The Darmouth Homecoming Issue: Mental Health on Campus 10/09/15

Beneath the Surface

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

PAGE HC 1

HOMECOMING 2015

10.09.2015

A look into the lives, thoughts and feelings of Dartmouth students affected by mental illness.

Athletes’ Mental Health |3

Health Across Cultures | 8

Behind the Façade| 12

Anchor of Conscience | 23 SHUOQI CHEN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

HOMECOMING 2015

PAGE HC 2

Editors’ Note

TIFFANY ZHAI/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

When we were approached to co-edit the Homecoming issue, our agreement was instantaneous. The Parker/Lauren partnership dates back to before we even matriculated — when forced to interact constantly as Trippees, we realized we had a love/hate relationship forged in heaven, strengthened on the stunningly rigorous trails of Hiking II and tested in the newsroom, the classroom and the frat basement (Lauren’s pong game is about as weak as Parker’s ankles, which he injured dancing on Trips). One year, a trip to Nantucket and countless arguments later, we had proven that our insult-based relationship would stand the test of time and thought it only appropriate to apply our combined powers to a subject that’s personal, relevant and yet, somehow, still difficult to tackle.

It’s come into vogue in the past year or so for national publications to cover issues related to mental health on college campuses. We’ve all seen stories about “excellent sheep,” “duck syndrome” and student suicide after student suicide. We set out to learn how these issues — and many others — present themselves here at Dartmouth, in our own home. It isn’t news that many of our peers suffer from depression, anxiety and eating disorders. The important question is how students at the College suffer, what resources are available to us and — perhaps more pressingly — what resources aren’t.

We know there is still a long way to go on campuses across the country.

We hope this special issue will serve as a starting point on the path to understanding, a catalyst for difficult and overdue conversations. We thank the brave individuals who shared their stories with us; and we thank our readers for approaching this subject with empathy and care and our editors for their help.

inside this issue

Athletes work to balance stressors

HC3

“Study drugs” manage student anxiety, but at what cost?

HC4

Sexual assault survivors find resources for mental health

HC5

Caitlin Barthelmes: A life in mental health care

HC5

Low income students experience issues with mental health

HC6

Students deal with impacts of eating disorders

HC7

Cultural clashes impact students’ mental health

HC8

Therapy at Dartmouth: What’s available, and why?

HC9

Alston: Don’t Be a Victim

HC10

Boyce: “Disease” Versus “Disorder”

HC10

Ihionu: All in Your Head

HC11

Cunningham: Behind the Mask

HC11

Dartmouth Duck Syndrome: How students cope

HC12

Sharma: The Unspoken Stigma

HC14

Ceraolo: Censored Friendship

HC14

Mental health around the Ivies

HC15

An Anchor of Conscience

HC23

Reader responses: Mental health in your lives

HC24

212 Robinson Hall, Hanover N.H. 03755 • (603) 646-2600

Lauren Budd, Issue Editor

Parker Richards, Issue Editor

Nicole Simineri, Issue Opinion Editor Katie McKAY, Editor-in-Chief jessica avitabile, Executive Editor

Justin levine, Publisher luke mcCann, Executive Editor

Laura Weiss, Managing Editor CHARLIE RAFKIN, Managing Editor PRODUCTION EDITORS emily albrecht, Opinion Editor carson hele, Opinion Editor MADDIE BROWN, Mirror Editor MAGGIE SHIELDS, Mirror Editor henry arndt, Sports Editor JOE CLYNE, Sports Editor MAYA PODDAR, Arts Editor amelia rosch, Arts Editor chris leEch, Dartbeat Editor JESSICA ZISCHKE, Dartbeat Editor Kate HErrington, Photography Editor ELIZA MCDONOUGH, Assistant Photography Editor TIFFANY ZHAI, Assistant Photography Editor alex moushey, Multimedia Editor

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

jasmine sachar, Managing Editor BUSINESS DIRECTORS JASMINE XU, Finance & Strategy Director AMY CHANG, Finance & Strategy Director hayden karp-hecker, Advertising Director Addison Lee, Advertising Director Andrew Zhu, Operations & Marketing Director katherine healy, Design Director ALISON GUH, Design Director Robert Neuhaus, Technology Director

ISSUE

TEMPLATING EDITOR: Brendan Scheutze.

SUBMISSIONS: We welcome letters and guest columns. All submissions must include the author’s name and affiliation with Dartmouth College, and should not exceed 250 words for letters or 700 words for columns. The Dartmouth reserves the right to edit all material before publication. All material submitted becomes property of The Dartmouth. Please email submissions to editor@thedartmouth.com.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

PAGE HC 3

HOMECOMING 2015

Under greater stress, some athletes fight to stabilize mental health B y Gayne Kalustian The Dartmouth Staff

After enough swings, a baseball bat becomes an extension of the clean-up hitter’s arm. Skates define the way a defenseman relates to winter. Jerseys become identities franchise players wear day and night. The game the athlete plays becomes a fundamental part of who he is, and in many cases, that’s a good thing.

Sports can teach teamwork and discipline while fostering a strong work ethic. But the pressure to constantly perform, to win and to be in peak physical and mental shape, can make the inseparability of athletic life from social and academic life cause for additional stress for an athlete — particularly one pursuing an Ivy League education. For an athlete struggling with mental health issues, it can make the balance impossible. Because for all the good things sports can give, they can take just as much.

Sports can determine what the athlete eats for breakfast, what she pursues as her major, whether or not he affiliates with a Greek organization, what time she wakes up in the morning, the amount of time he has to study for midterms, the amount of time she spends relaxing or, more appropriately, all the time she cannot afford to spend at

rest. And most disturbingly, the culture in sports — demanding toughness in the face of adversity, focus amidst the chaos — can cause athletes to keep injuries and illnesses — mental or otherwise — to themselves.

“It is tough to talk to people about it. Some teammates are more receptive than others. It is hard because you don’t want to burden people with your problems,” Will Young ’17, a former heavyweight rower at the College, said after leaving the team at the end of this past summer.

Young, who struggled with depression on and off before coming to Dartmouth, fell into the same revolving cycle that many athletes face. His depression was triggered by stressful events in his life, causing his athletic performance to drop and, in turn, causing his depression to worsen and his athletic performance to worsen. Medication, he said, only numbed his experience, forcing him to go through the motions on the team without really enjoying what he was doing. He spoke to his head coach, who he said was understanding, but Young still felt alone.

“I always thought that everyone else was happier than I was with what was going on. But it’s hard to tell. Because again people don’t really tend to speak about it,” Young said.

While for some, like Young, the

relationship between mental and physical health starts in the mind, for others, deteriorating physical health can be the catalyst for a wide array of mental health issues. Issa Sylla ’17, a recruited rugby player who had his eyes on the College since his sophomore year of high school, accepted admission into the College with Olympic rugby aspirations. The summer before matriculation, Sylla underwent a hip surgery that ended his fall season after fighting through injuries on his high school rugby team.

After that, the injuries just kept coming. His freshman fall he underwent a second hip surgery before splitting his knee open his freshman summer, losing both his freshman spring season and sophomore fall season. Sylla returned home for winter break, where he and a friend spent time looking over the articles posted about each other in anticipation for the start of their college careers. The pair stumbled upon an article with interviews from the Dartmouth rugby coaches, speaking about their anticipation for the arrival of the recruits — Sylla and teammate Dawit Workie ’17.

“I just started crying,” Sylla said. “I started bawling. I felt so, so bad. I felt like a huge letdown. All these standards to hold up. I felt like the coaches had wasted all their time with me. I felt terrible.”

TIFFANY ZHAI/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Athletes, who train at Floren Gymnasium, are often under additional stress.

To compensate, Sylla came back to campus with a revitalized sense of purpose, striving to get back into the shape he was in when Dartmouth originally expressed interest. Putting his body under the stress of a rigorous workout plan after a long stretch of injuries, Sylla herniated a disc in his lower back, effectively ending his hopes at competing for a spot on the team in the upcoming spring. The defeat he felt after almost two years of non-competition, he said, came from many sources, including the feeling of not meeting the expectations set for him by his high school coaches,

his home community, his college coaches and himself. But beyond that, losing the part of himself that had for so long determined who he was made him question who he would be going forward.

“I don’t know what to do. I can’t just be a student. I can’t not play rugby.

I can’t not be an athlete,” Sylla said.

“Even when I’m in the gym after I go back [following an injury] and I see people doing something I was able to do before my injury, I just think I’ll SEE ATHLETES PAGE HC 19

HOMECOMING 2015

PAGE HC 4

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

Under stress, students turn to Adderall for academic, social help B y SAVANNAH MAHER The Dartmouth

Halfway through fall 2015, Connie ’18 was immersed in her first exam period at Dartmouth and was finding it difficult to live up to her own academic standards.

Like many of her classmates, Connie had never had to struggle in high school — her schoolwork had come easily to her.

“I just never had to work very hard to do well,” she said.

Connie — and other students interviewed for this story — have had their names changed to protect their anonymity.

But after pulling two consecutive all-nighters cramming for a chemistry exam, intellect alone could not get Connie through an eight-page research paper. Bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived, Connie was thinking about calling it a night and turning in her first college essay a day late when a friend offered her some help in the form of a little orange pill.

“I had never tried [Adderall], but lots of my friends had,” she said. “It wasn’t a big deal — I just figured I’d try it if it could help.”

In the year since she first used prescription stimulants without a prescription, Connie says she has used Adderall “sporadically” when

she needs extra help staying awake and focusing on academic work.

Situations like Connie’s are not uncommon at the College, counselling and human development director Mark Reed said.

“Dartmouth is incredibly unstructured compared to what most students are used to,” Reed said. “[Students] get here and the caliber of academic work goes up, and suddenly they’re involved in lots activities, so they struggle to organize their time.”

Some students in this position turn to resources at Dick’s House for help, often seeking a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the subsequen prescription for analeptic stimulants meant to treat the disorder.

Reed emphasized that, in these cases, Dick’s House tests for many possible causes of inattentiveness, including anxiety, depression and physical ailments like mononucleosis and anemia in addition to ADHD. But several students expressed that prescriptions for drugs like Adderall are not hard to come by.

“If you want Adderall or Ritalin, you can find a way to get a prescription,” James ’17 said.

James uses Adderall in “binges” throughout each term to improve his academic work, he said.

This sentiment was echoed by

Max ’17, who was able to get an ADHD diagnosis from a psychiatrist after his senior year of high school, but occasionally chooses to buy stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin from friends rather than obtain a prescription for daily use.

Max said that he has never used Adderall more than twice a week during his time at Dartmouth, and that he uses it much less frequently now than he did during his freshman and sophomore years. He regularly relies on coffee, energy drinks, supplements like NeuroFuse and even pure caffeine powder to maintain his latenight study schedule, but will turn to prescription stimulants when he needs to “go into work mode” for extended periods of time.

“I’ll get to a point where I have two or three huge assignments due on a Friday, and I haven’t started anything by Wednesday night, so I’ll just say ‘Okay, I need to just work for two days straight,’” he said.

James said that he uses stimulants after periods of significant procrastination.

“I take it when I’ve fallen behind, so I can be incredibly productive and excited about work for a few days in a way that’s just hard to maintain when you’re sober,” he said.

Both Max and James said that they were able to identify students willing

to sell their prescription pills through “It makes you really excited, so you friends of friends, often within their have a better time going out,” James said. “You’re able to drink more respective Greek houses.

“The Greek system is great for a because your [alcohol] tolerance is lot of things,” James said. “One of incredibly high, plus you’re super those things happens to be buying focused so you’re better at pong.”

Reed confirmed that mixing and selling drugs.”

Reed said that the Dick’s House stimulants with alcohol increases staff is aware that some students tolerance of alcohol, adding that this misuse their prescriptions, but that effect often brings about dangerous results. the issue is “difficult to police.”

“Unfortunately, people with at- “Stimulants keep you from passing tention deficit tend to lose things, out ­— one of the ways your body including their medication,” he said. protects itself against alcohol poison Students often need their prescrip- ing,” he said. “You stay awake to push tion replaced before a scheduled refill your blood alcohol level so high that because it can be lost or misplaced, you would normally stop breathing, but you’ve got the stimulant there, he said.

“Our standard rule is that if a pre- and when that wears off, you’re in a scription is lost, we replace it once,” lot of trouble.”

Abuse of prescription stimuReed said. “The second time, the lants can bring student has the about a number option of either of mental health waiting for their “The Greek system challenges for nor mal refill is great for a lot of students, espedate, or we talk things. One of those cially when stimabout switching ulants are used as him or her on to things happens to be a substitute for a non-stimulant buying and selling sleep, Reed said. medication.”

“It’s Ben ’17, who drugs.” not a good idea received an Adto use stimulants derall prescrip-Anonymous member to try and stay tion in his juawake, whether nior year of high of the class of 2017 it’s for academics school, said that or partying,” he he has never personally abused the drug but has sold said. “At some point you’re going to pay. Your body’s going to have to his pills to friends in the past.

“I get approached a decent catch up.” amount, but only over [sophomore When asked about the negative summer] did it become something effects of taking Adderall, James that people other than my closest described the “crash” that typically friends would ask about,” he said. follows his stimulant use.

“Around finals, it was two to four “You don’t treat your body well people every week asking to buy it when you’re on Adderall. You don’t sleep, you don’t eat very much, and off me.”

Ben said that he generally prefers that catches up to you when the efnot to sell his prescription, but does so fects wear off,” he said. “So it’s like to help out friends who are struggling a hangover, but you’re even more useless [afterward]. Not to mention with their academic workload.

“If I can sustain not taking it for the psychological dependence — you a day or two, I’ll sell it to a friend,” start to feel like you need it.”

Stimulant abuse presents serious he said.

In addition to their function as an consequences for a “few students per academic steroid, students say that term” at Dick’s House, often in the drugs like Adderall and Ritalin are form of psychiatric episodes, Reed often used as party drugs on campus. said. He expects that many students Sarah ’16 said that she and her experience more moderate healthfriends often use prescription stimu- related consequences as a result of stimulant abuse, but do not seek help. lants “casually” before going out.

“I’ll take it if I’m tired or some- Many students expressed a desire thing — just a small amount for that to be less dependent on the drug.

“It’s totally something I wish I extra bump,” she said.

James also reported that recre- didn’t do,” Connie said. “I wish I ational use was common within his could plan and utilize my time better, social circle, although he’s only taken and not have to rely on a pill to make it “once or twice” for non-academic me functional and productive.”

But the now-sophomore does not purposes.

“Instead of taking it as a pill, plan to stop using Adderall any time people will crush it up and snort lines soon.

