University of Central Oklahoma
THEVISTA The Student Voice Since 1903
Buying Finals Week Focus UCO students seek drugs during finals week stress
APR 8, 2014
Election season: UCOSA to hold presidential vote
Top: (From Left to Right) Vice Presidential candiate Kiki Pierce and Presidential candidate Josh Jarrett present their platform at the UCOSA debate on April 7, 2014 in Constitution Hall. Bottom: (From Left to Right) Vice Presidential candidate Kalisa Mora and Presidential candidate Chisholm Holland present their platform at the UCOSA debate on April 7, 2014 in Constitution Hall. Photos by Aliki Dyer, The Vista.
Michael Moore
Contributing Writer
In recent years, college students across the nation and at UCO have been buying Adderall and other similar medications in order to perform better on final exams. Photo by Aliki Dyer, The Vista.
Emily Hahn Contributing Writer “Yeah I could perform without it, but I don’t think I would do as well or accomplish as much,” said junior speech pathology major with a minor in deaf education. A self-prescribing exercise and sports
science major said, “With Adderall, it sort of just took away all other distractions and let me focus on my main tasks. It was like I had blinders on.” In college, it is said that you can choose two of three things: good grades, efficient sleep, or a social life. For decades, college students have tried, to no avail, to obtain all three. According to The University of Buffalo’s First Year Student Resources,
it is important for you to realize that you must plan to spend not one, but at least two hours outside of each class on homework in college if you want to be successful. Therefore, you will be spending approximately 15 hours in the classroom and 30 hours outside of class studying, equaling at least 45 hours per week. “Before Adderall, I would get distracted fairly easily and then it would
take a good 15 minutes to get myself back into the zone. But with Adderall, it was easier to study and I got more out of my time spent studying,” said UCO junior. Some students have turned to prescription drugs, prescribed or not, to aid themselves in becoming the successful scholar they once predicted they would be. See Buying Focus on Page 5
Oklahoma earns poor rating in mental health Tyler Talley
Staff Writer Oklahoma now ranks as one of the worst states in the nation for overall mental health according to a report released by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In the report released last month, more than 630,000 Oklahomans suffer from some form of mental illness. The figure represents 22 percent of the population. The state trails only West Virginia in percentage of residents with a severe mental illness, and Utah in the percentage of citizens suffering from any kind of mental illness. Oklahoma Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner Terri White told Adam Kemp, of the Oklahoman, that the report is startling and that the numbers would be even
higher of those younger than 18. That state also lacks the resources to combat the problem and more than 70 percent of adult Oklahomans with mental illness receive no treatment because of this. It is not uncommon for potential patients waiting to see a psychiatrist or counselor can take three months, according to Traci Cook, the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Cook told Kemp in an interview, that the state lost a valuable resource with the closure of Deaconess Hospital in Bethany, last December. The hospital held 60 desperately needed psychiatric beds, according to Cook. “When I see numbers that were in this report, I start to panic,” Cook said. “Access is an enormous problem already. Unfortunately, my staff and I have gotten very good at helping people put their loved ones in a holding
Oklahoma is one of the worst states for overall mental health. Photo by Aliki Dyer, The Vista.
pattern until help is available to them, instead of getting them immediate help.” White compared the situation to an emergency room, where people with the direst conditions are seen and treated first. “Can you imagine if we didn’t treat other diseases until they got to that critical stage?” White said. According to White, Oklahoma spends roughly $53 per capita on mental health treatment, while the national average is about
$120. Thus, the financial rewards for individuals in the profession or seeking employment in it are low, according to Dr. Caleb Lack. Lack serves as an assistant professor of psychology and the Counseling Practicum Coordinator in the Department of Psychology at UCO, as well as a licensed clinical psychologist. Lack stated that students seeking a degree in psychology must have a passion for the subject if they chose to pursue it.
The University of Central Oklahoma Student Association (UCOSA) is electing a new student body president Wednesday by way of majority votes cast by the student body. Students can vote via Current Broncho Central Surveys tab on the UCOnnect home page. Josh Jarrett, a sophomore finance major and Chisholm Holland, a junior organization communication major, are the two candidates running for 2014 UCOSA President. Jarrett is running with vice president candidate Kiki Pierce, a sophomore interpersonal communications major. “We wholeheartedly believe that more is not always better; we want to continue effectively executing the great, already established, programs at UCO. Consistency in our programming is the key to success here,” said Jarrett. Pierce said, “We ran because we love this campus.” Jarrett and Pierce hope to bring back free scantrons to students. This service was once implemented in 2012 by former UCOSA President, Alex Braden, but was abandoned by the proceeding president, Zach Milvo, the following year. “We’ve done it before, and we can do it again. There are departments on campus that provide free scantrons to professors to hand out for their test and quizzes and we believe the student government should be able to do the same for every Broncho, regardless of their major,” said Jarret. They also hope to promote the existing program of Bronchos Helping Bronchos Book Program, which is a service that allows students to donate their used books to other students who cannot afford textbooks. Opening the tennis courts for all students, designating rest areas on campus with hammocks, using golf carts as a taxi service for students, joint programming with surrounding universities, providing Ethernet cables in all dorm rooms to improve Wi-Fi connection and speed and live-streaming of UCOSA congress meetings are all plans that Jarrett and Pierce say they hope to implement if elected. Kalisa Mora, a junior legal studies major, is running for vice president, along side Holland. Holland and Mora say their platform is based on honesty, clarity and ambition. “The president only gets the ability to spend $16,000.With that money we have to fund events for our cabinet and there is only so much a person can do with $16,000, especially considering the impact we were wanting to make. We didn’t want to come here and tell you all about these great programs we were going to do and then not be able to achieve those goals. Is this a politically sound campaign strategy? Absolutely not. We decided we didn’t want to promise candy to the students and then not be able to deliver the candy if it came down to it,” said Holland. UCOSA’s annual budget is $940,000, according to Holland, which funds all student activities. “We want to voice the student opinion, while also remaining realistic. We would also like to bring the program to the students, instead of the students to the program,” said Holland and Mora. The voting times advertised by both candidates are false. According to the UCOSA Constitution, Article V, section 2, the president shall be elected by a majority vote of the ballots cast in a spring election on the second Wednesday of April. The times advertised were 9 a.m. Monday to 5 p.m. Wednesday. Polls are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday.