THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Monday October 26, 2015
Volume 128, Issue 46
www.THEDAONLINE.com
Carruth Center talks suicide prevention By Jake Jarvis Staff Writer @NewsroomJake
Suicide is a serious issue among college students, and West Virginia University is no exception. T. Anne Hawkins, the clinical director at the Carruth Center, offers the best insight into the prevalence of suicide ideation among WVU students. Of nearly 2,300 clients to visit the Carruth Center during the 2014-15 school year, about 25 percent said they seriously considered attempting suicide, according to documents ob-
tained by The Daily Athenaeum through a public records request. Of that 25 percent, about a quarter said they considered it more than five times. About 6 percent of the Carruth Center’s clients— roughly 150 students— said during the same school year they have made at least one suicide attempt. “That’s about what I’d expect,” Hawkins said. “That’s a higher number than you would see in terms of prevalence of suicide ideation on the entire campus. But that makes
WVU students seal a first-place finish in Pitt’s ‘Race to the Case’ competition By Madeleine Hall staff writer @DailyAthenaeum
A team of four West Virginia University students snagged first place last week in the University of Pittsburgh’s second annual Race to the Case Supply Chain Management competition. Bringing home a $3,000 cash prize, two students from the College of Business and Economics and two students from the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources worked together to solve real world problems in manufacturing and supply chain management. “WVU isn’t recognized for academics as much as we should be,” said Clay Chipps, an engineering student on WVU’s team. “(This competition showed) that we can go up against any top school and (win).” Along with Chipps, the team consisted of Perry Shumate, a senior engineering student, as well as Samantha DeRidder, a senior supply chain management student and Kevin Nicholson, a senior business student. During the competition, the team had to
tackle a situation with realistic challenges that required both engineers and supply chain management experts to come together and forge a solution. Moving from station to station, participants solved one aspect of the scenario at a time. “Together, as a team, we were challenged to think as managers of the company and solve problems under time pressure,” D eR idder said. Chipps said after solving the problem, team members were given only 30 minutes to prepare a presentation for a group of 17 corporate judges in the final round. “These judges were our possible future bosses,” Chipps said. “Not a lot of people get that opportunity before their career.” Supply chain management involves managing the flow of items across the globe under pressure and in a cost effective way, according to Dr. Ednilson Bernardes, WVU associate professor of supply chain management. To work in supply chain
sense—we’re a counseling service.” Other research from the American College Health Association shows that about 8 percent of all college students consider attempting suicide, according to Hawkins. Because of the stigma sur rounding discussi n g m e nt a l He a l t h, Hawkins thinks that 8 percent is probably a little low. It’s hard to design a survey or conduct research about the prevalence of suicide ideation, Hawkins said, for a couple of reasons, with the largest hur-
dle being the stigma. “There’s a lot of embarrassment or lot of shame,” she said. “People feel ashamed to admit that they’ve experience suicidal ideation. But actually, it’s fairly common.” Some of the most common reasons Hawkins points to as reasons college students might consider suicide are loss, substance abuse, mental illness or other individualized stressors. Part of the Carruth Center’s work to erase the stigma surrounding mental illness is to construct better lan-
guage for discussing the topic. Hawkins and others at the Carruth Center use the term “suicide ideation” to refer to when someone thinks about attempting suicide and the term “suicide completion” instead of “committed suicide.” “The word committed makes it sound criminal,” she said. The end goal, Hawkins said, is to empower average students with the tools to recognize when a friend or peer might be considering suicide. “Our goal really is to get
people to talk about suicide and about how do you help and how you reach out to people,” Hawkins said. “You know, there’s a myth about suicide. There’s a myth that if we talk about it more, that somehow that will make someone think about it more.” Hawkins says it’s quite the opposite. To her, talking about suicide and gathering more accurate data are the best ways to limit the number of students lost to suicides each year. jajarvis@mail.wvu.edu
GIVING BY GAMING
Shelby Thoburn/ THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
WVU students participate in ‘Make a Difference Day’ by competing in video games to raise money for children in need.
see race on PAGE 2
A look at this year’s Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer candidates BY HOLLIE GREENE STAFF WRITER @DAILYATHENAEUM
West Virginia University has announced the top 10 finalists—five men and five women—who embody the Mountaineer spirit for the 2015 Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer competition. The candidates were chosen based on academic achievements, extracurricular involvement and their individual successes as students at WVU. The Daily Athenaeum will feature biographies on one Mr. Mountaineer candidate and one Ms. Mountaineer candidate in several issues leading up to the annual Mountaineer Week later this month. The Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer competition is an annual tradition during Mountaineer Week, which is dedicated to paying tribute to West Virginia’s heritage and traditions. This year’s Mountaineer Week will be held Oct. 30 – Nov. 8, and the winners of Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer will be announced during halftime of the Nov. 7 WVU football game against Texas Tech.
63°/43°
PUMPKINS AWAY!
INSIDE
Pumpkin drop draws crowds to Evansdale A&E PAGE 4
PARTLY CLOUDY
News: 1, 2 Opinion: 3 A&E: 4, 5 Sports: 8, 9, 10 Campus Calendar: 6 Puzzles: 6 Classifieds: 8
KEVIN NOREEN
Kevin Noreen is a second year graduate student from Minneapolis studying industrial relations. Upon graduation, Noreen plans to work for Marathon Petroleum, the fourth largest oil refiner in the nation, according to Marathon’s website. Noreen believes becoming Mr. Mountaineer would be the best way to end an already successful career at WVU. “I really think winning this award would be a great way wvutoday.wvu.edu to wrap up the college experience, as well as shed some basketball team where he light on a few things that are served as team captain for two years. important to me,” he said. Noreen also spent a large During his time as an undergraduate student, Noreen played for the WVU men’s see noreen on PAGE 2
WHITNEY OLIVERIO
Whitney Oliverio is a second year graduate student from Harman, West Virginia working toward a Masters of Counseling degree. After graduation, Oliverio hopes to obtain a position working at WVU and connecting students with “all our University has to offer.” “I really love working with students,” she said. “My ultimate goal is to get WVU’s retention rate to 100 percent because I had such a great experience here. I really want others to have that chance as well.” Oliverio was the student coordinator for new student orientation, a
THE DA’s HIRING WRITERS Inquire about paid positions at The Daily Athenaeum at DA-editor@mail.wvu.edu or pick up an application at our office at 284 Prospect St.
CONTACT US Newsroom 304-293-5092 or DAnewsroom@mail.wvu.edu Advertising 304-293-4141 or DA-Ads@mail.wvu.edu Classifieds 304-293-4141 or DA-Classifieds@mail.wvu.edu Fax 304-293-6857
PANIC! AT THE DISCO Newer bands are maintaining fan bases better than older bands OPINION PAGE 3
wvutoday.wvu.edu
member of 4-H, a devotional intern for Suncrest United Methodist and a member of the Spanish,
see oliverio on PAGE 2
STARTING HOT WVU previews future at Gold-Blue Debut SPORTS PAGE 9