Friday, October 11, 2002

Page 1

F R I D A Y OCTOBER 11, 2002

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 90

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

www.browndailyherald.com

Simmons will create post to head up diversity at U. BY BRIAN BASKIN

President Ruth Simmons aims to change the way Brown approaches diversity by adding a new administrative position devoted exclusively to the subject. “There’s a temptation to make quick decisions with no expert advice,” she said. “People end up making the same mistakes over and over again.” The senior administration began planning last spring for ways to improve the University’s handling of diversity issues. Two major initiatives emerged from the talks: the continuation of a current program to recruit top minority faculty and the creation of a new administrative position devoted entirely to managing diversity, to be formalized after a meeting of the Corporation’s minority affairs committee in November, Simmons said. Diversity is a more complicated problem than many realize, and Brown’s policy in handling diversity issues needs to reflect that, Simmons said. “The old model, the affirmative action model is not grasping what’s unfolding in this country,” Simmons said. “It does not deal with the constant Kimberly Insel / Herald

see DIVERSITY, page 6

Assistant Director for Psychological Services Kent Yrchik-Shoemaker joined students in the post office Thursday to talk about depression and other issues related to mental health.

A day to focus on mental health BY DANA GOLDSTEIN

In an effort to educate students about depression and other issues related to mental health, the University hosted National Depression Screening Day on Thursday. The day included an information table at the post office, an evening discussion about coping with depression and a screening of the movie “A Beautiful Mind.” Schools, hospitals and mental health centers across the country have participated in National Depression Screening Day for a decade, said Kent Yrchik-Shoemaker, assistant director for Psychological Services. “College age is the most likely time that mental disorders will appear,” Yrchik-Shoemaker said. Last year, Psychological Services saw over 1,200 students, approximately 300 of whom had symptoms of depression. Fifty students each year come to Psychological Services because they are concerned about a friend or family member, Yrchik-Shoemaker said. In addition, approximately 50 Brown students currently work with Disability Support Services to manage a chronic mental disorder. “Part of what my group does is ... work a lot to try and reduce stigma around mental illness,” said Beth Marlowe ’04, a leader of Brown Mental Well-Being. Yrchik-Shoemaker said National Depression Screening Day also aimed to change students’ attitudes about depression. “Based on the national statistics, it’s likely most firstyear units would have a member sometime during the year experiencing depression, as opposed to the blues,” he said. Helping students distinguish between clinical depression and “the blues” was a central component of the screening day. “At your age, things change really fast,” YrchikShoemaker told the discussion group that met last night in Hope College. “Students experience adjustment disorders that have physical symptoms of anxiety and depression,” he said. “The staff is experienced in figuring out if this is the blues,

if this is an adjustment reaction or is this major depression that would require treatment.” Marlowe told the discussion group that depression manifested itself in physical, behavioral, emotional and cognitive ways. Some who suffer from depression can experience self-doubt or self-denial about their condition. Physical symptoms often include a lump in the throat or aches and pains that might quickly appear and disappear. Because the physical manifestations of depression are similar to the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, mononucleosis, the onset of diabetes and other conditions, a student visiting Psychological Services often consults with a physician to rule out these possibilities. All of Psychological Services’ resources are free and completely confidential, Yrchik-Shoemaker said. The department responds to crisis situations but does not work with students over a long period of time. Students who need long-term care must seek it off-campus, YrchikShoemaker said. The University insurance plan will pay a majority of the cost for 30 sessions with a therapist. At last night’s discussion group, students talked about how to deal with a friend who is experiencing symptoms of depression. One student stressed the importance of seeing the situation through the eyes of the depressed person instead of suggesting that the student simply snap out of it. “Our culture is not really used to describing depression as an illness, as something with a biological cause,” Yrchik-Shoemaker said. “Most of us would prefer to think that if I’m lucky, or if I live right, that mental disorders are not going to be a part of my life, but it can be a part of our life the way diabetes can. There’s a biological component to most disorders, it’s not just a matter of attitude, or experience, or knowledge or environment.” Psychological Services, Brown Suicide Prevention and Advocacy Network and Brown Mental Well-Being sponsored the screening day.

Corporation members listen to student, faculty concerns at town meeting BY AMY RUDDLE

The need for larger community spaces and improved athletic facilities was at the heart of Thursday night’s town meeting with students, faculty, Corporation members and Office of Campus Life administrators. Vice President for Campus Life Janina Montero, Director of Financial Aid Michael Bartini and other senior administrators facilitated group discussions on campus-life issues over dinner with randomly selected members of the Brown community. Corporation members dined with the students, asking questions about the state of residence halls, dining facilities, social areas and fitness and recreation facilities. “Themes of urgency,” said Undergraduate Council of Students Vice President Deepa Kumaraiah ’03, are improving athletic facilities and community spaces. Creating “larger venues that can be used for various purposes” is very important, she added. Discussion groups stressed the importance of creating a centrally located community center that could possibly relieve this need. “There needs to be a way to meet and interact with people not through dorms,” said Shereen Kassam ’05. “There should be more things to do on campus if you’re not into frat parties.” Corporation member Matthew Mallow ’64 suggested Faunce House as a location for a new student center, saying the ambiance in areas like the Lower Blue Room could be quickly altered to promote community gatherings. Students also stressed the importance of focusing on improving existing athletic facilities for non-varsity athletes.

I N S I D E F R I D AY, O C T O B E R 1 1 , 2 0 0 2 ‘The Seagull’ debuts in Stuart Theater — sure to bring down even the highest spirits page 3

Production Workshop now won’t leave T.F. Green until next semester page 4

Winners of ‘Paul Armstrong’s Money’ still haven’t received their checks page 5

see MEETING, page 6

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Jaideep Singh ’03 says the U.S. media ignores important world affairs in its narrow coverage column,page 11

Football team looks to get on winning track against a Fordham team that is 4-1 sports,page 12

sunny high 64 low 54


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