The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University
Volume XCVI | Est. 1929 | www.sjuhawknews.com
Nov. 15, 2017
New drug abuse prevention course ALEX MARK ’20 Hawk Staff
The SJU Dance Marathon held on Nov. 11 raised $20,744.87 for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Photo by Kristen Babich ’20).
Suicide prevention walk
Out of the Darkness Walk brings community together BRUCE HOWARD ’20 Hawk Staff Various members of the St. Joe’s community braced the cold to participate in the third annual Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk on Nov. 12. to raise awareness for suicide prevention. Hosted by the Dean’s Leadership Program (DLP), members of the community came together as one to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues. All the proceeds were donated to Active Minds, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising mental health awareness among college students. The event was created by Mariah McHugh ’16, a former DLP member. Two students tragically took their own lives during the 2014-15 school year, and McHugh, along with other members of the program, wanted to create an event that would raise awareness for suicide prevention, along with mental health issues. “This event serves as something for any individual that’s interested in attending to come, whether they come alone or bring others, that they’re not alone,” said Jessica DeStefano ’18, current co-director of the walk. DeStefano further explained the overall importance of this event. “That’s a representation of what this campus stands for, we’re a community who loves and cares for one another and to see 500 people standing as a whole it’s literally breathtaking,” DeStefano said. Kim Uno ’20, one of many student participants, resonated with the idea of not feeling alone and emphasized there is always assistance available to students. “Mental health is very internal and sometimes it feels like you’re alone because you think that no one feels the same,” Uno said. “For people that don’t think they can confide in someone, they must know that there is always someone that is willing to help and listen.” Mitchell Mcllhenny ’18, another co-director of the walk, delivered a message to speak up whenever feelings of depression, anxiety or stress develop. “If you are having trouble with this type of issue, reach out and talk to someone whoever it is that you’re comfortable with,” Mcllhenny
said. “Don’t suffer in silence because that’s where people make these decisions when they’re only looking at it through their own lens and not grasping the whole big picture.” Several members of the community spoke before the walk, including University President Mark C. Reed, Ed. D.; Dean of the Haub School of Business, Joseph DiAngelo, Ed.D; DLP president Emer Ryle ’18; Active Minds head Marybeth Ayella, Ph.D; and director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Greg Nicholls, Ph.D. According to Nicholls, a mental health survey conducted by CAPS a year and a half
According to Nicholls, St. Joe’s is making a significant effort this year to raise awareness for mental health issues and the need to understand the symptoms of these issues as well. “We have a suicide prevention team here at St. Joe’s that maybe most don’t know about made up of faculty, staff, administrators and student members as well., Nicholls said. “We’re dedicated to preventing suicide and one of the key elements is training members in how to recognize warning signs of depression and suicide, how to respond, and help them get the help that they need.”
The Out of the Darkness Walk sold over 430 tickets and raised $8,000 for suicide prevention (Photo by Luke Malanga ’20).
ago revealed that 90 percent of students said they would not think less of someone who received mental health counseling. However, when asked if they felt most people would feel less about someone who received this kind of counseling, 60 percent said most people do. “That’s where the stigma is,” Nicholls said. “Only 10 percent of our students would look down on someone, and I think that’s a misperception that there is this negative stigma, it exists, but not as much as people think and certainly reaching out for help is a sign of wisdom and strength.”
Kathryn Svoboda ’20 had a friend who took their own life recently. Svoboda expressed feelings of reassurance and comfort with having CAPS on campus. “After finding out yet another one of my high school classmates committed suicide earlier this semester, this walk really resonated with me,” Svoboda said. “It reminded me that at SJU, you will always have a support system there for you whenever you need it. Hearing all that CAPS provides for us here, I was once again reassured knowing that I will always have somewhere to turn to here.”
St. Joe’s is taking steps to address the national opioid addiction crisis with an online prescription drug abuse prevention course meant to be completed by students. Katie Bean, assistant director of the Office of Student Outreach and Support, sent an email to students inviting them to complete the course. Taking roughly half an hour to complete, the course highlights the risks of abusing and sharing prescription drugs, the symptoms of an overdose and warning signs of addiction. “Since we sent it to all students, [it gets] such a wide net of people to be familiar with it at all,” Bean said. “Maybe someone’s never thought about that at all. Or maybe someone’s very, very familiar with it. So [it] definitely gets people talking.” As noted in the Sept. 8 email, St. Joe’s is one of the first schools in the nation to offer this course to its students. According to Marci Berney, director of Student Outreach and Support, the course is currently in its testing phase. For Student Outreach and Support, an important aspect of this course is the data collected from students. Upon first logging in, students are prompted to fill out a survey about their own habits concerning prescription drugs. The survey is completely anonymous, but the data it provides can help determine the extent of the prescription drug abuse issue within the university community, information which had previously not been tracked. “We have a lot of data around alcohol,” Bean said. “I could tell you, from the past 10 years, our rates and how they’ve changed. But we haven’t collected data on [prescription drug abuse], so this will be our baseline moving forward.” Data involving prescription drug abuse is especially elusive since a student’s illegal usage of medication is normally kept secret, unlike party drugs such as marijuana or alcohol. Additionally, this new information will help determine the specific demographics of abuse and misuse within the student body, providing insight on how to tailor further education to students who need it most, Berney said. The duties of Student Outreach and Support, in addition to providing wellness education to students, include helping students find the assistance they need for any kind of personal issues. If, for example, a student was seeking help at the office, Student Outreach and Support would suggest a referral to whichever on-or-off campus resource would best fit the specific student’s needs. Sometimes this treatment can come in the form of higher care outside of the university, in which case a student’s family or other means of support will be brought in to discuss available options. “We want to make sure that students are as healthy as they can be, that they are safe, and that they are able to return to campus and be as successful as they can be,” Berney said.