“It’s super commonplace here. of it,” James said.

Snorting the drug rather than There’s no negative social feedback swallowing it allows the drug to enter for using it,” she said. “And I just the bloodstream faster and makes its think, ‘I’m going to do whatever effects more temporary and intense. works to get things done.’”

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

PAGE HC 5

HOMECOMING 2015

For survivors of sexual assault, mental health resources abound B y Noah Goldstein The Dartmouth Staff

There were 48 reports of rape at locations related to Dartmouth in 2015. With the amount of reports increasing according to the Clery Act data, the College has been improving resources to help survivors of such assaults.

Title IX Coordinator Heather Lindkvist said her office’s job is to make sure that anyone affected by sexual or gender-based harassment will receive support, resources and accommodations.

Under their policy, the reporting person is referred to as a “victimsurvivor,” and the alleged perpetrator is known as “the responder,” she said.

Individuals who report instances of sexual assault or gender-based harassment have access to multiple resources both on campus and in the general community, she said.

On campus, resources include medical services through Dick’s House, Counseling and Human

Development and recently-hired counselor Liz Stahler, who specializes in counseling for survivors of sexual violence. The Tucker Center for Spiritual and Religious life can also provide confidential support.

For faculty and staff, there exists the Faculty and Employee Assistance Program. Off campus, there is the WISE advocacy in crisis center, which will soon bring an advocate to campus later this fall that will be available to anyone in the general community and also offers a new on-campus support group geared toward students.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center also offers medical services, such as SANE examinations, she said.

Deans, community directors and undergraduate advisors also can serve as support systems for students. There are also multiple programs regarding prevention education, such as the Dartmouth Bystander Initiative, she said.

Lindkvist said that the increased

number of sexual assault reports over the last year indicates that students are using the reporting options that are available to them and are seeking support.

The four-year sexual assault prevention education that came as a part of the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” policy initiative will not only teach students about policies and procedures, but also how to have healthy relationships and communication, she said.

Lindkvist said that Greek organizations have also taken a lead in sexual assault prevention with initiatives such as additions to prerush programming.

When asked about what more can be done, Lindkvist said that students can always do more to contribute to a healthy environment.

Lindkvist said that the College will be using the results of the American Association of Universities sexual assault campus climate survey, which revealed that 13 percent of students have experienced

sexual assault in some form, in order to gauge areas where they are doing well and where they can improve.

One area that saw improvement was the amount of students who knew who Lindkvist were familiar with Lindkvist and the nature of her job, she said.

Responding students get access to their own resources, such as Dick’s House psychiatrist Bryant Ford, who offers support to anyone who is accused of perpetrating gender-based harassment and sexual assault.

Lindkvist said that student organizations, such as the Health and Wellness program, are crucial in providing services to students.

“For victim-survivors, having whether it be counseling or other forms of confidential support can facilitate the healing process and allows individuals to reflect on what has happened,” Lindkvist said. “For me, I see the Title IX office as being instrumental in ensuring that all members of our

community can fully participate in the programs and activities that the college offers.”

Stahler said that, as it is confidential, counseling is one of the few places survivors can go to process what is happening while knowing that their privacy will be respected.

Survivors can have traumatic reactions to sexual assault, and counseling is one way to deal with said responses, she said. Counseling provides an environment in which a survivor can feel safe, she said.

Responses to sexual assault can include difficulty with concentration and sleep, nightmares, depression, anxiety, loss of motivation, loss of meaning in life and a loss of a sense of control in your life, she said. Among college students, there can often be an academic impact where students cannot concentrate, complete course work or stay motivated, she said.

Stahler said that, as a counselor, SEE SEXUAL ASSAULT PAGE 19

Barthelmes a key resource for creative mental health care B y Priya Ramaiah The Dartmouth Staff

Caitlin Barthelmes’ office space — tucked away on the third floor of Robinson Hall in the Student Wellness Center — can appear a little mysterious to the casual observer.

Equipped with a massage chair, free health-related goodies and bowls of candy, Barthelmes and the staff at the Student Wellness Center are working to empower students through holistic and preventative wellness processes.

Now the center’s director, Barthelmes came to the College three years ago as alcohol and other drug education coordinator. As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, she decided to focus her time on issues that most interested her such as health promotion.

“Like many Dartmouth students, I had been doing a million things in high school and was burnt out,” she said.

Becoming a peer health educator in college and choosing to deeply engage in the practice helped her discover the world of preventative health and wellness, Barthelmes added.

“The whole philosophy was about supporting my peers in making decisions that were consistent with their values — that’s sort of been a driving force behind my whole career,” she said.

After working in alcohol prevention after college, Barthelmes got her Master’s degree in public health at Brown University and spent time in Boston working for a training institute to put evidence-based health promotion techniques into practice in communi-

ties around the world, from Alaska to Puerto Rico.

While the experience was enriching, Barthelmes said she always knew she wanted to go back to collegiate health.

Getting a job at the College in alcohol and drug education “was like coming full circle,” she said.

Barthelmes cited the high-achieving environment at the College as a key factor in the need to promote student wellness.

“Dartmouth students are smart, passionate and caring about so many things, but with that drive also comes a lot of personal self-pressure,” she said. “Between that pressure and the environment that is set up with our quick-paced terms, I do see students struggling to maintain their optimal selves quite a bit.”

Given these pressures, the role of the Wellness Center is focused on preventative aspects of health, Barthelmes added.

“Rather than waiting until those crisis moments or until things are overwhelming, we want to help students reflect on their lives, keep a temperature on where they are that and implement things earlier so it doesn’t accelerate to that state,” she said.

Barthelmes is a passionate advocate of “motivational interviewing,” a counseling method that works to engage a client’s internal motivation to understand his or her situation and elicit change. The technique is used in training undergraduate advisors as well as wellness peer advisors with the Wellness Center.

“I’ve noticed that it’s hard to connect with people, and not just student to

student,” she said. “Here at Dartmouth we get really caught up in our work, and we have to be really intentional about looking up from our phones and our computers and looking at each other.”

Ying Lin ’16, who underwent motivational interviewing training this term to become a wellness peer advisor, said that Bathelmes’ dedication to her job was apparent. “[Barthelmes] has this incredible seemingly limitless store of positive radiant energy that you can’t help but let infect your own life no matter what type of day, good or bad, you may be having. And it’s not just a show. Even in those rare moments when she admits that her energy levels are not 100 percent, she still shines more brightly than most people I know,” Lin said.

Deidra Nesbeth ’16, student intern at the Wellness Center, echoed Lin’s praises. “[Barthelmes’] strength as a leader of the Student Wellness Center comes from a respect for the individuals she works with and a willingness to try new initiatives,” she said.

Her professional rapport is similarly strong, Nesbeth said.

“She’s aware that she’s not doing this work alone, and in fact, cannot do this work on her own,” Nesbeth said.

“She places value in the contributions of others — both students and full-time staff.”

Her enthusiasm for working with college students stems from the fact that there is so much potential in each one, Barthelmes said.

“If we can catch those moments of distress a little earlier in the spectrum, we can save someone from a lot of

TIFFANY ZHAI/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Caitlin Barthelmes works with students to deal with mental health issues.

trouble and interventions needed down the line,” she said. “Sometimes all it takes is that 15-minute conversation to motivate someone to walk out the door and do one thing different.”

The trickle-down effect of effective prevention is key to promoting student wellness, but the presence of resources such as counseling, Dick’s House and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is what allows the Wellness Center, which sometimes refers students to these resources, to function properly.

“You have to think of these issues across the spectrum — there’s downstream interventions that need to be in place, but sometimes you need to look upstream. If you address the

problem upstream, like with wellness and prevention techniques, you can affect the whole system,” Barthelmes said.

Ultimately, while prevention is a difficult practice, Barthelmes hopes that students will realize that sometimes simple small fixes, from meditation to understanding one’s own individual wellness status, can allow them to reduce the chances that they will end up in an overwhelming crisis state of stress or difficulty.

“Certainly you can only do so much,” she said. “But I think every little bit we do together as a community builds into culture shift, and that is why I do the work I do.”

HOMECOMING 2015 2013 HOMECOMING OPINION

PAGE HC 6

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

Low-income students face unique stress, anxieties in college B y Katie Rafter

The Dartmouth Staff

Cesar Rufino ’18 said that he often tells people he feels like he is living two different lives — one at home in Chicago and one here at Dartmouth.

“I feel like I am finally starting to solidify my spot on this campus, and it’s been hard,” he said.

Rufino, who serves as part of the QuestBridge national ambassador executive board, is attending the College on a full scholarship through the QuestBridge program.

Rufino said that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to feel isolated on campus because they have a more difficult transition to make from life at home to life at school.

Rufino said that coming to the

College was a shock to him, as it is a completely different environment from the city he is from.

“I love the fact that there’s a huge mixture of different kinds of people here,” he said. “There’s not just one perspective, but it’s obviously dominated by a certain socioeconomic background.”

He said this makes life at the College difficult for students from more economically restricted backgrounds, because they are not used to certain aspects of their friends’ lives.

Rufino said that while he believes it is common for students to seek out people from similar backgrounds to their own, he has used Dartmouth as an opportunity to meet different people and step out of his comfort zone.

“I do know that some kids like to keep those that are similar to them

closer, but it can be something that limits your own perspective,” he said.

First Year Student Enrichment Program director Jay Davis said students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds can be susceptible to feelings of anxiety and isolation on campus.

“There are definitely some sources of anxiety that can be tied to socioeconomic status, and particularly to financial issues at home,” he said.

He said there are many students on campus who send money home from their campus jobs and have to worry about financial strain as well as financial issues.

It is common for students to seek out those with a similar background to them, but a student’s financial background is not always apparent, he said.

“I think when students learn that

they are from similar backgrounds financially, particularly if they are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, it can be a huge source of support,” Davis said.

Programs like FYSEP provide an important sense of community, made up of people who understand and are eager to help students, Davis said.

Rafael Nunez ’18, who is himself a QuestBridge scholar, said that the College provides funds to students to give them the opportunity to take advantage of what is offered here, such as Dartmouth Outing Club Trips and going abroad.

He said that while the College provides this aid, the fact that students grew up with different socioeconomic backgrounds causes a divide.

“Coming to Dartmouth and mixing

with people who had a lot of money growing up is different, and the way we interact is different,” he said.

Josefina Ruiz ’17, who is also a QuestBridge scholar, said that because students on campus predominantly come from privileged backgrounds, it is more likely that students from lower economic backgrounds will feel a sense of isolation and feel that they do not belong.

She said that, in her experience, students are often drawn to others from similar backgrounds, although there are some exceptions.

“If two people are very open and frank about where they come from, I think that friendships are established amongst them, and they support each SEE SOCIOECONOMIC PAGE HC 16

KATE HERRINGTON/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Jay Davis, First-Year Student Enrichment Program director, works with firstgeneration college students to help them adjust to Dartmouth.

game set mat clothing, sneakers, and accessories for your active lifestyle 15 South Main Street open 7 days a week

Hanover 603 277 9763 www.gamesetmat.com

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

PAGE HC 7

HOMECOMING 2015

Eating disorders increase in severity, impact a wide variety of students B y Erin Lee

The Dartmouth Staff

In the last few years, the eating disorder cases treated by Dartmouth’s health services have increased in severity, College nutritionist and sports dietitian Claudette Peck said.

Eating disorders are one of the five most common issues the Counseling and Health Center sees, along with depression and anxiety, staff psychologist Nicole Hill said.

An increasing number of students are struggling with body image concerns during their time at the College, in addition to the freshmen who enter the College with histories of eating disorders, Hill said.

Peck said she believes part of the problem is a campus-wide lack of awareness, so students are reluctant to intervene when their peers might be having a dietary issue. As a result, the illness becomes more severe before the individual seeks help, she said.

The eating disorder consultation team manages about 20 to 30 students of concern who are actively seeking services at any given time, Peck said.

She added that it is hard to give an exact number of Dartmouth students with eating disorders because there are some less severe cases not at the level of the consultation team, as well as many others who are not currently seeking help.

Two common signs are a preoccupation with weight, body shape, food or exercise and a desire to control behavior, Peck said. Physical appearance could be of concern, but is not necessarily an obvious indicator, she noted.

An eating disorder can serve as a coping strategy to gain a degree of control over an aspect of one’s life, Peck said. Perfectionism and anxiety can also contribute to the incidence of eating disorders, she added.

“There are genetic pieces that link certain types of character and temperament,” Peck said. “When you think about high-functioning college students, like those in the Ivy League and at a high level of education, they might fall prey to that type of disorder.”

Peck said that for some students, college is the first time theys have the freedom to choose what to eat, when to exercise and how to manage their own lives.

“A change in independence can certainly influence behavior,” Peck said.

A female member of the Class of 2018, who requested anonymity due to the personal nature of her story, said she has been in recovery from an eating disorder for two years. Her eating disorder mainly affected her during her junior year of high school due to stress both at school and at home, she said.

She said that she was in therapy the whole year, though what helped her

most was developing a love of running the following summer.

“I felt strong about what my body could do,” she said. “During a race, I just had an epiphany of joy.”

Since she has been at the College, she said she has felt more confident in herself because she sees many people around her who are comfortable with themselves, regardless of their body type. Nevertheless, her weight has continued to be a source of stress as she tracks its fluctuations, she said.

“I don’t know how to eat like a normal person — I only know how to monitor everything I eat,” she said.

“I think about food more than most people, but it’s definitely been more normal since I’ve gotten here.”

Peck said there are three distinct types of common eating disorders — anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder — as well as a new disorder called avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, or ARFID. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, anorexia nervosa is characterized by excessive weight loss and self-starvation. Bulimia nervosa involves a cycle of binge eating and compensating behaviors, such as self-induced vomiting, while binge eating disorder involves recurrent episodes of binge eating without compensation afterwards.

ARFID was identified by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013 and involves an avoidance of certain foods that expands until the person’s diet no longer provides them with adequate calories or nutrition.

The students who struggle with eating disorders at the College are overwhelmingly female, though there are increasing numbers of male students seeking treatment as well, Hill said.

Peck said there is no doubt that men struggle with eating disorders, though they are often more reluctant to seek help because of a cultural view that eating disorders mostly affect women.

For athletes, their sport could be a protective mechanism that helps them embrace the physicality of their body, but it could also make them more susceptible to ideals of being lighter or thinner to enhance performance, Peck said.

Assistant director of peak performance Donnie Brooks said for sports where athletes need to reach a certain weight, such as crew, the focus is on making sure students can make that weight safely.

