being stored in a more diluted solution in the herpetology research wing of the KU Museum of Natural History.
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