The Northwest Missourian

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A2 City leaders still planning

A7 Sleepless in Maryville

Unofficial budget focuses around South Main Project and Public Safety Building.

Sleep deprivation is more detrimental to students than many may think.

A10 New year, new Bearcats Northwest soccer looks to improve despite struggles in recent seasons.

NORTHWEST MISSOURIAN THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MARYVILLE, MISSOURI

NWMISSOURINEWS.COM

Thursday

September 5, 2019 @TheMissourian

VOL. 108 N. 3

DENTT STU STUDEN AIRSS AFF AFFAIR

CARE & CONCERN

‘I felt zero support’

CHRIS YOUNG | NW MISSOURIAN

Mental health policy concerns students

SAMANTHA COLLISON Campus News Editor | @SammieCollison

S

he laid in her extra-long twinsized bed on the sixth floor of Millikan Hall thinking about how she didn’t just not want to get out of bed that morning, but didn’t want to wake up at all. Seemingly on top of the world in her junior year at Northwest with straight A’s, a job as a BRIDGE with residents and coworkers she loved, Pooja Poudyal thought she should feel content and accomplished, but instead found herself sitting in a hospital room signing a Care and Concern Contract. The Care and Concern Contract is part of the University’s Care and Concern Policy, outlining how the University is to manage concerning student behavior. Concerning behavior, defined by the policy, presents an immediate danger to the life, health, welfare, safety or property of any Northwest community member. If the University has a credible re-

port of concerning behavior, the Behavioral Intervention Team will step in and determine a response. If warranted, the BIT will recommend the student sign a Care and Concern Contract. The contract requires students to attend four, one-hour sessions with a licensed mental health professional, which can be a staff member at Wellness Services or a private practitioner. The contract enables the practitioner to give a Risk Assessment Summary to the BIT. According the Care and Concern Contract, the purpose of the Risk Assessment Summary is not to cure or diagnose underlying conditions, but to evaluate whether the student is able to safely participate in the campus community. The policy is designed to help students with mental health issues, but some don’t feel like they are getting the help they need. “At some point, I felt like I was just lost in the rules,” Poudyal said. “I did not feel like I was getting the help

that I needed. I was really worried to talk to my counselor about any thought that I had because I knew if I say anything, they’re just going to put me in the hospital. If I’m going to talk to my boss, he’s definitely going to send me to counseling; if I talk to my counselor, they’re definitely going to send me to the hospital.” Two years and three Care and Concern contracts after Poudyal was first admitted to the hospital in February 2018, she was still struggling with mental health issues and took a semester off school to go home to Nepal. When Poudyal came back to the University for her final year this fall, she said just felt pushed around by the University. At the time she signed the first Care and Concern Contract, Poudyal said she felt it was a gesture showing that the University cared about her wellbeing and wanted her to succeed. She said Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Kori Hoffmann ex-

plained the contract would help the University to work with her to make up missed classes, assignments and tests. “It felt like a supportive statement in that moment,” Poudyal said. “It felt like it’s something that every student needs when they’re in such similar situations, so I didn’t think much of it at the time.” Hoffmann said the Care and Concern Policy has been in effect for at least as long as he has been in his role, more than seven years. It was last updated Aug. 5, 2011. Hoffmann said the goal of the policy and the contract is to support students and keep everyone in the community safe, including any students who enter into a contract. Hoffmann said around 98% of Care and Concern Contracts are presented to students who have been hospitalized for mental health treatment. He said the contract supports students from an academic front and to direct students to resources.

SEE POLICY | A4

Northwest community celebrates agriculture success KENDRICK CALFEE Community News Editor | @KoalaCalfee KEJI AKINMOLADUN Chief Reporter| @OluwatoyinKeji

A new farmhouse sits atop a grassy hill on Northwest’s R.T. Wright Farm, where the community celebrated its completion with a ribbon cutting and detailed tour of the farm manager’s countryside home. The celebration took place at 4 p.m. Sept. 4 at the Wright Farm, two miles north of Northwest’s campus at Icon Road and Highway 71. Northwest partnered with the Maryville School District’s Northwest Technical School, where high school students worked with construction professionals to construct the 1,300-square-foot home. The new house replaces an old home on the property, consisting of three bedrooms and two bathrooms in an open floor concept, featuring a two car garage. The NTS has a class for students interested in construction named “Building Trades,” composed of stu-

dents who work on year-long projects for the class. Last year’s project was the new farmhouse. Jay Drake teaches building trades at the NTS. He said the farmhouse project provided students with insight on how construction projects actually work. “Our students get a lot of handson experience, since they are involved in the whole building process,” Drake said. “They are required to work on a timeline, one that aligns well with the class and makes our buildings the best they can be structurally.” Local construction professionals installed the concrete, electrical and plumbing, but the high school students worked with building materials with instruction from Drake. The home received a donation providing for fiberglass insulation from Ripple Glass, a Kansas City, Missouri, recycling company that recognized Northwest as its Recycling Program of the Year.

SEE FARMHOUSE | A4

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Northwest community members celebrate the grand opening of the new farmhouse Sept. 4 at the R.T. Wright Farm.

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