Strength and Condition coach Bob Miller said he takes the body weight of his athletes every week to monitor any drastic fluctuations. He added that coaches, athletes and dietitians work together to come up with individualized weight plans.

Hill said long-distance athletes, such as cross country runners, Nordic skiers and lightweight rowers, tend to be more vulnerable to overtraining or

low body weight.

Peck works with athletes and teams to help them outline dietary plans, identify nutritious options at the Class of 1953 Commons and prepare healthy meals with groceries from local stores, Brooks said.

Heavyweight coxswain Greg Zales ’17 said that many rowers, himself included, do not find it easy to meet their target weights. He said he eats healthier and exercises more during the season, especially close to race day.

He noted that there are a lot of on-campus dining options, but it is difficult to control portions and find low sodium foods.

Crew team member Caroline Allan ’16 said she has been eating much healthier since she began rowing.

The team does not emphasize being a certain weight and instead focuses on being healthy, she said.

“I don’t worry about restrictions, though other people on the team do think about it sometimes,” she said.

“In general, being on an athletic team has probably helped my relationship with food and eating.”

For those struggling with eating disorders, the eating disorder consultation team takes a three-pronged approach — medical, nutritional and therapeutic, Peck said. Aside from physical recovery, the team helps patients dissect the triggers for their

SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH

Athletes on teams requiring weigh-ins, like crew, are susceptible to eating disorders.

disorders and helps them find more productive coping strategies, she said.

Wellness program coordinator Maria Sperduto ’14 said programs at the Student Wellness Center focus on prevention by encouraging students to look after themselves holistically by taking care of their physical health in conjunction with other dimensions of well-being. The Wellness Center is also able to help refer students to other resources on campus, she said.

Hill said she believes people are aware of what eating disorders might look light, but cultural body type standards lead to admiration of weight loss

and dieting.

“It’s harder for people to think of it as a problem,” she said.

The female ’18 who has recovered from an eating disorder said she went to a V-February event last winter where students talked about eating disorders and other mental health issues and had an inspiring conversation with a woman on the panel.

“She made me feel less alone, she was so open about it,” she said. “I’m trying to be more open. So many people have these feelings of feeling worthless, and no one wants to talk about it because of the stigma.”

HOMECOMING 2015

PAGE HC 8

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

Cultural clashes hinder minority students’ search for support B y Annie Ma

The Dartmouth Staff

What happens when a diagnosis does not provide clarity moving forward? For Junaid Yakubu ’6, learning that he had obsessive-compulsive disorder coupled with depression during his freshman winter only led to more questions. Though a clinician explained the details of treatment, stress and anxiety management, Yukubu was left with the dilemma of explaining what he was going through to family back home.

“Depression is something that’s at least understood in Ghana, but the OCD was the hard part,” Yakubu said. “I communicate so much with my mom, and I couldn’t with this.

She understood the depression and it helped that we talked about it, but any mention of OCD would probably trigger a response of, ‘Let’s go get some prayers for you.’”

Among students of color, cultural understanding is one of many in the unique set of barriers to seeking services for managing mental health.

Though no observable discrepancy exists in the rates at which minority students seek mental health treatment at the College, students’ understanding of mental health remains shaped by their culture and upbringing.

Bryant Ford, a clinician at counseling and human development at Dick’s House, noted that students tend to utilize counseling resources at rates corresponding with their representation on campus.

A survey conducted by The Dartmouth generally supported Ford’s statement despite some variation in certain groups. Among 515 survey respondents who marked their race, 66 percent were white, 4.8 percent black, 3.7 percent Hispanic/Latino, 14 percent Asian/Asian-American, 1.7 percent Native American and 8.5 percent multi-racial. Accordingly, of those who sought counseling at Dick’s House, 64.9 percent identified as white, 8.6 percent black, 3.9 percent Hispanic/Latino, 9.2 Asian/ Asian-American, 2.6 percent Native American and 10.6 percent multiracial.

Still, Ford emphasized that coming from a cultural background where discussion and understanding of mental health are not common can lead to misconceptions.

“When we start to look at the health-seeking practices of students of color, they sometimes look very different than from some of their white peers and counterparts,” Ford said. “Part of that is because there’s a negative connotation associated

with mental illness. I think historically, sometimes health in general has created this, like some of the experiments that were done in the past which misled people to being mistrustful of seeking services.”

Unlike physical wellness and annual check-ups, it is rare for mental health to be screened regularly. As a result, access to treatment is dependent on the patient’s initiative, which can be difficult when there are language limitations, Ford said. He added that in some cultures, there are no words to describe conditions like anxiety or depression, which further makes these experiences seem invisible or illegitimate.

Arlene Velez, who also works at counseling and human development as a clinician, said that students more frequently come to Dick’s House for the somatic symptoms that emerge from mental health issues.

When a student arrives at the clinic for an appointment, they are asked two questions on the back of their sign-in slip: how many hours of sleep they get per night and how many drinks they consume in each sitting. Velez said the questions are part of a basic depression screening used across the country.

The questions allow primary care providers to ask follow-up questions about a patient’s well-being based on

their answers, often creating an opportunity to transition to discussions on mental health.

“Most students of color tend to reach out to medical providers for the somaticized symptoms of depression or anxiety instead of coming directly to us,” Velez said. “So from those questions, health care providers can possibly refer them to us or just open the door on really looking at one’s mental health.”

Yakubu said that when an illness is not physical, it is harder to find sympathy and understanding from friends. While an amputated leg or other injury can be seen and experienced by an observer, he said that frequently mental health was only felt internally. On the outside, observers only see mental illness when it manifests in behavior. Unfortunately, Yakubu added, individuals are often seen as responsible for controlling their behavior even if there are underlying factors.

“People can be so judgmental of behavior,” Yakubu said. “Compared to physical illness, or if you explain headache to family, they understand because they’ve been through it. But you try to explain OCD, and it’s hard to understand if you haven’t experienced it.”

Amara Ihionu ’17 grew up in a

Nigerian-American family, where mental health was not openly discussed or acknowledged. She said that while something like non-verbal autism would be recognized as a special-needs condition, other conditions where an individual appears “functional” are not thought of as real illnesses.

“In Nigerian Igbo culture, we don’t talk about it,” Ihionu said. “If you’re relatively able to function, you’re told to snap out of it. It’s seen as a attitude problem, as under your control. It’s a thought of as a conscious effort you can make to fix yourself.”

Ihionu also said that family structure was a factor that shaped the conversation surrounding seeking a clinician, psychiatrist or therapist. In a family-centric culture, she said that parents and elders often question why their children would find it necessary to speak to a stranger about their personal struggles.

“There’s the idea of keeping it in the family, but sometimes your family can’t understand it,” Ihionu said.

“Depression doesn’t need a reason, and if your parents don’t get that and you can’t talk to a clinician then the inability to have your feelings validated will only make the symptoms worse.”

Despite these gaps, Ford and Velez SEE RACE PAGE HC17

JESSICA AVITABILE/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

While you have been at Dartmouth, have you ever felt hopeless, despondent, uninterested in activities you typically enjoy or lethargic for an extended period of time?

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

HOMECOMING 2015

PAGE HC 9

HOMECOMING 2015

PAGE HC 10

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

STAFF COLUMNIST Will Alston ’16

Guest Columnist Jared Boyce ’16

Don’t Be a Victim

“Disease” Versus “Disorder”

Define yourself not by your struggles but by your successes.

A change in nomenclature could reduce the stigma surrounding mental health

It goes without saying that mental health instead encourage a race to the bottom by at the College is an extremely important and which people define themselves by how multifaceted issue. Simply put, it seems safe many wrongs they have suffered. Like to assume that almost everyone on campus sociologists Bradley Campbell and Jason has a mental health issue to some degree or Manning explored in their recent paper, another. This is, of course, natural — the “Where Microaggressions Really Come College is an environment of high-octane From,” this species of victimhood leads to academic performance a general atmosphere of where almost everyone hostility and suspicion “Playing the part of is a high achiever, so it as well as a decline in is extremely easy to feel the victim doesn’t self-reliance. burnt out, inadequate help you much, either.

For similar reaor unappreciated in sons, playing the part of the mix of all of this. Even if you can get victim doesn’t help you Only within the past somewhere by relying much, either. Even if you year have I thought that can get somewhere by on the sympathy of I’ve grasped any sort of relying on the sympathy truly effective solution to others, it is an attitude of others, it is an attitude my own mental health that does not lend that does not lend itself issues, let alone those well to pushing yourself of other people. It is itself well to pushing toward accomplishment not a panacea by any yourself towards — rather, it lends itself means, but it has been to a chronic inability immeasurably helpful accomplishment.” to move on from past in bringing me a sense difficulties and disapof confidence and wellpointments and push being. past perceived personal inadequacies, as My problem was feeling like I was a it did in my case. If you define yourself victim. For the longest time, I felt and even — including to others — by what keeps sometimes acted like I was owed something you down, then it is only natural that you for what I had been through in my life, will feel and act kept down forever, since which, although admittedly privileged in a at that point it is a matter of preserving number of ways, has felt extremely person- your own identity. ally difficult for as long as I can remember. Now after three years of trials, troubles, I realized, though, that this is not just a tribulations and triumphs at Dartmouth, self-defeating attitude that will never get this is what I have to say: don’t let yourme anywhere, but that it is harmful socially self be defined by resentment of the ciras well — not just to an cumstances the world individual, since it is has dealt you. Instead, “My problem was a confidence-draining define yourself by how outlook to have, but also feeling like I was a you overcome them, and to groups, since it brings victim. For the longest resent what prevents you out the worst in people from doing so. You have time, I felt and even rather than the best. struggles, but so does ev At a place like Dart- sometimes acted like I eryone else. Remember mouth, it is important you are not alone was owed something for that to realize and respect and that you have blessthat almost everyone on what I had been through ings which you should campus has struggles of in my life, which, count every day. their own as well as very

Fo r s t a r t e r s, possibly mental health although admittedly you are a student at issues. You are never privileged in a number one of the world’s finest alone in having struggles institutions of educaof ways, has felt getting through the day tion. Out there — on — it is just that most extremely personally the Green, in Kemeny people bury signs of difficult for as long as I Hall, in the Hopkins their struggles beneath Center and in the Life a façade of some kind, can remember.”

Sciences Center — is be it a cheerful smile or an exhilarating world of a stoic look as they plow friendship and discovery through their class readings. Your struggles to experience. Think about this and define may be great, but more likely than not, your yourself by how you seize upon these things friends are dealing with something, too. and stride past your struggles, and many Trying to gain sympathy from others problems will seem to fade away easily. by presenting yourself as a victim of sad True, attitude adjustments cannot cure circumstances and injustices brings these everything — there are some heartbreaks struggles out into the open — which, yes, and horrors that even the most rigorous can be a good thing. But instead of foster- positive thinking simply cannot erase — ing a productive discussion about the dif- but it’s a good start to breaking past the ficulties of various aspects of the human barriers of self-defeat and being the winner existence, all too often claims of victimhood you were always meant to be.

Around 400 B.C., the Greek physician have argued that the lack of a biological Hippocrates treated the mentally ill as not diagnostic method poses some difficulty in having a disorder, but a disease. Though regarding mental illness as a disease. Dr. mental illnesses plagued humanity well Insel has stated that, “Unlike our definibefore diagnosis and record-keeping, their tions of ischemic heart disease, lymphoma stigma may be rooted in the misconception or AIDS, [diagnoses of mental illness] are that symptoms and behaviors are a matter based on consensus about clusters of cliniof one’s choosing. This misconception cal symptoms, not any objective laboratory colors the manner in which patients with measure.” In effect, health professionals psychiatric illnesses are treated. For centu- diagnose mental illness using a standardries, many afflicted patients have come to ized, yet subjective, checklist-like assessment be categorized as having mental disorders known as the Diagnostic and Statistical rather than medical diseases — a difference Manual of Mental Disorders. Yet DSM that may greatly influence the stigma these reliance for diagnosis should not nullify patients face in the general population as biological considerations. Numerous adwell by some medical vances in neuroscience, practitioners. including the use of The key terms here “A disorder is a functional Magnetic are “disorder” and “dis- disturbance that affects Resonance Imaging and ease.” While most people Western-blotting, have use these terms inter- the functioning of mind contributed to scientists’ changeably, there is a or body, more akin to understanding of the significant difference in neurobiology underlydisorderly behavior or connotation. A disorder ing mental disorders. is a disturbance that af- behaviors related to Though much is still fects the functioning of emotional instability. unknown about the mind or body, more akin biological under pinto disorderly behavior A disease, on the nings of mental illness or behaviors related to other hand, is more and the functioning of emotional instability. brain in general, appropriately described the A disease, on the most health professionother hand, is more ap- as a pathological als know enough to propriately described as condition of an organ, recognize the biological a pathological condimechanisms that can untion of an organ, body body part or organ derscore mental disease. part or organ system system with biological

So what’s in with biological origins a name? Simply put, origins that impairs the nomenclature matters that impairs the normal functioning of that normal functioning of — especially in the system and is reflected that system.” mental health arena, by related symptoms. where stigma is prevaIn short, “disease” suglent, effective treatment gests a biological origin options remain scarce while disorders do not, and to use the two and the biological basis of the disease is interchangeably can result in massive inac- often overlooked. Public misconceptions curacies. “Disorder” also often connotes that often affect a lack of empathy for sufferers, mental illnesses are subject to a patient’s own who are believed to be able to control their will, closing the door on possible biological diseases. abnormalities that may be causal agents.

Change in public perception will only When asked, many scientists, non- come when the scientific and medical comscientists and physicians alike tend to agree munities recognize their role in changing that the stigmatization of mental illness still perception through improved education remains a problem today and often deters and awareness about biological factors patients from seeking out proper treatment that can give root to mental diseases. This options. The scientific community today is may have already begun with the National far more aware that mental illnesses often Institutes of Mental Health’s recent launch have neurobiological origins, so why is de- of the Research Domain Criteria project, pression still referred to as a “mood disorder” which aims to transform the diagnosis of rather than a “mood disease”? Similarly, mental illnesses by incorporating genetics, why are people who struggle with addiction imaging, cognitive science and other levels referred to as suffering from an “addiction of information. In this way, recognition disorder” rather than an “addiction dis- of mental ailments as medical diseases is ease”? This seemingly minor difference in an important step to removing the stigma nomenclature creates a major difference in surrounding mental health and to ensuring the perception of mental illnesses and ad- that people with mental health issues get the dictions in comparison to physical diseases, treatment and support they need. perpetuates stigma and possibly deters some Jared Boyce is a neuroscience major and patients from seeking help. has done research internships at Karolinska Many medical professionals — including Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, at Mt. Sinai former Director of the National Institute Hospital in New York and at Dartmouthof Mental Health, Dr. Thomas Insel — Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

PAGE HC 11

HOMECOMING 2015

Guest Columnist Amarachi Ihionu ’17

Guest Columnist Frank Cunningham ’16

All in Your Head

Behind the Mask

Accessibility to mental health resources is key in addressing this serious issue.

