THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF PENNSYLVANIA
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014
Death spurs discussion on mental health
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Some students say depression and mental health are stigmatized BY BRENDA WANG Deputy News Editor
Recent events have sparked discussions on issues of stress and mental health on campus, with many students expressing frustration at the lack of dialogue surrounding mental health. The father of College freshman Madison Holleran, who committed suicide last Friday, said her suicidal thoughts were linked to the challenges Holleran faced at Penn, according to The New York Post. He told the Post on Monday that the “pressure in the classroom at Penn” led to “worries and stress.” However, he also said that he did not blame the University for her death. Some students recognized a prejudice against mental health issues and the difficulties of seeking help for depression. “CAPS just seems so distant,” College sophomore Arame Niang said. “You know about it, but you don’t want to go there. People look both ways before going in.” However, A manda Hallock, a College sophomore, thinks the stigma surrounding mental health goes beyond Penn. “I don’t think that it’s the school’s fault,” she said, citing the “lack of mental health conversation” in the United States. “I think there’s a big belief that it’s all in your head,” she said. “[There is] victim blaming on the person who has depression.” Many people shared Holleran’s stor y on social media. A blog post on Tumblr suggested that people run in memory of Holleran, who was a member of Penn’s varsity track and field team, and in support of people suffering from depression. Many people tweeted with the hashtag #MilesforMadison. The Tumblr post was removed later on Tuesday. A Facebook page called “Run With Madison Holleran” garnered over 2,200 “likes” as of Tuesday night. A campaign on the charitable fundraising site Crowdrise had raised over $2,300 for suicide prevention as of Tuesday night. The story of Holleran’s death was picked up by The New York Daily News, Buzzfeed,
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Thinking hard on think tanks: Penn ranks top institutes NUMBER OF THINK TANKS IN THE WORLD SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA ASIA EUROPE CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA NORTH AMERICA OCEANIA
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Today’s list is the seventh annual think tank ranking published by a Penn group BY MELISSA LAWFORD & HARRY COOPERMAN Staff Writer & City News Editor Penn’s Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program released its annual think tank rankings today, a widely known index that has been praised for its evaluation of the policy-oriented institutions. At the top of the index is the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., which was awarded the Think Tank of the Year for 2013. Some of the topics recently studied by the institute include American monetary policy and the effects of university technology transfer contracts on the larger market economy. The Brookings Institution received the same designation of top think tank last year as well. Director of TTCSP James McGann said the purpose of the rankings is “to underscore the important role that think tanks play,” especially in the modern age where there is an “avalanche of information.” McGann elaborated that part of the report’s purpose is to raise the profile of think tanks “to increase their capacity so that they can in-
crease their performance.” Chatham House, a think tank on international policy based in the United Kingdom, came in first on the list of Top Think Tanks Worldwide that were not in the United States and second on the list of all think tanks worldwide. Ten think tanks from the United States, and eight think tanks from Europe were in the top 25 of the Top Think Tanks Worldwide, making up 72 percent of that list. Africa, Oceania and the Middle East had no think tanks in the top 25 think tanks in the world. The top think tank in Asia was the Japan Institute of International Affairs, ranked at 13 in the world. The highest ranked South American institute was from Brazil, coming in at number 21 on the list. This year’s rankings were decided by a group of more than 1,950 experts and think tank representatives, who judged organizations based on their quality, academic performance, publications and reputation, among other factors. TTCSP announced its ratings on Wednesday at a press conference in Washington, D.C., hosted by the World Bank. Regional events also took place in over 30 cities around the world to announce the think tank ranking report. The think tank rankings were first created in 2006 as a response to donors, government officials, SEE RANKING PAGE 9
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