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The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Find us online @thedailynu
CAPS to form new coalition Dunkle, Mangelsdorf will chair new mental health review group By Annie Bruce
daily senior staffer @anniefb13
A campus coalition is expected to form this quarter in hopes of improving Northwestern’s mental health services. The coalition is designed to review the ways NU has addressed mental health issues and point out areas for improvement, according to John Dunkle, executive director of Counseling and Psychological Services. It will incorporate a survey formed by the Jed Foundation, an organization focused on providing mental health support for college students. “The survey walks each campus through various components of a comprehensive approach to addressing mental health and suicide prevention,” Dunkle said. “At the end of it, we get recommendations of how we’re doing, places where we can improve and a seal of approval from the Jed Foundation.” On its website, the Jed Foundation outlines criteria needed to meet its seal of approval. It evaluates universities’ ability to encourage peer connectedness, identify students who need help, restrict students’ ability to access lethal materials, offer services to better mental health and correctly handle crises. Thirty colleges received a JedCampus Seal in October, meaning the schools provide widespread mental health programs on campus. Dunkle will co-chair the new coalition along with Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences Dean Sarah Mangelsdorf. Dunkle hopes to send invitations
NU receives more than 33K apps for class of 2018
With Regular Decision applications due Jan. 1, Northwestern received approximately 33,200 applications for the class of 2018, a
to potential participants over the next couple of weeks. One of the goals of the program is to include a “representative sample,” including faculty, staff and undergraduate and graduate students from the Evanston and Chicago campuses, Dunkle said. Naina Desai, co-president of NU Active Minds, said she believes the coalition will have a long-lasting effect on mental health services at Northwestern. “In the next few years, I think we’ll be able to put what we learned from it to good use and hopefully improve the treatment of mental health on campus,” the Weinberg senior said. “It’s something that (Dunkle is) really excited about and he really hopes will show people how far we’ve come and will show people how far we have to go.” In addition to the coalition, Dunkle emphasized the desire to continue to meet student demand for CAPS and make sure outreach programs, such as the suicide prevention program Question-Persuade-Refer, are a top priority. The development of a peer listening service is also in the works. “It’s … another avenue to address mental health issues as a community issue,” Dunkle said. “Engaging students to help us with that will create a more comprehensive approach to mental health issues on campus.” A peer listening group would require a psychologist to supervise and oversee the program. Funding has not been made available to add a new position. Desai said she thinks CAPS has improved over the last few years but cites lack of funds as a persisting problem. “They just don’t have the resources to handle the mental struggles of the Northwestern community, and a lot of it’s because they just don’t have the money or they can’t find the right » See caps, page 7 1.3 percent increase from last year. With 45 percent of the class already filled through early decision applicants, Christopher Watson, dean of undergraduate admissions, predicted the overall acceptance rate will fall somewhere between 12 and 13 percent. For the class of 2017, NU received 32,772 applications with a 13.9 percent acceptance rate.
Ebony Calloway/The Daily Northwestern
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED Residential Life opened a new package center in Kemper Hall. The package center will service all North Campus residents as a means of supplementing the Foster-Walker Complex center.
Kemper’s new mailroom opens Weather, wait times bring second facility By Preston r. MICHELSON
the daily northwestern @PrestonMich
Kemper Hall became the second package facility on campus Monday, following student complaints about the distance and wait times at the FosterWalker Complex mailroom. “We heard from students that the distance between where they lived to where the existing package system was was too great,” said Paul Riel, executive director of Residential Services. “And particularly with the weather, we began to look at a satellite model.” Students who live north of Noyes Street — in effect, Sargent Hall and the Early applications increased by nearly 15 percent for the class of 2018. Applications have risen by more than 10,000 since 2007, when NU admitted 27 percent of all applicants. Admissions decisions will be released in late March. — Tyler Pager
buildings north of it — will have their packages sent to Kemper. Ayers College of Commerce and Industry and Slivka Residential College were also considered for the satellite location. “We have a neighborhood desk (at Kemper Hall) now that’s 24 hours, so that made some sense,” Riel said. The mailroom, which is much smaller than the one at Foster-Walker, is located on the first floor of Kemper, directly across from the neighborhood desk. According to Riel, a satellite facility for the main mailroom was always a consideration. Students who live on North Campus said they liked the change because of
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
» See Kemper, page 7
Illinois bans phone use while driving By bailey williams
the daily northwestern @news_BaileyW
Infographic by Jordan Harrison/The Daily Northwestern
its convenience. “It’s really close,” Weinberg freshman Adyut Khazanchi said. “I live in Ayers, so it’s next door.” Residential Services first presented the idea of a second location Nov. 6 at a Slivka Residential College forum. “We were hearing from students that that was something that they would like to see and it was something that we thought that we could work out,” Riel said. The opening of the mailroom was announced Dec. 2 in an email to the Northwestern community. The new facility could also help alleviate traffic at Foster-Walker.
A new Illinois law that prohibits using handheld devices while driving went into effect statewide Jan. 1, following the passage of similar ordinances in Evanston and other municipalities. “More drivers will be aware of the state law,” Evanston Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said. Under the law, drivers caught using handheld devices such as cell phones will face a $75 fine for the first offense, a $100 fine for the second offense, a $125 fine for the third and a $150 fine for any subsequent offenses. After four offenses, drivers also
face a possible suspension of their driver’s license. The Evanston City Council unanimously passed a similar ordinance in 2010. If drivers are caught using handheld devices while driving in the city, drivers have to pay $50 each time without possible loss of driving privileges, Parrott said. The officer who pulls a driver over decides whether they will be charged at the state or city level. At the city level, drivers also face a possible $200 fine for being caught using a handheld device in the event of a car crash, according to the city’s website. “In terms of hands-free technology, I think it would be a safer option,” said Weinberg junior Aash » See cell ban, page 7
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