C ontent s
Just Friends Exploring the different kinds of relationships found throughout college life.
The Struggle The problems college students are facing everyday.
The Captain Dylan Carrions journey through life that has lead him to a successful colllege career.
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Just Friends. Sofia Krsmanovic is a junior on the Arkansas State Women’s Tennis Team. She is originally from Perth, Australia and came to college for a full scholarship. Her major is Graphic Communications and she hopes to stay in the United States after graduation to work. For her the hardest thing about leaving her home on the other side of the world was leaving behind her family and friends. “I had a really strong relationship, especially with my dad and best friend, I found it very hard at the beginning to be so far away from them.”
Jamelle Shaw is a senior also at Arkansas State University and is on the Men’s Rugby Team. He is originally from Dallas, Texas and decided to come to Arkansas State because of their great Rugby program. His Major is Business with a minor in Accounting and he hopes to get a job back in Dallas after he graduates in May. For Jamelle, leaving home wasn’t so hard. As an American he knew the day to leave home and go somewhere far away for college was always coming. He had watched many family members and friends do the same and was somewhat prepared.
A lot of people believe men and women can’t be close friends. Blame the sexual tension that almost inevitably exists between any heterosexual man and woman, or the jealousy that plagues many rational people when a significant other befriends someone of the opposite sex. But according to relationship experts “The belief that men and women can’t be friends comes from another era in which women were at home and men were in the workplace, and the only way they could get together was for romance.” This cultural shift has encouraged psychologists, sociologists and communications experts to put forth a new message: Though it may be tricky, men and women can successfully become close friends.
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“Having a guy as my best friend is a great contrast to the relationships I have with my girlfriends.”
Women enjoy men’s lighthearted attitude and most male-female friendships resemble women’s emotionally involving friendships more than they do men’s activity-oriented relationships. According to Kathy Werking, at Eastern Kentucky University and author of We’re Just Good Friends. The number one thing male and female friends do together is talk one-on-one. In fact, close male-female friends are extremely emotionally supportive because they continuously examine their feelings, opinions and ideas.
For Jamelle and Sofia they enjoy getting away from the drama of their teammates and doing simple things like watching television, talking about trivial things and making jokes. According to Sofia, “Having a guy as my best friend is a great contrast to the relationships I have with my girlfriends. It is great to get away from the bitchiness of girls and have a laid back laugh with someone I trust.�
Jamelle and Sofia grew up on opposite sides of the world. For them, leaving home to come to college was a huge adjustment at the start. Finding such a strong friendship with someone from the opposite sex turned out to be incredibly rewarding and something they will hopefully have for a lifetime.
THE STRUGGLE
One of the biggest misconceptions about coming to college is that life will be one big party. That you will sleep, eat and hang out with friends all day and enjoy every minute. Unfortunately, this is far from reality. College students are young, lively and generally healthy individuals, but just like any population, they are prone to certain health problems. Not only do college students have some of the worst eating, exercising and sleeping habits, they also have to deal with stress from school, relationships and job hunting that takes a major toll on their health. The top five mental illness that face college students are depression, anxiety, suicide, eating disorders and addiction. These are all very serious and a lot of people are unaware of how prevalent they actually are. Sometimes we don’t even notice that our closest friends are dealing with these illnesses. A lot of the time they start out with the stress of something small or the worrying about something quite insignificant but overtime without the proper medical help or counselling can lead to serious problems.
We took it upon ourselves to ask people in the Cafeteria at Arkansas State University about what problems they face in their everyday lives. Many of their problems seemed relatively insignificant and most of them seemed to have their own ways of dealing with them. For many, the effects may be unseen as of yet and they could later turn into bigger problems. These issues are probably some you have felt yourself, or know people who feel the same. College students are of the age where acceptance, responsibilities and changes are very high. It is important to realize that everyone is dealing with many of the same issues. Reach out to your friends and let them know what’s going on and they may do the same in return. If problems start getting too hard to handle, seek college counselling. It’s not something to be ashamed off, reaching out is the first step in making things better and it is something to be proud of.