It is the responsibility of our community to unite for collective mental well-being.

It is 7:45 on an overcast Monday morning. with Counseling and Human Development I know this only because my alarm is blaring, at Dick’s House — but, unfortunately, I know reminding me that I have the misfortune of many who have not. Truthfully, I do believe that having to once again wake 10 sessions per academic up and drag myself out year with a CHD counselor of bed — though it only “Maintaining focus makes sense only in the seems unfortunate if your while being engaged in context of short-term crisis thought processes, like Otherwise, academic work is a bit management. mine, are dominated by it is absurd. Of course, mental illnesses, namely like trying to grasp a limited staff members can depression and generalized wet bar of soap.” only do so much to acanxiety disorder. What is commodate the potential fortunate, however, is that mental health needs of over I received both diagnoses before coming to the 6,000 students, which is why students who need College. Despite this, I was still unprepared for long-term therapy are referred to providers in the amount of effort it would take to get out of the community. bed some days. Maintaining focus while being Though this seems all well and good, most engaged in academic work is a bit like trying to providers in the Hanover area either do not grasp a wet bar of soap. I take insurance or take only could lock myself in the specific insurance plans sixth level stacks — no hu- “Limited staff that I do not have. Another man contact, no phone, no members can only issue that arises for students internet — and still manage who have to seek resources do so much to to waste hours being unprooutside of the College is ductive — and I definitely accomodate the proximity. If you have acdid not expect the Hanover potential mental cess to a car, then you also winters to take my depreshave access to an expanded health needs of sive episodes to new lows. range of providers in the Admittedly, the most in- over 6,000 students, surrounding area beyond teresting part of my mental Hanover. If not, then illnesses is how well they which is why students you are confined to those complement each other. who need long-term within walking distance.

Depression drains my therapy are referred Even if you can use public motivation to do my assigntransportation, Advance ments and other tasks while to providers in the Transit has limited routes, anxiety makes sure that I’m community.” limited hours and does not constantly thinking about operate on weekends. everything I am failing to A d d i t i o n a l l y, do and how it will eventually jeopardize my within the reduced pool of providers from which post-graduate opportunities. Both also sabotage to choose, you are less likely to find someone my social life and relationships. Having major with whom you feel comfortable. As I know social anxiety means planning my meal times from personal experience, the therapist-client to avoid crowds and panicking internally when dynamic is incredibly important and determines walking alone between how effective therapy will classes. On the brighter “Rather than focusing be. What happens if I canside, my mental illnesses not find someone who will also mean embracing my on academic rigor... validate my identity and studio art minor because it perhaps College the way it interacts with means locking myself away my lived experiences and President Phil Hanlon from people and listening to mental illnesses? my favorite music as I paint and other senior

With the Colfor hours on end. lege’s recent emphasis on administrators Existing with mental promoting student wellillnesses at Dartmouth is should consider the ness, I would certainly hope hard. Existing as a queer, intersections of mental they are doing more than black woman at Dartservice to an issue that afhealth and academics.” lip mouth College is even fects so many undergraduharder. To this day, even as ates. Rather than focusing a junior, I still cannot shake on academic rigor — as if doubts about whether I students are not already belong at this predominantly white Ivy League dedicating the majority of their time, effort and institution. Moreover, as a self-identified asexual motivation toward their academic pursuits — aromantic, I am almost always thinking about perhaps College President Phil Hanlon and how compulsory sexuality and amatonormativ- other senior administrators should consider the ity — or the false idea that everyone experiences intersections of mental health and academics romantic attraction — constantly demean and and how the College can be more accommodeny my existence. This combined with my dating for students with chronic mental health mental illnesses mean that I am no stranger to issues. the process of seeking resources, including talk Mental health is not just a personal issue — it therapy and medication. is a campus issue, and Dartmouth needs to do I am lucky to have had decent experiences a better job of addressing it.

I remember the smile. I remember how In diverting our friends’ questions away draining it was trying to appear happy when from the truth with false answers, we avoid it felt like there was nothing but pain and the essential question that we must ask sorrow on the inside. When asked how I ourselves: do I need help? It’s possible was doing, I would say I was fine, reply to run from answering that by burying simply with “nothing” ourselves in work, overwhen a friend asked committing ourselves what was wrong. With “The nature of being a to extracurriculars or each false word, I felt student at the College drinking to a point myself recede further where we no longer can into the darkness. There is a demanding one, hear our own thoughts. were days when I looked a system that drives a At every def lection, in the mirror, unable to is again a mask constant pressure not there recognize the person that overshadows our staring back at me. But to simply get by, but to true feelings, and each even when I felt like I was perform, to excel and time we avoid the truth it losing a grasp on who I becomes more a part of was, who that person to achieve.” who we are. Eventually, looking back from the the time comes when it mirror was, I was even is increasingly difficult more afraid of what the reality would be to tell yourself that everything is okay, to if I took off the mask and finally opened continue to think it is a sign of weakness up to myself and my friends about my to seek help, to hide behind our mask. For struggles. it is not until we are honest with ourselves Mental health is arguably one of the most that we can be honest with others. It was critical issues facing not until I opened up to college students today. “We must challenge my friends that I realized More so than any other that I had the support issue, mental health has ourselves to group the enabled to the potential to intersect overcome our now take off my mask. all aspects of a student’s

As a commuexperience, impacting dissimilarities to lend nity, we must never our lives both at home one another a helping forget to be there in and on campus, with hand. We need to times of need for our our friends and in the classmates. Although classroom. The nature commit to being we may share different of being a student at the there, to actively beliefs, backgrounds or College is a demanding future endeavors, we one, a system that drives listen, to support depend on each other as a constant pressure not each other.” a support system. When to simply get by, but to we chose to come here, perform, to excel and to we assumed a responsiachieve. Even more, we are pressured to bility to be a supportive member of our be — or at least appear — happy. Happi- community. We owe it to each other to ness is, however, a privilege not everyone create an environment where students no can experience. For some, finding genuine longer have to hide behind a mask, where happiness is an aspiration that requires we can be open with one another. We should considerable effort. For others, faking a strive to foster a community in which we smile becomes part of can lean and be leaned the morning routine. on.

“There is often an There is often an

From my expeanxiety that comes with anxiety that comes rience I’ve learned that it common daily interac- with common daily only takes the extension tions, for you may worry of a caring hand to pick interactions, for that someone will see someone up who has past the smile and catch you may worry that seen their darkest days. a glimpse of your unvar- someone will see We must challenge ournished, vulnerable self. selves to overcome our With this come ques- past the smile and dissimilarities to lend tions: “How are you?” catch a glimpse of one another a helping “Are you okay?” “What’s hand. We need to comyour unvarnished, going on?” These situmit to being there, to acations often confront vulernable self.” tively listen, to support one with the decision to each other. For it is not either explain or deflect. only the responsibility of Rather than divulging the truth, that you Dick’s House to ensure our mental wellmight not be okay or that you feel like you being. It is on the students, the faculty and cannot keep it together anymore, it can be the administration to be there for those in easy to avoid the honest answer and instead time of need. deflect using the go to: “I’m just tired,” or Cunningham is the Student Assembly president.

“I have an exam.”

HOMECOMING 2015

PAGE HC 12

Behind the façade Helping, hurting and healing B y Caroline Berens and Kelsey Flower The Dartmouth Staff A cursory glance around any area on campus — Baker Lobby, Collis’s pasta line, the Green ­— will reveal an idyllic, picturesque scene. Smiling, chatty students eagerly discuss weekend plans and love life drama or offhandedly joke about how unprepared they are for an upcoming midterm, but deeper anxieties or troubles are rarely revealed. You may never know that the put-together, confident girl describing her busy social calendar over King Arthur Flower had trouble getting out of bed this morning.

Mental health is undoubtedly a stigmatized issue on campus, but students from a diverse array of activities that span the campus landscape are beginning to speak out about their personal experiences with mental wellness and use their roles in their organizations to impact the way mental health is discussed and treated at the College.

The Dartmouth conducted a survey examining the state of mental health on campus, to which 517 students responded. Of these students, 155 were male, 356 were female and six identified as other or gender non-conforming.

The survey revealed that 30 percent believe that between 41 percent and 60 percent of students have suffered from anxiety while at the College, while 42 percent of respondents said they believed that between 21 percent and 40 percent of students have suffered from feelings of depression or hopelessness.

Sixty-four percent of respondents said they had experienced depression, hopelessness or disinterest in activities in the past month either some days or rarely. Approximately 17 percent of students said they had experienced such feelings half the time, most days or every day.

Sixty-two percent of students reported that they have experienced persistent, seemingly uncontrollable or overwhelming anxiety since coming to the College at least once. Over one third of respondents said they had never experienced this.

The data indicate that students underestimated the prevalence of anxiety and depression on campus.

There are several different ways that mental health is being addressed on campus currently, ranging from preventative care to treatment and from clinical to student run.

The Student Wellness Center, for example, looks at wellness from a holistic perspective, Student Wellness Center director Caitlin Barthelmes said.

“Our mission is to empower students to thrive,” Barthelmes said.

The Wellness Center achieves this by examining the framework of seven different roots of wellbeing: intellectual, physical, social, emotional, spiritual, environmental and financial wellness.

The center encourages each student to look at themselves as “whole beings” who experience all seven, Barthelmes said.

“We help students reflect on those roots and recognize that at some points some roots will be strong, others not so much,” Barthelmes said.

She said that many of the Center’s programs take a “preventative” lens, preemptively helping students to strengthen these roots before they

reach high levels of stress.

“It’s more about upstream recognition of early signs,” Barthelmes said.

The Center subsequently encourages healthy coping mechanisms or ways to help students return to their normal state of mind when anxiety levels increase.

Flagship preventative programs include the Dartmouth Bystander Initiative, which focuses on violence prevention; Refresh, a sleep intervention program; and BASICS Alcohol Screening, which is secondary prevention for high-risk drinking that students can access through self-referral, a dean or an alcohol incident.

Peer supporters plan on launching a program that invites students to come, check in about wellness and have an informal discussion any given Saturday morning.

Thriving@Dartmouth is a more holistic wellness program, which includes a physical education class that focuses on mindfulness and doing things with intention, Barthelmes said.

The Wellness Center is also partnering with Dick’s House Counseling and Human Development to launch a “Relaxation Fest” this November, she said, and will host a “recharge retreat” that will span a few days over winterim.

Ultimately, Barthelmes said if students are noting things about their mental health or life balance that feel off, they should come in and have a wellness check-in with staff. She said that the center uses “reflective conversations” to “learn what they can to do help” and “tap into themselves to come up with change,” in addition to be able to suggest prevention programs or other resources on campus like counseling or the financial aid office.

Other services that the center offers include SAD lamps, a massage chair, reflection journals and comfort dogs in the office two days a week that students can play with or take on walks.

“This is our first year of being a student wellness center,” Barthelmes said. “We are really excited to interact with students and help them prevent stress from building up.”

Mental health discussion and advocacy are approached from a student perspective through student groups like Active Minds, Active Minds president Jake Donehey ’17 said.

“Our goal is to increase discussion and dialogue in hopes of decreasing stigma,” Donehey said. “If we make it more apparent and okay to have a mental disorder or wellness problem, more people will be comfortable getting the services they need.”

Donehey said that while there are no requirements to be a part of Active Minds, club attendees tend to be interested in neuroscience or psychology. He said he considers people’s own mental health experiences “less talked about and less necessary” to be involved, and that people

do not need a personal relationship with mental health to participate.

The club hosts activities like dinner discussions, distress events and speakers, as well as outreach to the general student body to promote mental health awareness. It also works with Dartmouth on Purpose, Student Assembly and the College administration to tackle the policy side of mental health, he said.

Student Assembly president Frank Cunningham ’16 aims to achieve a similar goal of destigmatization and increased discussion through his “I’m Here For You” campaign, sponsored by the Assembly.

Cunningham’s impetus for the campaign stems from his own struggles with mental health beginning during an off-term over his sophomore year. He described his severe depression and anxiety, constant insecurity and occasional thoughts of self-harm. It was not until the end of his sophomore summer when he opened up to family and friends and began seeing a Dick’s House counselor that he began to recover.

Cunningham said the campaign aims to increase discussion and de stigmatize the stereotypes and misconceptions associated with mental health.

“It’s really about changing a community and the way we handle mental health. The one thing that I want when I am no longer president in spring term is for people to tell me I helped them get through dark days, that I brought a problem to light,” Cunningham said.

47 percent of Dartmouth students believe administrators are very or somewhat committed to supporting students’ mental health

Speight Carr ’16, chair of the Assembly’s health and wellness committee, has worked alongside Cunningham to spearhead and direct the campaign. Although Carr said he has never battled with mental health personally, he has felt its indirect effects through seeing its prevalence in his family growing up.

“I was affected through my family [members] with eating disorders, depression, alcoholism — a lot of different things that have affected how I thought,” he said.

He said this served as his impetus for getting involved in the discussion of mental health at Dartmouth, as he realized that others must indirectly affected as well. The turning point came for him during his sophomore year, when someone close to him went to rehab.

“Knowing that it affected me in such a profound way, not even being the one suffering, made me really think that there is such a multitude of issues surrounding it. I couldn’t be the only one who knew people who had mental health issues,” Carr said.

Carr said the family members and friends of people struggling with mental health can sometimes feel reluctant to share how they are feeling, as they are not experiencing the issue directly.

“Mental health has very much significantly

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

affected my life through the people around me.

And I think that’s a more common story than you hear, but people are afraid to talk about it, in that they don’t want to assume that their feelings in being affected by someone with mental health issues are as important,” Carr said.

Carr said this increased discussion on all fronts of people affected by mental health is crucial for developing a sustainable change in the perceptions of mental health.

Donehey expressed a similar sentiment to Cunningham regarding the importance of having a permanent effect on the discussion of mental health.

“It’s really important to keep discussion going and make more permanent marks on mental health landscape,” Donehey said.

One of Active Mind’s main roles is serving as the “primary student liaison between the counseling center and the student body,” Donehey said.

In the past, Active Minds has worked with CHD director Heather Earle, who aims to be in touch with the student body, Donehey said.

