The News Record 1.22.15

Page 1

FILM TRIGGERS MIXED RESPONSES

THROUGH THE LABYRINTH

Eastwood scopes out empathy in controversial ‘American Sniper’

>>

Ancient tool inspires prayer, guides students in spiritual undertakings

>>

PG 2

PG 6

THE NEWS RECORD

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

NEWSRECORD.ORG

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

Blue Ash College representative joins UC Student Government Harrison became interested in SG because her major entails a lot of government involvement, she said. She believes being a part of the group will prepare her for future endeavors. “It’s a great opportunity to get great connections,” Harrison said. Harrison said the UCBA Student Government is currently working to promote campus involvement. “Right now we’re working on building more community at Blue Ash since it is a commuter school,” Harrison said. “People tend to just come to class and then leave. There’s not a lot of connection or community in that. So we’re trying to work on getting people more involved on campus.” Harrison said everything seems new to her as she had never been part of a student government board before college, but she is interested in the various committees she can join in SG. Harrison’s interests include social justice and human rights. Her dream job

CASSIE LIPP | CHIEF REPORTER

University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College is now represented in Student Government body after Haley Harrison was sworn in at Wednesday’s meeting. Harrison, a first-year international affairs student, represents Blue Ash College as tribunal senator, a position that involves representing her college in the larger body of SG senators. SG members are not sure how long it has been since the last time a tribunal senator represented Blue Ash College, but they say it has been several years. While tribunals represent every college on main campus and now the Blue Ash branch, there is currently no tribunal senator from Clermont College. Harrison joined UCBA’s Student Government last semester, and she was elected tribunal senator during the group’s executive elections. “I just voiced my interest in student government and what I wanted to do for Blue Ash, since I didn’t feel there was very much representation on main campus,” Harrison said.

MADISON SCHMIDT | PHOTO EDITOR

SEE SG PG 3

Haley Harrison, a first-year student at Blue Ash, was sworn into Student Government Wednesday.

UC researchers look UC OFFERS TRANS-FRIENDLY SERVICES at student use of synthetic marijuana CENTRAL CLINIC INTRODUCES TRANSGENDER WELLNESS PROGRAM

CHANDLER BONN | STAFF REPORTER

MADISON SCHMIDT | PHOTO EDITOR

Evelyn Heflin, program coordinator for the Transgender Wellness Program and staff therapist at UC’s Central Clinic, said the program works toward providing a safe environment for transgender people seeking mental health care. CASSIE LIPP & PATRICK MURPHY | THE NEWS RECORD

In response to the suicide of Ohio transgender teen Leelah Alcorn on Dec. 28, the University of Cincinnati has introduced the Transgender Wellness Program to address the mental health needs of the transgender community. Alcorn’s suicide created a spotlight for the need for more trans-friendly mental health care, especially in the Cincinnati area, according to Evelyn Heflin, the wellness program’s coordinator. “There is definitely a need in the [trans] community because there are other organizations that do support groups, but there aren’t a whole lot of resources for people to be able to just go and see a therapist who is familiar with transgender issues and the needs of the transgender community,” Heflin said. Central Clinic, an affiliate agency to UC located on medical campus, runs the

Transgender Wellness Program. Any UC student enrolled in Medicaid who identifies as transgender, gender-queer, gender non-conforming or is questioning their transgender nature is eligible for the program. While the main component of the program provides mental health therapy for clients, services can also be extended to help clients see a psychiatrist. The program also aims to help connect clients to agencies with trans-friendly services. “There are a couple different needs assessment studies that have been done on the past couple of years that look at trans-people as they try to connect with a healthcare provider,” Heflin said. “A lot of them tend to be met with different levels of discrimination from the providers not giving them services to being harassed.” The program aims to eliminate any discrimination through connecting clients with trans-friendly services, as not many

federal or state laws exist to protect people from discrimination based on gender identity. “One of the biggest challenges that a lot of trans-people face is the whole process of coming out and getting connected to services,” Heflin said. The Transgender Wellness Program can help clients with the multitude of barriers trans-people may face, such as being rejected by family and friends after coming out. “One of the things that people are trying to work towards is trying to give transgender people a safe space where they can be themselves and work through any additional things that are going on in their life,” Heflin said. T. N. Vaught, program coordinator for the LGBTQ Center, said that while this is a necessary step, more can be done. SEE WELLNESS PROGRAM PG 3

