ABOVE THE FOLD Students prepare decorative skulls to be used in the Día De Los Muertos celebration PAGE 3
CT CityTimes
Covering the San Diego City College community since 1945
Vol. 67, No. 6
November 13, 2012
CAMPUS LIFE Honoring the sacrifice of our military men and women
Weekly at sdcitytimes.com
STUDENT HEALTH
Expanding City’s clinical services Newly passed grants improve mental health program By Fahima Paghmani City Times
Vets survive after service By Adam Burkhart City Times San Diego City College Veterans For Peace hosted its Arlington West memorial event in Gorton Quad Nov. 8, remembering veterans who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty and the plight of veterans at home and overseas. Donald Louis Stiles, retired Marine veteran of the Iraq war, fought back tears as he told the story of his friend and fellow Marine Jeremy Austin. “It embarrassed me that I wasn’t as strong as my buddy Jeremy Austin,” Stiles said. “Staff Sergeant Jeremy Austin, second forces reconnaissance Marine;
second forces reconnaissance Marine I should have been had I not made the decision to leave the Marine Corps after eight years.” “That was part of my survivor’s guilt, of why I was not a marine anymore, I was still deploying overseas and looking for the glorious death that I thought I should have,” he said. Stiles said that Austin was the only one injured when the vehicle he was riding in rolled over an explosive device during a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009. “When I finally saw him at Walter Reed ... without his legs ... sort of solidi-
fied how weak and how not-macho of a Marine that I was,” Stiles said. Stiles said that he was compelled to leave the unit he and Austin were both in because of a court martial he was facing for driving under the influence, which eventually motivated his decision to leave the Marine Corps altogether. “If I couldn’t be part of the ‘community’ anymore (the elite second forces reconnaissance unit) then I didn’t want to play,” he said, preferring civilian life to a desk job or other less elite position. He left and commenced to See Veterans, page 2
(top) Retired Marine Donald Louis Stiles speaks to an amassed crowd whom came to take part in the Arlington West Memorial held in Gorton Quad on Nov. 8. Stiles holds back his tears as he recalls the stor y of his friend and fellow Marine Jeremy Austin who was severely wounded during an IED blast. Troy Orem, City Times (above) To honor those who sacrificed their lives for the countr y, The San Diego Veterans for Peace place crosses and gravestones throughout Gorton Quad. David L. Wells, City Times
STAY HEARTY A delicious soup to see you through the cold nights PAGE 4
The California Mental Health Services Act was one of two important grants awarded to San Diego City College Mental Health Counseling program on Oct. 18. CAL MHSA will emphasize focus on the issues of suicide prevention, awareness, and in reducing associated stigmas that are attached to it. The CAL MHSA grant is intended to be a main tool in educating students by reaching out and informing them of mental health issues. Students can attend peer to peer workshops and talk to student leaders about stress and how to deal with it, and workshops that will involve students in starting clubs on campus relating to mental health. “Everybody needs help in some points in their lives. 80 percent of the people who (have) committed suicide never seek help,” said MHC program coordinator Julie Little. Little hopes that program will allow for students to have a place that, “... will give them hope, open them up, and get the word out.” The second grant was awarded to City’s MHC program by the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organization that helps empower and honor injured veterans. By hiring a part-time therapist, contracting a psychiatrist, and developing a peer-educator-mentor program, the WWP grant is meant to enhance the outreach to former military members. The idea is to be proactive in helping veterans get access to the mental health services they need, rather than waiting for them to show up at the center
CREED RETURNS Third installment proves a welcome addition PAGE 5
themselves. The peer-educatormentor program will be important in helping to reduce stigmas and spreading awareness about mental health issues. This includes hosting resource fairs and workshops in an effort to better serve returning veterans and create a “trauma informed campus.” It will also provide free individual, couple, and family therapy to all students who are registered in at least one class at City College for the semester. In the near future, the program information will be presented in five minute classroom presentations about both services. “If you go skiing, the likelihood of you breaking your leg increases. So of course we should expect that our service men and women are going to have some kind of emotional stress following their service, especially those who served in combat,” says Abigail Burd, adjunct counselor of mental health at City.
“Everybody needs help in some point in their lives” -Julie Little program coordinator “(Stress) is a normal human reaction, but it gets better in connecting with a positive human who has been it through the similar experiences, like the peer mentors who can really help,” said Burd. To take advantage of these free programs visit the Mental Health Office on City Campus in Room 221. Fall 2012 Hours are: Mon., Wed., Thurs. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue. 10 a.m -6 p.m. (after 4 p.m. by appointment only) Fri. 8 a.m.-12 p.m.
INDEX
Calendar................. 2 Arts........................ 5 Voice....................... 6 Sports..................... 8