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Volume CXX, No. 12
This week in 1928, there was a list published of new books in the library. Many of the books were for reference, including a variety of chemistry and physics books. There were books like Pennsylvania History told by its Contemporaries by A.E. Martin, Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, and many more. Now, you may be wondering, can I still take out these books? Yes, most of these books can still be found in the library. This week in 1948, the junior class met in Brua chapel to discuss new diplomas. Their class would be the first one to have them. This had been in the works for a year at that point, with the senior class called for a resolution. The new diploma would be a blue leather case with the Gettysburg College written in gold lettering on the front and the inside would have the diploma and a “photostatic” copy of the student’s transcript on blue and orange felt. The old diploma type was a scroll and many graduates complained that the diplomas easily tore this way. This week in 1953, offcampus house parties for Spring House Party Weekend were approved during a faculty meeting. The students were happy that they could party during that weekend. The Social Functions Committee asked for off-campus parties because there was no good floor space for dancing. However, the students understood that they could not serve alcohol at these parties. This week in 1998, The Gettysburgian reported about the up and coming band on campus, the Warrior Poets. The band, consisting of Paul Hutchinson, Jay Spiese, and (now a professor) Ian Isherwood, was only a few months old at this point, but many students and staff loved their Irish-American folk song inspired music. They all wanted to create the band to show the uniqueness in Irish-American music and they began playing together. They started to play at one of the pubs in town, Buckley’s, and slowly they gained notoriety. Most people loved the arrangements that they made and many people danced to it. There were even rumors that professors would jig! The Warrior Poets were excited for their coming performances for Saint Patrick’s Day. These archived “blasts from the past” were compiled by staff writer Shannon Zeltmann thanks to Special Collections in Musselman Library.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Thursday, March 8, 2018
FREE
Hanson basement residents get priority housing (back) as college discovers mold elsewhere
Mold on a pipe in Hanson Hall (Submitted photo) All Hanson residents B y B enjamin P ontz will — as previously promised M anaging N ews E ditor Less than two weeks — receive $250 in housing after the college reversed credit, but only basement course on its initial plan to give residents will receive the the residents of the Hanson priority in accordance with Hall basement displaced the original commitment due to mold priority in the made by Associate Dean of sophomore housing lottery, College Life for Residential it reinstated that priority last and First-Year Programs (RFYP) Keira Kant in an Thursday evening. An email sent to email sent Jan. 24. Vice President of Hanson basement residents Finance & Administration from Vice President of College Dan Konstalid told The Life and Dean of Students G e t t y s b u r g i a n in an Julie Ramsey attributes the interview with “On Target” decision to advocacy from students including those at that the $250 figure came Monday’s Student Senate from the college trying to envision what cleaning or meeting. “The College has replacement expenses for decided to honor its original comforters or sheets students commitment to basement living amid mold may have residents to receive priority incurred, which, they heard housing for next year,” the from some students, totaled email from Ramsey said. approximately $100, and “We have listened to you, seeking to come up with a to Student Senate, as well number that was “reasonable.” “It clearly was tied as many students who have to this idea of replacing -- or supported you, and are laundering -a few key items persuaded by your stance on in a student’s possession,” this issue. While we know this Ramsey added. will not make everyone in the Senator Abigail building happy, we feel it is H a u e r ’21, a former important to honor our stated Hanson basement resident, promise.”
appreciated that Ramsey reinstated the priority housing and applauded the advocacy by Hanson basement residents and senators — especially Senator Marisa Balanda ’21 — alike, which put pressure on the college to make the change. “I’m very glad that Dean Ramsey reinstated priority housing for the former Hanson Basement residents,” she said. “The Basement girls came together to voice their opinions in Senate, and I’m pleased to say that the collaborative expression led to resolution.” Balanda echoed Hauer’s thanks. “I’m glad that the college has decided to honor its original commitment by reinstating priority housing for the former Hanson basement residents,” Balanda said. “I want to thank Dean Ramsey for reaching out to me, personally, and listening to the student body.” Later Thursday evening, College President Janet Morgan Riggs sent an email to all students summarizing the college’s
response to the mold issue and announcing the creation of a new committee of students, facilities staff, and residence life staff to make recommendations “to improve our responsiveness to facility issues in residence halls.” Riggs said she will ask for those recommendations to be submitted by the end of the academic year. Furthermore, as previously reported, the mold consultant will make recommendations to address any issues identified in a summer room-by-room visual inspection for mold; those recommendations will be available for the public to view in the fall. On Monday, the college notified residents of 223 Carlisle Street that they had received a report of water and mold in the basement apparently due to a failed sump pump. “The sump pump has since been fixed and the basement is now dry,” an email from Kant and Director of Facilities Jim Biesecker to building residents said. “Visual inspection discovered there is mold in the basement.” Compliance Management International, the same environmental consultant that assessed Hanson Hall, was scheduled to assess 223 Carlisle Street Tuesday. Results of the assessment will be available early next week, Kant’s email said. College spokeswoman Jamie Yates had no new information to provide after the inspection was conducted Tuesday. The college does not own 223 Carlisle Street, which previously housed Tau Kappa Epsilon until the fraternity was suspended indefinitely