“Having to deal with my sexual orientation everyday stresses me out. I’m afraid of how different people will react to it.”
“I am constantly battling being hungry and not wanting to eat too much. I want to be looking good for spring break.”
“It feels like I am an outsider. There are so many cliques and people who get each other and I’m the odd one out.”
“Managing my time has become very stressful this semester. I feel like I never get enough sleep because I am always staying up late doing homework”
“My biggest problem would have to be dealing with my psycho exgirlfriend and her friends constantly giving me dirty looks everyday”
“I miss my boyfriend from back home, it’s hard staying faithful and it’s hard missing him so much.”
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The
Captain Meet Dylan Carrion, Arkansas State University’s Rugby Team Captain. At 5 foot 5 he is the smallest guy on the team. What he lacks in height he makes up for in hard work, determination and skills. He is liked by many and is a natural leader.
He grew up in a rugby family from Plano, Texas. From a young age he would watch the Dallas Harlequins play and aspire to one day play for them. At age 12, youth rugby became available in Plano and he started playing. At age 17 he began playing with the Dallas Harlequins. Surrounded by Texas high school grads, he was unsure if he would peruse college or not. Looking at the top rugby colleges in America, Arkansas State caught his eye. At age 18, the Harlequins, a top 10 men’s team in the country, had a preseason scrimmage against Arkansas State. The Harlequins had a lot more experience and went into the match feeling confident. ASU would outclass the quins, and cement in Dylan’s mind that it was the program for him. Dylan began his college career in the fall of 2010; unfortunately it would be cut short when he shattered his foot, forcing him to sit out the entire season. He wouldn’t return to training until the following November. Even then he wasn’t the rugby player he used to be. It had been a long time out and it would take a lot of hard work to get back to his peak. He struggled through his sophomore year and received very little playing time, often not even making the travelling squad.
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In 2012, Matt Hawkins, former captain of the USA national 7s team, founded the Old Aztecs club down in San Diego. Hawkins had help from other fellow USA players Riaan Hamilton and Justin Boyd. It was Boyd who recommended to Hawkins that he should invite Dylan down for the summer to train and play with the team. It had been 15 months since his injury, and he had finally begun to play at the high level he’d been accustomed to. His workouts changed, instead of lifting weights he focused only on yoga, sand sprints, and training in the ocean. The team finished the summer 7th in the nation and Dylan was excited to head back to Jonesboro playing some of his best rugby. Coming back to college, he felt apprensive about how he would preform. He continued to improve and became a starter for the A side. The team won their first national championship in 2012 and Dylan won MVP of the game. He was finally reaping the rewards of all his hardwork and patience. In 2013 Dylan became captain and lead the team to another national championship, this time being named MVP of the entire tournament. This is Dylans final year as a Red Wolf. He hopes to lead the team to become three time 7s national champions and win their first 15s national champioinship. He has high expections for his team and believes they have what it takes to produce big things this year. After college he plans to continue to pursue a career in 7s Rugby. He is currently in contact with a few sanctioned Olympic Development Academies around the country to work out what his next step after college will be. Dylan Carrion’s journey through college has been a tough one. He has faced many set backs and has come out on top. He has become the leader of one of the most successful sporting teams at Arkansas State. Watch out for Dylan as he goes on to do even bigger things.
NEXT MONTH
How to Survive The
Winter Blues
Editors Note If a picture is worth a thousand words, what does a picture of your bestfriend say about you? In this issue of Uni, we learnt that a girl and a guy can actually be best friends and that friendship is very important in adjusting to college. We were also made aware of the strong precense of mental illness in college, that often goes unnoticed. Lastly, we introduced you to Dylan Carrion, an Arkansas State Rugby Player whose name you should remember. Hope you enjoyed this month’s issue. Next month we bring you 20 ways to survive the winter blues and talk to Gussie O’Sullivan about how she became a professional photographer straight out of college. Cheers,
Jess Heeps-Eriksen Editor
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