A new initiative is the revival of a student advisory board to CHD. Approximately 20 organizations from diverse undergraduate and graduate communities were contacted in order to get as many different identities on the new board, Donehey said. The group met for the first time on Wednesday.

Dick’s House is interested in hearing what “is needed and wanted” by students on campus, and for students to bring back information to the student body to educate others on why things are the way they are, Earle said.

She said that students have questioned why it is not possible to schedule counseling appointments online. Student board members could communicate that the counseling department had chosen to forgo this change so that someone calling for mental health help will be talking to a real person on the phone, in case of an emergency.

Donehey said that while thinking about problems in a holistic way is helpful, the advisory board is important for smoothing out the “nitty gritty details” of the mental health help process.

“If we can we can smooth those out and make it as user friendly and positive as possible, it will do so much to better the impact that those services have on students,” Donehey said.

Counseling and Human Development provides the most serious form of mental health help on campus. According to The Dartmouth’s survey, 32 percent of students said they had sought counseling or psychiatric help from Dick’s House since matriculating.

Earle said that students can either make appointments on their own, or get referred by someone else such as an undergraduate resource advisor, coach, dean or parent.

The counseling work is usually short-term clinical work because CHD serves the entire undergraduate and graduate population, but there is a clinician on call for crises 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Earle said.

This short-term work usually includes eight to 10 sessions over a term, which might be supplemented with weekly student group meetings.

Earle said that if the student wants to continue with therapy long-term, CHD will help them find a counselor in the community.

Twenty percent of survey respondents have sought psychiatric help from a source other than Dick’s House since coming to Dartmouth.

Andi Norman ’18 had struggled with depression during high school, but said she had always been able to manage it and still go about her daily life. But when she started to experience the symptoms and signs again during her freshman fall at Dartmouth, her mental health hit a

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

“downward spiral.”

“I had extreme anxiety — I was isolating myself socially, didn’t want to be around anyone. I wasn’t eating, wasn’t sleeping much, and workouts were terrible because I just didn’t really care,” Norman said, noting that she lacked motivation to do her schoolwork.

In the middle of January, Norman, a member of the women’s varsity basketball team, finally reached out and explained her situation to her mother, who subsequently called her coach.

Norman and her coach met the following day to discuss ways to combat her depression and anxiety. Norman visited a Dick’s House counselor throughout winter and spring terms, she said.

She also noted that she was prescribed medication through Dick’s House.

Norman explained that upon calling Dick’s House to schedule a counseling appointment, she was put on hold. She said this did nothing to bolster her confidence, especially after calling itself had been difficult.

“Picking up the phone and calling is hard enough, if you’re struggling. When they put me on hold, I was already feeling so inadequate and insignificant, it didn’t help,” Norman said.

Norman said that had she not been sitting beside her basketball coach, she likely would have hung up the phone.

Carr said that due to Dick’s House’s somewhat isolated location, the process of going there can be challenging in itself.

“I mean, even the counselors are located in Dick’s House, and it can be a very intimidating experience to go in there,” Carr said.

Cunningham, Norman and Carr all spoke of the lengthy wait time after making an appointment at Dick’s House. Cunningham said that last he had heard, it can take weeks to see a counselor.

“What I’ve heard so far this term is that there’s a wait time of three weeks. And that’s just ridiculous,” Cunningham said.

Carr agreed, saying that although he himself has not faced mental health struggles, from an objective perspective such a lengthy wait time is unbelievable.

“If you call Dick’s House and say you’re having suicidal thoughts, the quickest you can get to see a psychiatrist is three weeks. Which is…insane to me,” Carr said.

Norman said that waiting even one week to speak to someone could be agonizing.

“If you’re in a crisis, a week is a long time to wait to see someone,” Norman said.

Norman also said that simply scheduling an appointment can be difficult due to the high prevalence of students seeking counseling.

“It’s also hard to get an appointment — it gets very packed — and it’s hard to schedule in a timely manner,” Norman said.

Carr said that — though the discrepancy is obviously not deliberate — Dick’s House is severely understaffed.

“Dartmouth is not purposely trying to have a lack of resources for its students. But I do think there’s not enough,” Carr said.

Carr said that although there are several counselors at Dick’s House, there is only one psychiatrist. There used to be more psychiatrists completing their residencies, Carr said, but they left and were not replaced.

Cunningham questioned how the College could expect students to receive adequate help without providing sufficient resources.

“I mean, how can we properly take care of students when we don’t even have the resources present here?” Cunningham said.

Cunningham spoke of College President Phil Hanlon’s “Moving Dartmouth Forward” initiative, and how he believes such rigorous academic

HOMECOMING 2015

ambitions warrant the hiring of more counselors.

“The thing is, I say, Dartmouth wants to focus on academic rigor so aggressively, but in focusing on that I hope you are investing large dollars into Dick’s House counseling,” Cunningham said.

According to the survey, of those who had utilized Dick’s House counseling, 62 percent said the services had been very or somewhat helpful.

Counseling and human development also determines whether a student should take mental health leave. If a counselor is working with a student whose symptoms of depression are not decreasing and it is impacting their ability to perform socially and academically, Earle said that she will talk to the student about what time off might look like.

A medical leave is usually a minimum of three terms. Earle wants to make sure that students do not come back too early so that when they do come back, they are at a place where they can “come back and perform to the level that they know they can,” she said.

“I didn’t want to be playing basketball, didn’t want to be here. But it wasn’t Dartmouth that was causing it. I was thinking about the possibility of leaving...but I said no, I want to stay — it wasn’t the College,” Norman said.

She added that it was “absolutely the right decision to stay.”

In addition to one-on-one student counseling, CHD does training with undergraduate advisors, community directors, athletic coaches and trainers and has a website called “Dartmouth Cares: Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention.” One clinician also recently did a four-part series on reducing anxiety.

Earle said that groups like Active Minds, the Assembly, residential life and the athletics program should be involved in mental health.

“I really see mental health issue is not just a counseling-centered issue, it’s everybody,” she said.

“We are really focusing on yes, doing counseling behind closed doors, but really getting out there

How often in the past month have you felt hopeless, despondent, uninterested in activities you typically enjoy or lethargic?

JESSICA AVITABILE/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

After CHD makes a final decision about medical leave, the dean’s office will sign the paperwork and discuss other potential concerns with students, including financial aid or logistics for international students. Earle said she helps to communicate with parents if needed.

During this time, students will go through some therapy, and some also get a part-time job or do volunteer service so that they can keep on a schedule.

“The underlying focus is to take time away from Dartmouth to focus on taking care of yourself,” Earle said.

Norman said when she first when to Dick’s House, her counselor asked if she wanted to take a medical leave. Norman considered it, she said, but ultimately realized that her issues were not being caused by the College, and that going home might not help significantly.

and talking to student groups.”

Earl particularly thinks that initiatives that the athletic and residential life programs are taking are helpful.

The emphasis on creating residential communities that “Moving Dartmouth Forward” has created is important because when students feel like they are part of a community, they are less likely to feel isolated and have symptoms of depression, Earle said.

In the training that CHD is doing with athletic coaches, Earle said they talk about why it may be hard for an athlete to come forward since athletes may feel like they are expected to put a game face on and work through the pain.

Norman spoke of this expectation of athletes, too, in others failing to perceive her struggles.

“People think, ‘You’re a freshman at an Ivy League school, a student-athlete, living the dream,

PAGE HC 13

living the life,’” Norman said.

She said her experience felt more like a “nightmare.”

Earle said this misconception is not necessarily specific to athletes.

“This happens in the athletic world, but also in the Dartmouth world,” Earl said. “You work really hard to get here at Dartmouth, so you think you have to work through pain.”

Cunningham said that he believes such misconceptions impact many students at the College.

“That’s the thing people don’t understand — when you deal with depression, it’s not just like a pill can help you,” Cunningham said. “It’s really you every day taking it one day at a time to find the strength within to keep getting up every morning and having a positive attitude, and trying so hard to work through every problem you have.”

Both Earle and Donehey said that they think the mental health climate on campus has improved during their time at the College.

Donehey said that in his two years on campus he has seen an increase in “casually important talk about wellness and mental health.”

He said he thinks that Dartmouth on Purpose has succeeded in encouraging people to focus on personal wellness and that the Assembly has devoted much time and effort to the mental health landscape.

“There’s so much more do be done, but I’m in no way disappointed with the evolution I’ve seen so far,” Donehey said.

Donehey said he has also personally noticed change is the way people are using their off-terms, and that he has heard many upperclassmen say they are using their term to spend time with their family and work on their mental health.

Donehey said he thinks that a focus on mental health is particularly important at a college like Dartmouth, since everyone here already has tendencies and qualities within them that make them at greater risks for anxiety.

Earle also stressed the importance of a focus on mental health on campus and the reduction of mental health related stigma, both of which she thinks have improved during the past 16 years she has been with CHD. “The broader student population is really getting more involved and becoming more aware of mental health and the importance of it,” Earle said.

“To perform academically, athletically, socially we all have to be mentally healthy and when that starts breaking down, it affects all areas of our life.”

Cunningham said that in order to continue enacting these positive changes students need to be aware and compassionate about such issues.

According to the survey, 92 percent of respondents reported that they believe other students would be supportive if they discussed struggles with mental health.

“It takes one person to simply just ask how are you, what is going on, because you never know — that conversation you have with someone might be the thing that keeps them alive,” Cunningham said.

He also explained that although there are several resources students can utilize, ultimately everyone bears some measure of responsibility in alleviating these issues.

“I’m a resource, Student Assembly members are a resource, Dick’s House, the Health and Wellness center, Active Minds...There are so many groups out there trying to do this job. But really it’s not on one person or one facet of Dartmouth — it’s on everyone,” Cunningham said.

HOMECOMING 2015

PAGE HC 14

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

CONTRIBUTING Columnist Hansa Sharma ’19

CONTRIBUTING Columnist Julia Ceraolo ’15

The Unspoken Stigma

Censored Friendship

Depression needs to be a larger part of campus discussions.

Dartmouth discourages students from discussing mental health with friends.

Do you remember the Hat Game? If you discuss an issue that has the power to damage need a refresher to jog your memory about someone academically, socially and medically this Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trips’ if left untreated? classic, the Hat Game entails asking Trip leaders Admittedly, just because I am writing about anonymous questions via slips of paper dropped this important topic does not necessarily mean in a hat. During my Trip, most of the questions that I practice what I preach. As a matter of were simply jokes that had everyone in splits fact, just this morning I was at wits’ end when from laughing. It was amusing to see our Trip emailing my professor to reschedule an exam, leaders compete to see who even though I understand could most creatively dodge that asking a professor for questions about their sexual “Based on what I accommodations so I can history. Other questions hear from friends recover my health should were thought-provoking not be such an intimidatand peers, I am and productive. My knowling and draining process. edgeable trip leaders talked not alone in feeling Why do simple things extensively about academic overwhelmed.” like recovering from the advice, stress managedreaded freshman plague ment and their experiences and studying for midterms maintaining a balance between their work and become too overwhelming to manage? Morepersonal lives. There was one question, however, over, based on what I hear from friends and that struck a chord — perpeers, I am not alone in haps the wrong chord. “Depression and feeling overwhelmed.

This anonymous question

For this reason, was about depression at anxiety are the top the most meaningful aspect the College. Instantly, the two most commonly of Orientation for me was temperature in the cabin hearing stories from curreported mental seemed to drop. The tranrent students. While the sition from wholesome fun health issues at academic advising sessions to discomfort amongst the the College, and 23 were likewise helpful, the Tripees was evident on stories that other students percent of students everyone’s faces. shared struck a chord with Despite the change in that year reported that me. Even in the public atmosphere, our Trip leadsetting of Spaulding Audepression impacted ers handled the question ditorium, the upperclasswith skill and grace. They their academic men were able to create noted the gravity of the performance.” an intimate atmosphere issue, especially on college through their willingness campuses, and detailed the to share something about abundant resources Dartmouth students can their unique experiences at the College that access, including the Trip leaders themselves felt genuinely personal. In that moment, it was and appointments with Counseling and Hu- reassuring to hear that I was not alone. As they man Development at Dick’s reminded me, every memHouse. Yet these resources ber of the Class of 2019 is are apparently not enough. “Whether it is asking to in the same place, trying According to a 2014 Health speak with a professor to adjust to a new chapter Survey conducted by the of their lives and grasping during office hours College’s Office of Instituat common threads to tional Research, depression for help with course prevent themselves from and anxiety are the top two material or venting falling apart. most commonly reported

Now that Dartmental health issues at to your friends about mouth students are in the College, and 23 per- your overwhelming the midst of week four cent of students that year and getting slammed with schedule, it should be reported that depression midterms and papers, impacted their academic okay to communicate the upperclassmen’s wise performance. What’s more your struggles in a safe words are more relevant is that these statistics are than ever: you are not alone in no way exclusive to the space.” and you might never know College — the American until you share. Whether College Health Associait is asking to speak with tion, for example, states in its 2011 National a professor during office hours for help with College Health Assessment that 30 percent of course material or venting to your friends about college students at two- and four-year institu- your overwhelming schedule, it should be okay tions reported having in the past year felt “so to communicate your struggles in a safe space. depressed that it was difficult to function.”

As Dartmouth students become more open to Considering these high numbers, why does sharing their daily difficulties with the people they depression remain such a taboo subject to trust, I am confident that students will gradually discuss? If college freshmen can nonchalantly lose their discomfort discussing mental health ask upperclassmen such audacious questions as a campus so that this topic that now seems as, “How many of the Dartmouth Seven have so taboo can take its rightful place as a regular you done?,” why are students so hesitant to and important part of campus conversations.

