VOL. CXVIII, No. 86
DailyBarometer.com
Tuesday, February 16, 2016 Oregon State University
Beating the blues Students experience SAD during winter, help available on campus By Jessica O’Loughlin News Contributor
Ecampus excellence Joshua Lucas | THE DAILY BAROMETER
Oregon State University’s online bachelor’s degree program ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. for the past two years.
OSU Extended Campus top 7 in country By Nick Miller
ent in the online class a lot,” Jameson said. “If an instructor only drops in to check on things once or This year Oregon State University’s online bach- twice a week, that’s not a good recipe for success elor’s degree program, called Ecampus, was ranked for your students.” seventh in the nation for the best online bachelor’s The issue of not being able to interact with the programs, according to U.S. News, and also placed instructors in person is one of the most glaring sixth for the bachelor’s degree program for veterans. issues, but along with it comes a collection of Last year OSU was ranked fifth in the same others. One of these issues, Jameson said, is the category. learning curve between those who may be taking According to Jessica DuPont, the director of mar- their first online class versus somebody who has keting for Extended Campus, now is an exciting experience taking online classes. time to be a part of Ecampus with a larger number See Ecampus, Page 4 of offerings and programs available to distance students. Over 900 accredited courses on 90 different subjects are currently offered on the Ecampus web page, but this was not always the case. OSU’s Ecampus has grown considerably since it began in 2000. DuPont points out it might not seem like a long time, in the context of online learning, OSU has offered online classes longer than most universities. “Things are totally different just in a ten year timeframe,” DuPont said. “In the early days of online education, faculty were really brave to want to partner with us and put their classes online.” One of the few who partnered with Ecampus early on was Sara Jameson, a chair member of the College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate committee on Online Education. Jameson teaches multiple online courses and she said those working on instructional technology offered assistance are what makes OSU’s Ecampus so effective. Jameson explained that online classes go through a formal review process before they are offered to distance students to ensure the quality of the classes are high. “Teachers are encouraged to provide quality material to make sure that your course is meeting the needs of the students and certified,” Jameson said. Student needs, which is the key focus for online instructors, proved to be a challenge because stujoshua lucas | THE DAILY BAROMETER dents are unable to meet face-to-face with their Chase Jutzi, a sophomore in food science instructors. Jameson has a solution to this parand technology, takes her bacc core photo ticular issue. “It’s best when the instructor is willing to be pres- history class on Ecampus. News Contributor
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Living in the Pacific Northwest, it is not uncommon to experience several months of rainy, cold weather, especially during the winter. For those that do not like the rain, this can put a damper on their lifestyles and create feelings of annoyance or sadness. For others, the darker months can actually onset an illness called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), better known as seasonal depression. David Kerr, an associate professor in the school of psychological sciences, explained that SAD manifests itself in a similar manner to other forms of depression in a Mind Spa newsletter from Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Symptoms of SAD include feelings of hopelessness, loss of energy, changes in appetite and difficulty concentrating. However, unlike other types of depression, these symptoms often only occur in the winter and then fade in the spring. It is estimated that between 1 and 10 percent of people experience SAD every year. The most effective treatment for SAD, according to Bonnie Hemrick, the mental health coordinator for CAPS, is a combination of counseling and 20 to 30 minutes of daily exposure to the therapy lights. Portable lamps are available at CAPS, the Vet Med library, the circulation desk at the Valley Library and the Graduate Student Success Center. Hemrick understands that students may not be comfortable coming to CAPS, and wishes that students didn’t have to make the trek to the upper floors of Snell Hall on campus to receive treatment. “I know it can be a little bit intimidating coming to the fifth floor of Snell, so I wish we were in a better location that was a little bit more centralized so there wouldn’t be a stigma with hitting that button on the elevator,” Hemrick said. Judy Neighbours, a psychologist and advocate for Student Health Services at OSU, said that students often are hesitant to seek help for their seasonal depression, and feel that by going to counseling they are somehow less than others. However, Neighbours said students should not feel this way. “In the course of my career I’ve had more ‘normal’ people come in to see me with just life situations that they’re not sure what to do with, and I think people are afraid that going to see a counselor feels like for some people that they’re failing at life,” Neighbours said. “That’s not it at all, everybody—everybody—has situations that they don’t know how to handle.” According to Neighbours, the effects of SAD can first be seen in students’ relationships, and later as the illness progresses, students’ school work and job performance also suffer. Neighbors went on to explain that the behavioral changes of those with SAD are seen by the people around them. “People who experience (SAD) take it very seriously because they can clearly identify the patterns that they see,” Neighbours said. “I think that the people around those with seasonal depression are listening to them and validating them say, ‘Yeah I can really tell the difference in them during the winter months.’” On the OSU campus, there are many resources available to students seeking psychological help. CAPS, located on the fifth floor of Snell Hall, houses several of these resources, including the Mind Spa in which students can access full body massage chairs, a meditation corner and for those specifically affected by vitamin D deficiency, therapy lights that replicate natural sunlight. In addition to the Mind Spa, students can also receive counseling at CAPS. Counseling is often used to help students identify and understand their seasonal depression or other mental illness and begin the process for treatment and recovery. Students experiencing SAD are given the option to use therapy lights, but also have the option to checkout portable UV lamps for up to two weeks free of charge. Hemrick and Neighbours said that counseling at CAPS creates a relationship where students can feel safe enough to share their vulnerabilities and worries in a judgment-free
See SAD Page 4
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