THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2015
THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Students see benefits, drawbacks to trigger
KEEPING MADISON HOLLERAN’S MEMORY ALIVE
The conversation about trigger warnings has spread nationwide this year LUIS A FERRE SADURNI Staff Reporter
Imagine if before class a teacher presented their students with a warning about course material that could potentially be traumatizing for students. Imagine if classrooms adopted a warning similar to the “viewer discretion is advised” so commonly seen in movie theaters. These advisories are called trigger warnings and — although mostly absent at Penn —their adoption in college classrooms have been part of a national conversation across university campuses in the past 12 months. The main goal of trigger warnings is to alert students of course material that may trigger trauma to students who have been victims of rape, sexual abuse and mental illness. Trigger warnings have been a common feature of the online world since the inception of message boards, online forums and the blogosphere. Their proposed use in college curriculums, however, is a more recent development. In February 2014 the student government at the University of California, Santa Barbara approved a resolution calling for the school to make trigger warnings mandatory when professors presented material that could trigger PTSD symptoms, according to The Daily Nexus. The sponsor of the resolution was a UCSB student — a victim of sexual abuse — who felt overwhelmingly uncomfortable when a graphic depiction of rape was presented in one of her classes. Some college administrations have taken action on the issue. Last year, Oberlin College published an official document advising its faculty to remove triggering material when it doesn’t directly contribute to learning goals, per The New Republic . It also suggested making triggering material optional for students. Both college newspapers and the national press took part in the trigger debate. In fact, many universities nationwide — like Oberlin SEE TRIGGER PAGE 2
TRUMP CAMPAIGN GAINS MOMENTUM
New Jersey state legislature seeks to pass bill in Holleran’s memory by 2016 LAVI BEN DOR Staff Reporter
Two New Jersey bills designed to help prevent college suicides have taken an important step in moving toward passage in the state Senate. The bills — named after former College freshman Madison Holleran, who committed suicide in January 2014 — could be passed as early as this year. The two bills, the Madison Holleran Suicide Prevention and
Proper Reporting acts (S.B. 2808 and 2809, respectively), gained the state Senate Higher Education Committee’s approval on June 18 and will now move to the state Senate as a whole. The Suicide Prevention Act would compel colleges to maintain health care professionals who have training on mental health issues. These counselors would be available to students around the clock, every day of the week. Schools would be required to inform students of the contact information and location of the professionals — who would work with faculty to help reduce student suicides — within
15 days of the start of the academic year. The Proper Reporting Act, which would take effect during the 2016-17 school year, would require colleges to publish the number of students who committed or attempted suicide in the previous year on their websites. Both of these bills are up for debate within the New Jersey State Legislature and therefore, if passed, would only affect colleges and universities in New Jersey. Suicides are the second-leading cause of death for people ages 15-24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Penn has been no exception, with seven student suicides in the past two years. It has taken steps in the past year to address the issue, creating a mental health task force and making changes based on its recommendations, including a 24/7 help line run by trained staff. “We can never fully know what Madison and her family have been through, and it’s impossible to make sense of her tragedy, but through glimpses of her triumphs and tribulations shared by family and friends, we can make sure her tragedy will SEE HOLLERAN PAGE 2
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Penn students taking leaves of absence face unexpected costs
Students have listed off-campus apartments to rent for weekend; Penn will restrict access to dorms
But the reality of Penn summers is that the University is relaxed in more areas than it should be.”
JESSICA MCDOWELL News Editor
a student to leave is complex and requires permission from the Provost. “[The leave] was a huge financial burden,” Mehta said. “I had inpatient, outpatient and post-outpatient care. I still have medical bills to this day, and it was four years ago. When you have inpatient care, insurance can only cover so much and when you have outpatient visits, you only have so many
Though there are still months before Pope Francis sets foot in Philadelphia for his historic — and first — trip to the United States since being appointed, the city is already in full-swing preparing for his visit, and Penn is no exception. In a whirlwind five-day visit, the pope will visit Philadelphia on Sept. 26 and 27. The trip will also include stops in New York City and Washington D.C. Estimates put expected visitors to the city between one and two million people. The United States Census Bureau approximates the population of Philadelphia to be roughly 1.5 million people, meaning the city is expected to double in size for the weekend of the pope’s visit. Accommodating so many people in the city could prove challenging. This week, SEPTA announced that visitors will have to purchase a special pass to ride the Regional Rail lines during the weekend of the visit. Sales of these passes will begin at 9 a.m. on July 20. Most hotels in the city are already completely booked, including the Hilton Inn at Penn. The Sheraton Hotel in University City, which typically rents rooms at approximately $159 per
SEE ABSENCE PAGE 3
SEE POPE PAGE 6
— The Summer Pennsylvanian PAGE 4
ALLEN JOINS CELTICS BACK PAGE
DP FILE PHOTO
Counseling and Psychological Services, the main mental health treatment center on campus, recently moved to 3624 Market Street.
Students discuss the financial difficulties of taking time off at Penn BRYN FERGUSON Staff Reporter
Students who take leaves of absence for mental health reasons do not just suffer the financial burden of hospitalizations, outpatient care and therapist visits. Many also encounter unexpected Pennrelated financial difficulties.
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Penn, city prepare for papal visit in Sept.
College senior Devanshi Mehta was forced by the University to take a leave of absence one month into her freshman year. She called the process “forceful,” and said the University didn’t want to have liability for her deteriorating mental health. Director of Counselling and Psychological Services Bill Alexander said only two or three students have taken involuntary leaves in the past fifteen years, and that the process for forcing
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