Many people have recently been speaking be addressed in any meaningful way by the out about the dearth of counselors and other average person walking from Dartmouth resources to sufficiently support students’ Hall to Collis Cafe. mental health needs. I fully endorse these The result is a college culture that procomplaints and understand the need for more motes “friendship bailing” — in times of criinstitutional structure in the realm of mental sis, many hitherto ostensibly real friendships health. Just as troubling to me, however, is abruptly default to acquaintanceship. Conthe way campus culture versations are reduced to teaches students to think “Students who seek sound bites traded back that discussions of menand forth. I have certainly tal health are burdens on help often are unable heard my fair share of their friendships. This to find it. Students canned responses from effectively creates an un- come back from their friends — reflexive, little supportive environment phrases that do not bear for people with mental fraternity, sorority the marks of extensive health issues and likely or dorm, and many thought or introspecsets them up for relapse. tion. Moreover, friend During my time at treat what should be ship bailing intersects the College, I have had their homes like a with hookup culture and more than a few friends this generation’s phobia workplace.” who struggled with deof commitment, severely pression, social anxiety impeding students from and eating disorders as well as perhaps less developing the support networks they need. frequently discussed and less pathological but As a consequence, students who seek help still disruptive problems such as procrastina- often are unable to find it. Students come tion. Though I was never diagnosed with back to their fraternity, sorority or dorm, anything, I was frequently very anxious in and many treat what should be their homes social situations during like a workplace — a place the first half of my college where it would be un“It seems to me that career, and I felt there seemly to discuss deeply were no constructive the smartphones and personal problems. This is ways available for dealing social media play a a mindset that is destrucwith my emotions. It was tive to both the individual a trap — the more shy huge and multifaceted and to the individual’s and anxious I became, role in this massive friend groups, as well as the less likely I was to to the campus culture at 21st-century theater confide in anyone about large. Rather, unedited how I felt and instead of campus mental and uncensored social unhealthily bottled up health.” interaction is what stuthose feelings. dents need as a preventa I observed similar tive measure for mental patter ns in some of health. my friends. They were self-aware, funny, It seems to me that smartphones and social smart and accomplished — but the very media play a huge and multifaceted role in self-awareness that made them extremely this massive 21st-century theater of campus likable also apparently inhibited their ability mental health. We are in contact with our to confront their issues. They felt that talk- families and friends from other locales at ing about their issues would damage their unprecedented levels. reputation or image, so they often decided So, the thinking often goes, why should against speaking with anyone, especially with students learn to rely on their friends on their friends — the very campus for long heartpeople one would assume “Everyone at the to-hearts? Wouldn’t that such subjects would first be presumptuous, even a College is educated be revealed. chore? Why not take the I often hear people enough to know at path of least resistance talk about a culture of least something about and talk online to parents “not being allowed to or best friends from high be not okay” on campus mental health.” school instead?

— but this misses the To that, I reply that point. Everyone at the there must be a balance.

College is educated enough to know at least Students should retain and grow the abilsomething about mental health. The issue ity to form new, in-person and meaningful is that the campus climate prevents students friendships even as they maintain their from defining their friendships in ways that relationships with family and old friends. promote honesty, authenticity and well-being. Students do not “go away to college.” College This is because the management of mental is not a vacation away from home nor is it health is always assigned to ever more rarified a four-year role-playing exercise in “Being circles of responsibility — to their families, a College Student” ­— it is your new home. psychiatrists and even medications. Ironically, When you find yourself crying into the phone it is too often assumed that the problem of and saying, “Well, you had to be there to mental health is too big and amorphous to understand” — you’re right.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

PAGE HC 15

HOMECOMING 2015

Mental health around the Ivies Brown University

While 25 percent of Brown students have been previously medicated for mental illness and 40 percent have had counseling before coming to Brown, only 17 percent seek help from the school’s Counseling and Psychological Services, The Brown Daily Herald reported. In 2012, Julia Lynford ’14 and Samantha English ’14 established Active Minds, a national organization dedicated to promoting mental health awareness and education at colleges. Every semester, Active Minds hosts two “safe-space” discussions, where students have the opportunity to speak about particular mental health topics. In addition to these discussions, Active Minds also hosts mental health speakers on campus, facilitates panel discussions and conducts workshops. Yuri Tomikawa ’12 was also proactive in promoting mental health on the university’s campus. She created a new website, Zencare.co, that helps students find local therapists based on their insurance providers and personality matches.

— Megan Clyne, The Dartmouth

Cornell University

This fall, Cornell was named as one of five universities to receive the 2015 Active Minds Healthy Campus Award for a “cohesive, innovative public health approach to student health and wellness,” The Cornell Daily Sun reported. This comes after a 2008 survey found that 23 percent of respondents experienced a form of depression and 33 percent felt high levels of stress. Cornell has adopted the “Let’s Talk” program, a national model in which counselors hold drop-in hours without paperwork. Between 400 and 500 students have taken advantage of the program. Although the program has been met with success, members of heath services acknowledge that there is still room for improvement. In a summer New York Times piece, the Cornell director of counseling and psychological services cited social media as a primary component of propagating a false sense of happiness on the outside. Cornell Minds Matter is the primary student organization dedicated to improving access to mental health services and organizes 165 programs each semester. Additionally, Cornell has a special mental health task force focused on supporting Asian and Asian American students. From 1996 to 2004, over half of the campus suicides involved students from Asian backgrounds despite a 14 percent Asian student body.

— Amanda Zhou, The Dartmouth

Princeton University

This fall, Princeton initiated a “UMatter” campaign in an attempt to promote the health and safety of Princeton students, the Daily Princetonian reported. UMatter attempts to synthesize existent programs to create one means of aiding health and safety on campus. Princeton also incorporated feedback from its students to create UMatter and consequently found that many students reacted positively toward the program.

UMatter itself is as an online resource where students can find information regarding four main components necessary for a safe campus — being an effective bystander, making healthy choices, caring for others and taking action. The campaign also encompasses threats to on-campus safety, including interpersonal violence, unsafe drinking and mental health distress. In order to minimize these threats, UMatter does not simply provide information, but focuses on the ways in which students can implement that information in real life situations. For example, UMatter is working to establish a reward system for bystander intervention by offering coupons and giveaways via social media. It also has identified stressful times of the year and plans to send uplifting messages to alleviate stress.

— Anna Starpoli, The Dartmouth

University of Pennsylvania

In the wake of six suicides within 15 months, Penn has taken steps to improve mental health on campus. Last spring, Penn joined the Campus Program, a fouryear collaboration between The Jed Foundation and The Clinton Foundation that requires universities to complete self-assessments and establish an oversight committee to monitor progress on mental health efforts. Other universities involved include Cornell, Princeton and Columbia. In February, students, administrators and counseling and psychological services formed a committee to oversee all campus mental health programs and initiatives. The task force is particularly focused on eliminating “Penn Face,” — the culture of appearing effortlessly perfect. The task force released a report with four central recommendations — increasing communication about mental health resources, making information about resources more accessible, educating and training the Penn community on mental health and optimizing the resources devoted to counseling and psychological services. Additionally, a petition on Change.org calls for the removal of barriers between students and help by allowing anonymous visits and online scheduling. This fall, Penn President Amy Gutmann and each of the keynote speakers at freshman convocation exercises addressed the issue straight on, urging students not to fear asking for help from the community. Penn also is considering instituting a program that matches each of the 2500 freshmen with a “wellness advisor” in case mental help is needed.

— Amanda Zhou, The Dartmouth

Columbia University

Following the suspected suicide of a first-year student last year, Columbia’s mental health task force conducted a survey and released selected results, The Columbia Spectator reported. The survey found that students who identified themselves as LGBTQ and/or people of color were less satisfied with psychological services. The task force recently submitted a memo that includes specific proposals to expand psychological service’s staffing and space, extend drop-in hours to midnight and weekends, emphasize more diverse hiring, strengthen the University’s crisis response and create a mental health orientation program for freshmen. According to members of the task force, students are waiting for several weeks for a general appointment and drop-in waits can be up to three or four hours long. The task force also hopes to secure academic accommodations for mentally ill students such as extensions on assignments. Finally, the task force has requested a more concrete protocol for the administration responding to “off-campus tragedies,” since students are concerned that there is currently little support and follow-up. The task force hopes to increase transparency, access, and trust between administrators and students. This year, six clinicians have been added to Columbia’s psychological services and their offices have been expanded to a larger, more central space.

— Amanda Zhou, The Dartmouth

Harvard University

Harvard University Health Services has reopened a newly-renovated space within Stillman Infirmary, its overnight observation center, the Harvard Crimson reported. The renovations were designed to increase efficiency within the hospital by consolidating emergency care spaces onto a single floor. The resources freed by the renovation can now be used more efficiently, increasing the ability of the staff to respond to other issues, including mental health.

Originally Harvard planned to remove the fifth-floor observation area entirely, citing low usage by students, in order to redirect more resources towards mental health efforts. Following this announcement, however, there were widespread student protests emphasizing the importance of the overnight center. In response the University backed down from its initial plan and maintained that it will continue to expand mental health resources by 20 to 25 percent.

— Zachary Benjamin, The Dartmouth

Yale University

Changes at Yale University’s Mental Health and Counseling department, made in response to student suggestions, include new staff clinicians, a redesigned website and an electronic appointment scheduling program that allows students to make secure appointments with their MHS clinicians via computer or mobile phone. The MHC’s website has also been improved to be more easily navigable. MHC offers students personalized short-term therapy options, as well as classes and events that cover topics such as depression and stress reduction. Secretary and vice president for student life Kimberly Goff-Crews emphasized the integration of wellness in daily life, encouraging students to take advantage of the resources available. She announced “The Wellness Project” to enhance support for mental health services and inspire a culture of holistic wellness. This initiative envisions the “embrace of wellness as a core value and as a continual journey toward emotional, physical, social, intellectual, professional and spiritual well-being.” A newly created student wellness website will serve as the platform for all the information regarding student services associated with mental health and wellness. In conjunction to living with increased wellness, the Payne Whitney Gymnasium on campus has extended its hours to provide a more flexible schedule for students to exercise.

— Paula Mendoza, The Dartmouth

HOMECOMING 2015

PAGE HC 16

The President’s Office invites you to nominate individuals for an honorary degree The Council on Honorary Degrees is soliciting nominations for honorary degree recipients at Commencement 2016.

Dartmouth seeks nominations to honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the arts and humanities, the sciences, industry, or public service in the broadest sense.

Nominations received by October 16, 2015, will be considered for June 2016 Commencement. Please email your nomination(s) and a statement explaining why you believe the nominee merits an honorary degree to Holli.D.Weed@Dartmouth.edu or to Holli at HB 6001.

Following review of the nominations, the Council will forward its recommendations to the President and Board of Trustees for their consideration and final approval.

Your suggestions for honorary degree candidates are highly appreciated.

If you would like more information about the nomination process, please do not hesitate to contact Bill Lotko, Chair, Council on Honorary Degrees, at William.Lotko@Dartmouth.edu, or Mimi Simpson, Executive Director in the President’s Office, 646-0348, or at Marion.B.Simpson@Dartmouth.edu.

The Physical City A new course this winter

Cities are not only home to most of humanity, but also unique and varied physical environments. This course will introduce students to these environments and the challenges of making them both livable and sustainable. It will cover three subject areas: 1) the biophysical features of cities, 2) environmental problems associated with urbanization, and 3) approaches to addressing these problems. In order to appreciate the geographic diversity of cities, the course will examine a wide range of urban environments across the world.

Geography 32, 10 hour, Instructor: Dr. Christopher Galletti For syllabus, email: christopher.s.galletti@dartmouth.edu

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

FYSEP crucial in helping first-generation students

perceived gaps between socioeconomic classes often do not work. For example, frank about where they come from, I student organizations send out campusthink that friendships are established wide blitzes inviting students to their amongst them, and they support each events but only students who relate to the organization will come, whether other,” Ruiz said.

Rufino said that many people believe that organization is a Greek house or that Dartmouth and the other Ivy an affinity group.

Rufino recently joined Kappa League institutions do not do enough for students from lower and restricted Kappa Kappa fraternity, and does not feel that his socioeconomic status has socioeconomic backgrounds.

Rufino said, however, the College impeded him throughout the process.

“It’s not something that has come ensures that students have the opportunity to meet individuals from similar up, it’s not something that’s obvious,” backgrounds, and, in his experience, the he said.

He said that being on a scholarship First Year Student Enrichment Program and La Alianza Latina helped foster frees up his financial obligation, which gives him the opportunity to take adthese close relationships.

“I personally think Dartmouth vantage of certain aspects of campus does a great job mentoring those from such as Greek life, but he understands lower socioeconomic backgrounds, for how other people feel more restricted example through the FYSEP program,” from this.

“In Greek life, just like in my personal he said.

Nunez said that these programs help life, I have made so many great friendstudents who feel unprepared for higher ships in the year that I’ve been here, and my socioeconomic status has nothing education adapt to the College. to do with those He said parfriendships,” he ticipating students “I personally think said. were educated He said he beabout all the re- Dartmouth does a lieves that sociosources the College great job mentoring economic status has to offer and how those from lower will come up to take advantage in the future in of them, as well as socioeconomic relation to dues, how to adapt to life backgrounds.” though he does at Dartmouth. not believe it has Ruiz said that had an impact while she believes -CESAR RUFINO ’18 on his relationthe College’s aid ships and social packages are comprehensive and the resources offers life within Greek life.

Ruiz said she has had friends that are sufficient, students do not seem to have decided not to rush because of perceive the socioeconomic gap. “[Students] think that everyone is dues, which she said are often an autolike them, or at least they seem to think matic barrier.

“I think some people think ‘if it’s like that,” Ruiz said.

She said that some conversation going to cost me anything, I’m not even topics that wealthier students enjoy, like going to pursue it,’” she said.

She said that she is against Greek clothing, seem less important to students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds life to begin with, but gender-inclusive who have a stronger sense of injustice Greek house Phi Tau’s removal of dues made her consider participating. She or hardships.

Rufino said that because he is on a said that some students do not consider full scholarship, he does not face some the financial barriers to rushing, and of the same financial constraints that this results in conversations and experisome students who receive financial aid. ences that might alienate lower-income “Life here can be really busy, so students.

Nunez said he does not feel comfortsometimes it may be really comforting to not have to take out any loans, but it able in many Greek houses on campus.

“I feel awkward in some situations, may be a different burden to actually especially in Greek houses with the contake on jobs on campus,” he said.

Nunez said that the ways in which notation of having people from higher students often spend time with each socioeconomic backgrounds,” he said.

He said that although these organizaother often calls attention to subtler differences. While going out to restaurants tions offer financial aid for dues, it is the is common, Nunez says he feels unable social aspect that causes discomfort, as he cannot relate to the life experiences to participate because of the cost.

“It doesn’t always have to do with of many of the brothers.

“I’ve been through a lot things growthe money, sometimes I find it hard to be myself around people of a higher ing up, and you meet someone who’s socioeconomic class, because the way had everything handed to them on a silver platter, and you guys don’t click,” we grew up was different,” he said.

Nunez said that attempts to bridge he said.

FROM SOCIOECONOMIC PAGE HC6

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

PAGE HC 17

HOMECOMING 2015

International students struggle to communicate mental health needs FROM RACE PAGE HC8

both said it was common for students to reach out to family to include them in the counseling process. Counselors then become involved in a sort of “education for parents,” Ford said, where possible misconceptions on mental health are corrected through discussions between students, family and staff.

Velez added that for students of color, being at Dartmouth can challenge how they perceive their own racial, ethnic and cultural identity.