Researchers are striving to educate the University of Cincinnati community about synthetic weed after surveying 300 students. Conducted by researchers from the Center for Prevention Science, the survey published UC students’ experience with synthetic Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. THC is the chemical compound in marijuana responsible for the drug’s high effects. Synthetic marijuana, commonly known as spice and K2, chemically reconstructs this compound to mimic the effects of natural THC. Keith King, professor of health promotion and director of the Center for Prevention Science, and Rebecca Vidourek, assistant professor of health promotion and assistant director of the Center for Prevention Science, conducted the research, which found relatively low yet dangerous use of the drug. The duo is concerned about unhealthy side effects the drug can have. “My line of research is all about drug use, specifically adolescence and college students,”Vidourek said. “Synthetic THC is just a hot topic right now. There are a couple of states that are actually trying to make it illegal, so I’m just trying to see among our students whether or not this is actually a problem.” By signing the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012, President Barack Obama made any combination of compounds commonly found in synthetic THC illegal. Legislation restricting the drug has passed in several states, including Ohio, which banned PB-22 and 5F-PB-22 in 2014, forms of synthetic weed disguised as herbal incense. Of the students surveyed, 17 percent reported having used synthetic THC. Of that group, about 10 percent reported negative side effects, Vidourek said. “The number one [side effect] was a racing heartbeat, which is really common; that’s what other studies have found, too,”Vidourek said. To combat use of the drug, Vidourek hopes to educate students on and off campus with the help of UC’s Student Wellness Center. In the past, the Center for Prevention Science has worked with the Student Wellness Center to educate students about drugs through freshman orientation, bulletin boards in residence halls and social media campaigns. “I think that is something that we would SEE SYNTHETIC WEED PG 3

University hires second therapist to counsel sexual assault survivors ELYSSE WINGET | STAFF REPORTER

PROVIDED

Abby Lewis is the second of two staff therapists to be hired this academic year.

Along with the recent hire of staff psychologist in mid-October, the University of Cincinnati’s Counseling and Psychological Services expanded its staff with another therapist hire in hopes of providing general counseling services to sexual assault survivors. “My combined eight years of clinical and academic experiences have fostered a strong passion for working with genderrelated issues and survivors of gender violence,” said Abby Lewis, the newest member of UC’s CAPS who will serve as a clinical counselor specifically for sexual assault survivors. Lewis attended Northern Kentucky University for her undergraduate education and furthered her education in a graduate program at the Ohio State University. During her time at OSU, Lewis was able to research the impact of trauma on various survivors and contribute to their healing.

“I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of settings which has assisted me in understanding that each survivor’s experience of trauma and recovery from such experiences is both powerful and unique,” Lewis said. Her experiences at OSU are what led her to the job at UC. “I was beyond excited to see that UC had developed this position and felt that working for the university in this capacity would enable me to make more of a direct impact on the wellbeing of survivors of gender and sexual violence,” Lewis said. Lewis is the second of two new counselors at the university, the other being Anusha Zechella. “I am very excited to see the changes that have already been made and the ones to come in the very near future,” said Christina Beer, UC’s student body president. “We are in the process of reviewing the Student Code of Conduct, specifically the processes of Title IX cases,” Beer said.

THE NEWS RECORD IS THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI’S INDEPENDENT, STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER

Title IX refers to the federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex at federally funded universities like UC. Recently, the UC community has addressed sexual assault on campuses through initiatives like the Consent Culture Campaign and the nationwide It’s On Us Campaign. The addition of Zechella and Lewis is one accommodation the university is making toward the growing need for these kinds of resources. “Over the next several months, I think we need to look critically at how many students use the counselors and if there is a need for another,” Beer said. Alanah VanCleve, a second-year health sciences student, expressed her appreciation for UC’s efforts. “Sexual violence seems to be one of the more pressing issues on college campuses, so I fully support UC hiring more SEE LEWIS PG 3

FREE • ADDITIONAL COPIES $1


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.