Although TAO is designed to work without the help of a counselor, it can be used as a supplementary resource between or even as part of traditional therapy sessions. Bradley envisions the software as having a lot of potential, even musing about integrating it into a future first year seminar course. The second new tool available to students is an online training program called “Ask Listen Refer” intended to help users learn to recognize and respond to others who might be considering suicide. The program takes around 25 minutes and includes video demonstrations of how to speak with someone having suicidal thoughts. These self-help resources will provide vital mental health support to students who sometimes find it difficult to obtain counseling appointments as demand for these sessions continues to increase. According to Bradley, about 25 percent of Gettysburg students visit Counseling Services each year, mirroring trends at other colleges. She attributes this shift to rising levels of stress and perfectionism among young adults as well
as improved advertising for counseling programs. “There are so many stressors for students, especially at our college where there is so much focus on academics,” explained Rebekah Grimes ‘20. “It can really get in your head with so many things riding on your GPA. Until recently, there hasn’t been enough understanding by colleges that this is important.” Anxiety is a particularly common disorder among these undergraduates, with the American College Health Association reporting that nearly one in six college students have been diagnosed with or treated for it within the last year. TAO’s anxiety treatment modules will offer these individuals needed coping strategies, especially if they cannot or do not want to make an appointment for in-person treatment. “When I wanted to deal with my personal anxiety, I was given a worksheet to break it down by getting to its real source and rationalizing the situation, so I didn’t feel anxious anymore,” explained Timothy Black ’20. “I thought it was very helpful.” The idea is that TAO will be able to offer similar
in 2013 after a college investigation uncovered underground activity during a previous suspension for ongoing conduct issues including “life safety issues, disorderly conduct, social event violations, acts of aggression, violence and assaults that jeopardized the safety of students,” Joe Gurreri, then Director of Greek Organizations, told The Gettysburgian in 2013. The TKE local alumni chapter still owns the property, and Kant said they had been contacted about remediation efforts in the basement that will begin during spring break. No students live in the 223 Carlisle Street basement. Nevertheless, resident James Mullen ‘20 said, “I’m thoroughly disgusted” regarding the mold situation. Moving forward, the college will add a visual inspection for mold in each residence hall room as part of the room condition assessment process over the summer, Konstalid said. “We have a process now -- a pre-move in process -- where we prepare rooms for students upon their arrival,” Konstalid explained, “and we routinely review them to make sure that they’re ready. It’s a visual inspection of the entire room. In response to this, what we want to do is strengthen that review by making sure that we are specifically as part of that inspection process looking for mold particularly and that we brief the people that are doing it on what to be looking for. It’s a strengthening of an existing process, but it should touch every room before we turn them over to students in the fall.”
Counseling Services adds online resources
Zach, the emotional support B y S arah K irkpatrick S taff W riter As student demand for mental health resources grows on campus, Gettysburg College Counseling Services has added two new online self-help programs to their website. The first, Therapist Assisted Online (TAO), is a software designed to help users with moderate anxiety or other mental illnesses to manage their emotional wellbeing through psychoeducation and guided exercises. The program is free to those with a college email and is anonymous. TAO combines wellness surveys, video exercises, and other media into a variety of self-help
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Blasts from the past
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dog (File photo) modules on different topics. These modules focus on themes like interpersonal skills, mindfulness and relaxation strategies, and resilience training, which can improve a person’s ability to recover from setbacks. “We are excited to be able to explore different tools that can be of help to our community and we’re eager to assess how people respond to TAO,” said Counseling Services Director Dr. Kathy Bradley. “What is especially great about TAO is students who want help but cannot or choose not to go to Counseling Services can still access evidence-based self-help – anytime, anywhere.”
Senate passes expression philosophy, pg. 2
Baptist delivers Gondwe Lecture, pg. 3
Where to eat when your parents are in town, pg. 4
exercises for users to better understand their anxiety. However, these resources are not necessarily a substitute for meeting with a therapist. “If you’ve dealt with mental health issues before and you want to refine and work on the coping mechanisms you’ve learned, then these resources could be helpful,” said Grimes. “I think, though, that if you’re a first-time mental health sufferer, you need to see someone. There is no beating an in-person session.” Counseling Services can typically fit students in for an appointment with a therapist within a week and a half for non-emergency situations and within the day in the case of an emergency, Bradley said. Services are confidential and at no additional cost for students. They also include a chance to interact with Zach, the emotional support dog. In the future, Bradley plans to continue expanding the scope of mental health resources available to the campus community. Specifically, she hopes to add more therapists to the Counseling Services team in the future as the need for treatment continues to climb.
Review: Women’s Ghosts and MGMT’s BB wins the city, “Little Dark conference pg. 5 Age”, title, pg. 6 pg. 8