In a high-pressure, success-oriented environment, she added that minority students can often feel as if they do not have a place at the College. Factoring in mental health concerns can further compound these doubts.

“What I’ve seen with students of color is that their sense of belonging is challenged,” Velez said. “It’s like someone made a mistake, or that this place is not right for them. They end up comparing public personas with internal ones, and that adds different layers for students of color.”

Velez said that one of CHD’s major outreach goals was to normalize helpseeking. For students of color, undergraduate dean Brian Reed identified “stereotype threat” as a major barrier to reaching out for help. Individuals of any campus minority — racial, socioeconomic, disability — are often afraid of confirming stereotypes through their actions, Reed said.

“Students who already feel as if any challenge they experience here is because they’re inherently lacking, whether it’s not being able-bodied, being of low-socioeconomic standing or a racial minority, will find it hard to reach out,” Reed said. “There’s always a question of, ‘What might this say of the people I think I represent?’ — of reinforcing the stereotype.”

Though students may be strongly connected with their racial and cultural identity at home, Velez said that does not always mean they are comfortable with expressing those identities at Dartmouth. While cultural differences can be isolating and act as a trigger for mental health concerns, she said that increased community-based dialogue about race and identity could provide a feeling of validation through a “shared experience.”

Da-Shih Hu, a psychiatrist at Dick’s House, noticed the same issues being brought up repeatedly by his Asian-American patients — physical attractiveness, stereotypes, parental pressure — things that Hu himself said he struggled with at this age. In response, Hu teamed up with Sarah Chung, a psychologist at Dick’s House, to form the Asian-American Student Exploration Group. The group aims to create a space to discuss the AsianAmerican experience at Dartmouth.

Past topics have included Asian activism, racism and body image.

Hu said that in Asian and Asian-

American culture, emotional expression is understood differently than in broader American society. There is less of a focus on overtly expressing discontent and often, personal feelings may be subjugated to family needs. Unfortunately, Hu said that this can often be stereotyped as AsianAmericans being more emotionally distant than their peers.

Hu added that students of Asian heritage often come from a background where being less assertive is the norm, which can lead to misconceptions that prevent students from having their needs met and their voices heard.

“The repercussion from not speaking up is that people get used to Asians being silent,” he said. “It’s comparable to how we’re socialized to women not speaking up, so when they do it’s considered negative, pushy. People get used to Asians staying silent in the same way, so the ones who speak up are viewed as outliers than aren’t taken seriously, which just furthers this cycle.”

Hu said that the discussion group drew students from a range of backgrounds, from those born in the United States to international students coming from Asia. In the Western psychology viewpoint, Hu said that feeling comfortable with talking openly about problems is often assumed. He added that many students, however, come from a culture where it often may feel like it is not be their place to speak up. Despite mental health being acknowledged less widely in Asia, Hu said he was surprised and pleased by how open students were to considering a Western medicine point of view.

As the main psychiatrist at Dick’s House, Hu also works with students who are considering medication for managing their counseling treatment.

Though the idea of taking a medicine to treat an illness is shared across cultures, chemical-based treatments for mental health can be harder to communicate across culture.

Sophomore winter, Yakubu was diagnosed with ADHD in addition to depression, anxiety and his existing OCD. While he started taking antidepressants as prescribed, he rejected the idea of managing ADHD through medication. In his mind, ADHD seemed like laziness or an unfocused mind, something that required discipline more than anything else.

“Maybe it’s because I’m international, but in my mind it’s like, ‘Isn’t ADHD just an excuse?’” Yakubu said.

“A part of me believes that you can’t help it because I’ve experienced it, but there’s a part of me that’s stubborn and rejected the idea of taking drugs for ADHD because it felt like cheating.”

Ihionu recalled the difficulty of communicating with her parents about beginning a course of antidepressants. Though in the end she said she was able to open up to her mother and received support, she said

that it was a stressful process until she reached that point of understanding.

As a beneficiary of her parents’ insurance plan, Ihionu had to make a number of additional considerations to keep medication confidential — paying out of pocket, which meant going on the generic because it is cheaper.

“It was so stressful that first round,” Ihionu said. “Now I’m on insurance, but obviously it’s not cheap even if you pay out of pocket, which I can’t imagine many people can do since [about] 50 percent of the College is on financial aid.”

Ihionu’s experience is common — despite active outreach efforts and activism from student groups, CHD and other offices on campus, systemic and institutional challenges remain for students of color seeking mental health.

Currently, insurance covers 10 counseling sessions per academic year at Dick’s House. Afterwards, students are referred to outside providers in the area, many of whom may be hard to access because their practices are located outside of Hanover. Transitioning away from a familiar clinician also disrupts the relationship and comfort built over time.

The D-Plan further complicates

managing mental health concerns, Ford said. For students who go home to an environment where mental illness remains stigmatized, he said it was important to normalize the fact that the reality at Dartmouth could be more accepting of what they find at home.

“You have to let students know that the level of acceptance they feel here isn’t necessarily what they’ll get at home,” Ford said. “It’s why sometimes they don’t want to go home, because they feel like they can reveal a little bit of authenticity here. When you compartmentalize those pieces of yourself, it contributes to the mental health struggles of that.”

More than any other factor, students and experts said the hardest part to seeking treatment comes from experiencing mental health through multiple perspective — cultural, familial and being at Dartmouth.

Ihionu and Yakubu both noted a greater emphasis on the individual in American culture, which often makes pillars of mental wellness like “self-care” harder to understand for students from cultures with a more communal perspective. Yakubu used the example of his passion for filmmaking — while he enjoyed it, he struggled with the guilt of choosing

a less financially secure path despite his responsibility to his family.

Velez and Ford both said that one way to balance individualism with community was to think of the self in the context of the group. Self-care can be as simple as taking a shower and getting enough sleep to be well enough to help the community, Velez added, using the analogy of “putting on your own oxygen mask before helping others” on a plane.

After managing his diagnosis after sophomore winter, Yakubu took a leave from the College to be at home with family in Ghana for a year. There was less communication than in the United States, less discussion of what mental illness was, but he added that being with family created a sense of support, even if the environment was less accepting and forced him to rethink mental health.

“In the local language, mentally ill is madness,” Yakubu said. “The kids would chant it and chase people, but they’re kids. Growing up, I used to do stuff that hadn’t been done before and people would say, ‘Oh, he’s crazy.’ It was something I was used to hearing about myself, but when I actually experienced mental illness, I was became more sensitive. It made me fear that it could be reality.”

HOMECOMING 2015

PAGE HC 18

Take-Out

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

Online

Greatest Hits Full Menu Now Available for Take-Out Online www.mollysrestaurant.com ONLINE

Take-Out

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

PAGE HC 19

Basketball players to create new mental health resource for athletes FROM ATHLETESPAGE HC 3

never be able to catch up. I’ll never be as good as I was before.”

Generally speaking, athletes are a healthy population, though they are exposed to additional stressors on top of the typical stressors a non-athlete would face in college, College clinical and sport psychologist Mark Hiatt said. The typical athlete might face issues around injuries, concussions, performance issues, the transition out of sports and disordered eating related to athlete physique and performance.

Dartmouth Peak Performance staff nutritionist Claudette Peck emphasized that athletes often come to her with gastrointestinal distress that can frequently be traced not to dietary culprits but underlying anxiety issues. In addition to digestive issues that cause physical pain, she sees athletes of both genders come in with issues related to binge-eating disorder, anorexia and bulimia.

“Often what I hear in my office is this concept of, ‘I want a body I can live in at Dartmouth when I go out but then I have to have my athletic body, and there’s conflict between those two bodies — the body I want to bring to the party at night and the body I have to show up with on the field the next day,’” Peck said.

Eating issues are statistically more centered around sports where weighins are necessary or uniforms are tight and sometimes unflattering, Peck said. Sports that emphasize speed and lightness also can cause athletes to take extreme measures with their diets.

It has been known for some time that eating disorders exist in the athletic community, but the way the issues are framed is the real problem within the

athletic community, former volleyball player Alex Schoenberger ’15 said.

“If you have someone on the team who has an eating disorder and is struggling to put on weight and to lift, that’s seen as a weakness. It’s mental, and as athletes you should be able to overcome mental things,” Schoenberger said.

“Whereas, if you have someone in a knee brace with a torn ACL that just had surgery, that’s seen as a strength.

That’s the biggest thing I think we need to tackle. I think it prevents people from getting help.”

Schoenberger, who dealt with anxiety, depression and obsessivecompulsive disorder while playing for the Big Green, expressed dissatisfaction with the services available to her as she started to explore the resources she could access to help her manage her mental health.

Having access to Dick’s House and psychologists like Hiatt might not always be beneficial for the athlete, though it is “well-intentioned” on the part of the athletic department, Schoenberger said. She emphasized that her remarks reflected her own personal experience.

Treating mental health with respect to athletic performance and not exclusively with the sole concern of the health of the athlete can cover up serious underlying issues, she said.

“The biggest issue I’ve found is the lines blurred between generalized anxiety disorder and performance anxiety, which are two very different things with two very different underlying causes.

They were kind of equated and that prevents in particular athletes who are told, ‘You need to be mentally tough.

You need to be able to block this out.

You need to be able to play through high pressure situations and your

ability to do that is directly related to your performance as an athlete.’…It’s about getting your performance up and minimizing the impact it has on your sport,” Schoenberger said.

Hiatt said that he does not support the use of the terms “mental weakness” and “mental strength” to describe athletes’ mental states.

“I think it’s one thing to talk about how to play with confidence, how to bring confidence to your game, different skills and strategies to help with performance on the field, but it’s something different coping with real issues around anxiety and depression,” he said. “It’s not so much about mental strength as it is coping with major stress and illness sometimes. I think in talking about strength, managing things like depression in college and on campus takes a tremendous amount of strength.”

While some athletes like Schoenberger have had negative experiences with respect to their mental health, others ­— the only two college athletes who gave interviews for this story while still currently being on the active rosters for their teams — have been recently making a point to improve the system from within. Andi Norman ’18 and Lakin Roland ’16 have started an initiative — still untitled — within the athletic department to shed light on the issue of mental health within the athletic community.

Norman, who struggled with depression her freshman year, eventually sought support from her team who received her honesty with open arms.

Norman’s depression catalyzed other members of the women’s basketball team to action, Roland said.

The team attempted to help Norman through her struggle.

“On a team like ours, which is very intimate, I think that because she shared this part of herself we are all now more capable of sharing, especially with her, our feelings,” Roland said. “Even with day-to-day stuff with each other, she started this culture of us trusting each other. I can see now that our team is much more willing to get deep about other things outside of basketball.”

Norman and Roland, who have begun speaking to incoming freshmen and individual athletic teams, have used Norman’s story to destigmatize mental health and wellness in the athletic community. The pair sent out a survey at the end of the summer to athletes, and of those responded, almost half said they struggled with their own mental health, while 67 percent said they knew a teammate who was struggling with his or her mental health. The two, shocked by the prevalence of the issue within the community, resolved to make a difference in the lives of athletes at Dartmouth.

Norman, whose story is posted on her blog, is hoping that her openness and honesty will encourage other athletes to come forward when they know they need help.

One of the pair’s newest initiatives, which has been supported by their own head coach Belle Koclanes, athletic director Harry Sheehy and Dartmouth Peak Performance director Drew Galbraith, is mandatory training for coaches so that they might be better prepared to identify potential mental health concerns on their own teams.

Norman and Roland are hoping to begin the training as soon as this month.

The initiative marks am important step for athletes like Schoenberger, who said she raised the issue of mental health with her own coach. Her coach said

that athletes have to come forward and ask for help when they need it. Though she agreed that self-advocacy can be important, Schoenberger still wanted more from her coaching staff.

“I also think that coaches need to take responsibility for the fact that they’re someone whose judgment and opinion means a lot, especially to an incoming freshman. And creating an environment that’s open about that and treats people as valuable and sees peoples’ weaknesses as things they can work on but also valid parts of who they are is vital to having people feel comfortable enough to speak up about it,” Schoenberger said.

About a quarter of the student body at Dartmouth is made up of varsity athletes who continue to play because — for some — the benefits outweigh the costs.

There certainly is a balance to be struck on the field that can make the failures that athletes face on a daily basis into more than disappointment — into moments that truly teach the athletes how to overcome challenges as they arise.

Schoenberger, too, agreed that while there are those who need professional help to overcome mental health issues, there is something to be said for those who truly need to learn to thrive in competitive environments.

The challenge facing the athletic community now, though, is identifying that difference and responding in a way that will ultimately privilege the health of the athlete over the drive for victory on the team.

And athletes, from day one, always need to be reminded that they are much more than a batting average, a plus/ minus rating and the jersey they wear on their backs.

Wide variety of groups work with students to aid after sexual assault FROM SEXUAL ASSAULT PAGE HC 5

she not only tries to get students linked to other services, but also helps them talk through their experience, learn coping skills and develop routines for self-care and sleep.

Coping skills include being able to “ground” oneself if one is having a panic attack, generally through deep breathing, sticking hands into ice water or even clipping a bracelet onto one’s wrist. In the long term, exercising and socializing more are other suggestions to help cope with the trauma.

Stahler said that survivors often want closure.

“So often I work with people who say that, ‘I just want the person to admit that they did something wrong or admit that I was hurt.’ It is so frequently people feel invalidated or that people aren’t taking them seriously or don’t believe them or they get blamed for it,”

she said.

Barriers to seeking help can often be broken down by the perception that the community around these survivors is open and accepting.

Sexual Assault Peer Advisor Nicole Simineri ’17 said that she joined the organization because, as a freshman, she felt uncomfortable with the power dynamic that the Greek system creates in Dartmouth’s social scene.

Simineri said that SAPA is a confidential peer resource where, if someone does not want to talk to an authority figure about their experiences, they can talk to a peer of theirs.

Another benefit is that a peer might be able to relate more to a student so than an administrator, in that a peer is familiar with the same social space as the survivor.

SAPAs do not just cover sexual assault, but they are there to help if anyone feels uncomfortable, Simi-

neri said. Registered SAPAs are directed by survivor advocate Ben Bradley to someone who requests help, Simineri said, although her friends also have come to her directly.

SAPA Katherine Botta ’17 said that after joining Mentors Against Violence her freshman year, she decided that she wanted to become a support system for survivors by undergoing the 40-hour training to become a SAPA. “We have been trained, we know what we are talking about. We are students. We aren’t like, scary adults or part of the administration or anything intimidating,” Botta said.

Botta said that, because the subject is very difficult to discuss, sexual violence and mental health often do not get talked about, which is why she likes to be able to offer her support.

Simineri is a member of The Dartmouth opinion staff.

TIFFANY ZHAI/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

The Student Health and Wellness Center is a key resource for those with mental health issues, especially students impacted by sexual assault.

PAGE HC 20

HOMECOMING 2015

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

Get your 2015 HOMECOMING TEE Limited Quantities!

Homecoming Hours Friday 9:30 to 8:00 Saturday 9:00 to 8:00 Sunday 9:00 to 4:00

Main Street, Hanover • Open Daily

PAGE HC 21

Leb

an

Street South Park

o

Close t

mer

on

Sum

St.

Str

eet

ne

Sandwiches • Salads • Sushi • Yogurt • Granola Ethnic Food & Ingredients • Coffee • Pastries

one Lever Field House

south of L e ve ro

Better Food Found Fast

• Onl outh yo m t ne r a

ck blo

D

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

Cereal • Frozen Pizza • Fresh Fruit & Veggies Sports Drinks • Vitamins • Health Supplements And Plenty More

www.coopfoodstore.coop

45 South Park Street, Hanover, Open 8-8

43 Lyme Rd., Hanover • Rte. 120, Centerra Marketplace, Lebanon • 209 Maple St., White River Jct.

PAGE HC 22

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

HOMECOMING 2015

INTERDISCIPLINARY

FLEXIBLE

CREATIVE

INTELLECTUAL

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE MASTER OF ARTS IN LIBERAL STUDIES ESTABLISHED IN 1970, THE MALS PROGRAM AT DARTMOUTH is part of Dartmouth’s Graduate Studies, and offers an intensive and immersive, master’s degree program in liberal arts.

MALS DARTMOUTH

MALS at Dartmouth is a highly selective program and awards the Master of Arts degree in the following concentrations: Cultural Studies, Creative Writing, Globalization Studies, and General Liberal Studies. With access to Dartmouth’s world renowned faculty and all of Dartmouth’s graduate and undergraduate schools, students are able to pursue comprehensive, interdisciplinary study of the liberal arts at the graduate level from one of the top liberal arts colleges in the world.

"The MALS program at Dartmouth is everything graduate school ought to be: intellectually vigorous and challenging, yet without the narrowness of vision that too often folds the act of learning into tiny boxes. Graduate liberal studies has a range as broad as the stu-

Through this interdisciplinary approach, and by working closely with our award-winning faculty, students create an individualized plan-of-study that significantly enhances their academic and professional credentials. This unique MALS at Dartmouth interdisciplinary experience prepares our graduates to advance in their chosen field; pursue doctoral programs across all disciplines; as well as, gain entrance into the professional schools of law, business, and medicine.

Learn more at: mals.dartmouth.edu

dent's own desire to chase down the truth, wherever it lies."

- Tom Zoellner, MALS 2011 Author of A Safeway in Arizona PHOTOS: ELI BURAKIAN

603.646.3592 I 6092 Wentworth Hall, Hanover, NH 03755-3526 I MALS.Program@Dartmouth.edu

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

PAGE HC 23

Through the Looking Glass: An Anchor of Conscience COLUMN

B y Torrese ouellette

Dartmouth and I had a toxic emblazoned on our sweatshirts, en experience in its male-dominated relationship. From matriculation in engraved in class rings, inscribed social spaces today.

2008 to academic separation in 2015, on piece after piece of Dartmouth Remember that the recent report it lasted for more than six years. I now merchandise. Look closely — notice from the Association of American realize that if I had drowned myself two Native figures wandering from Universities revealed that 28 percent in the fall of 2015 as I had attempted, the wilderness into the civilizing glow of Dartmouth undergraduate womI would have been ultimately respon- of white Eurocentric “knowledge.” en are survivors of non-consensual sible for the decision — but Dart- Elite schooling enterprises continue sexual contact — among the highest mouth, nonetheless, would have been to be tools of social caste, economic percentages of the survey. the catalyst. The College works for stratification and cultural genocide Recall the violent backlash against some students. I was not one of them, to a much greater extent than our student activists associated with Real and I know I am not alone. So let me sanguine myths about higher educa- Talk Dartmouth who dared to hold state this plainly: the College is not a tion suggest. a mirror to the College’s problems community, but a business originally Fraternity hazing, for instance, with racism, heterosexism, classism designed for a particular clientele — is neither new nor innocuous, but a and sexual assault. and if you are a woman, person of simulation of age-old class domina- Consider the Ivy League’s ties to color or a person (of any color) from tion. the transatlantic slave industry and its a low-income family, Dartmouth may Remember the working-class role in inventing slavery’s philosophibe structurally incapable of treating residents of the Upper Valley whose cal justifications alongside incidents you the way you ought to be treated. labor enables the College to operate. like the “Bloods and Crips” party They won’t Having spent my hosted by then-Delta Delta Delta tell you at Di- “Fraternity hazing, for middle and high sorority and Alpha Delta fraternity mensions of school years in in 2013 and how many students of instance, is neither Dartmouth that the shadow of color today are recruited to polish the College de- new nor innocuous, Yale University, Dartmouth’s “diverse” veneer before mands you make but a simulation this was not my being left largely to fend for ourselves it your entire first glimpse of in its harmful environment. world, or that of age-old class how bastions History is embedded, like asbestos, existence here domination.” of elitism loom deep in the academy’s foundations. can be an everyover and exploit History lives, resurrected in its conseday struggle just working-class quences, reproduced by institutional to keep your head above water. As a communities. I was reminded how choices, social traditions and the scholar from an impoverished family, the Ivy League is a fixture of socioeco- intransigence of powerful interests I could not put this institution first. nomic inequality when I witnessed to protect their interests.

Sometimes, I prioritized family and the administration’s resistance and At-risk students gratefully acrelationships, spending just as much the community’s general shrug when knowledge the positive opportunities effort working to send money home as Dartmouth Students Stand with and supportive connections we manbuying books and studying. Further- Staff protested that staff members age to build here even as we protest more, as many students can attest, shouldn’t lose their livelihoods during the poisonous institutional character schoolwork might be the last thing on the 2010 budget cuts without having that diminishes them. Many proud your mind when swimming against a a voice in the scholars from tide of sexual, racist or homophobic discussion. challenged but harassment in a toxic campus climate. C o n s i d e r “The Ivy League shares resilient families I have written a column for this paper D a r t m o u t h ’s its elitist pedagogical manage to perbefore — Jan. 26, 2012, “Intolerance oft-propagated severe despite lineage with Native at Dartmouth” — about the racial a d vo c a c y o f overwhelmslurs that students of color like me Native schol- ‘re-education’ ing obstacles. have been subjected to by white, ars alongside programs, which were And let me be male students. Brazenly in daylight, the endurance clear: Collegecarefully under the cover of darkness, of the “Indian designed to transform employed indiI’ve been labeled “n----r” on mul- mascot” or how and, ultimately, ‘kill viduals are not tiple occasions, as well as numerous the Ivy League personally rethe Indian’ in Native other sexist and homophobic slurs, shares its elitist sponsible for vulby different groups on the way to pedagogical lin- youths.” nerable students’ and from classes and residence halls. eage with Native adversities. Hard Regardless, I will say that Dartmouth “re-education” work, personal provided numerous opportunities to programs, which responsibility prove I could honor it exclusively, were designed to transform and, ul- and toil are nothing new to strugthat I could put it before everything timately, “kill the Indian” in Native gling scholars — we are life-versed in else. But I now understand that toxic youths. the mantras of “work twice as hard” partners can easily possess winning What of international students, and “make no-excuses.” Given this smiles, high-minded inclinations and far away from home, who find no nation’s history, how else could we confer “opportunities” for you to place in the narrow, Eurocentric have made it to college at all? remake yourself in their image even corridors of the academy for their Nevertheless, community leaders as they leave you isolated, scarred and voices — their cultures’ intellectual, are responsible for denial, delay, obfundamentally doubting your human linguistic and epistemic inheritance? fuscation and neglect when old scars worth.

Think of the harassment Dart- are ripped open again and again by For evidence of the College’s elit- mouth’s first women faced when it continued violence and structural ist modus operandi, look no further was an unapologetically masculinist isolation within community purview. than the ubiquitous insignia we wear domain and the sexual violence wom- Alumni are responsible when they

lobby with overwhelming financial this long, that I could win the game power to prevent old traditions from if I were willing to pay the price. I failing. These problems go beyond grasped what the price was. It was biased, intolerant or high-risk be- my conscience. I could not betray it. haviors and beyond the influence of In the wake of this realization, a mental health support. great heaviness was lifted from me.

Many students know that “medi- In the weeks before Dartmouth and I cal leave,” for instance, is bureaucrat- formally separated, I spent time tendic code for “Your problems are not ing in earnest to what truly mattered Dartmouth’s problems.” This reality — my closest friendships and deardoes not detract from the genuine ef- est loves. I participated in the Black forts of school deans and counselors Lives Matter march, remembering on students’ behalf. Instead it reveals that the struggle for our lives is not this truth — the purpose of mental merely being waged in the busy city health counseling is to aid the well- streets of New York City, Ferguson being of individuals, not remedy the and Baltimore, but also on the muted toxicity of broader social conditions. rural roads and within the curated The College as it exists is a social academy grounds of Hanover. It health problem, one rooted in an is being waged in our minds as we ongoing legacy of exclusivity and in- rediscover our human worth beneath equity that is absolutely foundational the shadow of structure and history. to the design of an elite education. It Wherever we live, breathe and learn will require more our lives should than counselors, matter.

“It will require more more than one F o r initiative, more than counselors, more my part, I can than figurehead than one initiative, absolutely conleadership, more cede that I was than a few years more than figurehead a flawed student and a sustained leadership, more than — but never to groundswell the idea that a few years and a of voices to individual faildismantle this sustained groundswell ings somehow deeply-embed- of voices to dismantle disprove Dartded framework. mouth’s need For years I this deeply-embedded t o d e ci s i ve l y asked myself if framework.” correct its own.

I was the probTherefore, when lem. I did well an environment academically in the fall of 2015 or relationship is killing you — raise — thanks to the combined support your voice. Do not be persuaded of my two younger sisters and a by insidious language of individual few steadfast friends. Between my pathology and survivor-blame to suicide attempt that term and my bear the burden of responsibility separation the following spring, for structural violence. Refuse to be though, I realized what was holding gas-lighted. Read between the lines me back was far more than pain, of history and into the lines of social personal failings or spiritual fatigue. narratives being written today. Refuse I found that I also bore something to accept abuse stoically. Refuse to else — an anchor of conscience, a march across the Commencement weight that moored me to a state stage hiding wounds with forced of unavoidable reflection about the smiles, leaving the next generation role elite institutions like Dartmouth of students to be lured into the play in constructing the injustices of same cycle. Speak out for yourself, our world. I apprehended how much for others. And even after speaking of this process I endorsed by giving out, we sometimes have to face this into the institution’s insidious pres- fact — our voices are not enough. sure on my life and values. Despite Then, like James Baldwin, Josephine everything, why did I stay? Was it a Baker and Yasiin Bey who left the mere piece of paper and its empty country in existential frustration, promises of opportunity? Was it an or like Stokely Carmichael, Assata urgency not to shame my people and Shakur and Angela Davis, who were ancestors beneath the ancient, with- forced beyond its boundaries, we may ering glower of low expectations that have to accept that a social order women, low-income and students simply cannot or will not change in of color know all too well? I looked our lifetime. Sometimes, we must deeper, through my acquired shame realize that, yes, our lives do matter and self-doubt, all the way back to but no, they do not matter here. matriculation. I recognized that I had Sometimes, like I did, you just already proven myself by surviving have to leave.

PAGE HC 24

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015

HOMECOMING 2015

The Dartmouth asked students for their personal stories about mental health. We received over 100 responses, all of which shed light upon a variety of issues at the College. Here is a sample of those responses.

“I would describe Dartmouth as a school of superlatives.

Everyone can be described in terms of ‘ests’ — friendliest, smartest, warmest, stylish-est, prettiest. At least that’s what it feels like sometimes. The pressure to become one of those “ests” is overwhelming and only aggravated by the fact that people seem to pull it off effortlessly. This was something I struggled with when I first came here, and it definitely impacted my mental health negatively. But after spending a couple terms here, I have come to understand that no one has it completely together all the time. The people I thought were perfect actually weren’t — they had just accepted their flaws and worked to overcome them instead of worrying about looking flawless all the time... Dartmouth sometimes makes you think that you’re drowning, you’re failing, and you will never be as good. This is not true. Every person here deserves to be here. The sooner we all “The ‘academic rigor’ part of [‘Movinternalize this, the easier it is to stop worrying about how we’re ing Dartmouth Forward’] makes me feel doing in relation to others and start working on ourselves.” unsupported in my efforts to maintain mental health. I don’t want to have to sacrifice my well-being in order to keep up academically.”

“I actually left my therapy sessions [at Dick’s House] feeling more ashamed, humiliated and suicidal then I felt when I arrived. The only goal of Dick’s House psychiatric services seems to be to label students as insane and shame them off campus. Maybe others had a better experience, but this was my perception.”

“Anonymous sites like Yik Yak show a clear cry for help. Mental health here is at the bottom of the list for importance and everyone thinks being stressed, sleep deprived and malnourished is necessary to do well here.

It’s also why we party so much and binge on recreational drugs/activities, because it’s often the only outlet for people.”

“One of the hardest things about struggling with mental health at Dartmouth wasn’t the actual issue itself, but hostility I received when reaching out to friends for help. There seems to be a mantra on campus that ‘everything is okay,’ and even when it’s not, you should pretend it is. This is so unhealthy and completely isolating for people going through very real issues.”

“I have been suffering from mental illness for a while, a good bit before coming to Dartmouth. However, the academic and social expectations at Dartmouth have greatly impacted my mental state, pushing me to the brink of suicide on multiple occasions during my time here. I believe that a major reason for this is the social exclusivity of Dartmouth that leaves students from a atypical background feeling alone and unsupported. Even if groups are on campus for these individuals (including myself), we feel relatively isolated from the population of Dartmouth at large.”

“People need to be more thickskinned on this campus, and take responsibility for their successes and their failures, and learn from them without feeling sorry for themselves.”

The reason that we’re all alcoholics is that we have so much work all the time. We drink because that’s all we can do to relax.

“I had a major depressive episode in my sophomore year at Dartmouth. I felt completely alone on campus and considered dropping out of school for my health. Now... I know that my mental health experiences are shared by many other Dartmouth students. I hope that Dartmouth raises awareness for mental health because it would prevent people from hiding their pain and suffering and instead use one another for support.”