Opinion
Page 2
Why Donating Blood is Essential Our view
Another Hutchinson Community College blood drive is upon us and it’s up to the students and faculty to make sure that the Red Cross leaves here with plenty of donated blood to save lives over the holiday season. The most common excuse heard around campus for not donating blood is that potential life savers are ‘afraid the needle will hurt’. And while this may be a viable excuse for those with legitimate phobias, for others, it’s a fear worth being conquered. Donating blood is a way for people to give back to their community and help someone in need. Another common excuse for people not wanting to donate blood is that they don’t have any time. Hospitals and clinics are always wanting blood donations, so there are many opportunities to give blood. If you can’t make it
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, November 3, 2017
Over Before it Started
to the local drive, there are always other schools and clubs to donate at. There shouldn’t be an excuse for not giving blood unless you have a medical condition, in which they will tell you whether you are able to donate or not. If you still can’t get over your fear of needles or blood, try putting yourself in the recipient’s shoes. What if you were seriously injured and needed blood? Or you may know of someone who has been in a bad car crash that has needed blood at one point or another. Just think that you could be one of many who have had the opportunity to be a hero. If these reasons to give blood aren’t persuasive enough, normally there are cookies and juice available after the donation. Giving blood is wellworth the one pint taken. Especially if that blood saves a soldier, child, or cancer patient’s life.
Kourtney Sweet/Collegian Cartoonist
The unfortunate events of Brenna My health experiences
Aside from the tailbone incidents, I have had my fair share of health issues and doctor appointments thus far in my life. I can peg it down to the age of 2, because that’s when I had a seizure caused from too much heat. It was also discovered then that I had asthma. Since then, I have had a few asthma attacks, in which one was on a school bus in grade school. I scared my friends and bus driver, but it all worked out in the end. So there I was, doing breathing treatments every night until I slowly started getting better. In fifth grade, I woke up one morning and thought it was just a normal Thursday. Boy, was I wrong. I felt a bit odd,
like I was under water or in a tunnel so I went to go tell my mom. As I got to the room that she was in, I immediately blacked out, falling and banging my head against the wall on the way down. After that, I had several doctor appointments to try and figure out what was happening to me. I had a heart test, where I got to keep a framed sonogram of my heart, an EKG for my brain in which I had to pull an all-nighter so that I could sleep in the doctor’s office, and even a diabetes test where I had my blood drawn in little vials six times (one per hour) without food. None of those tests had any of the answers my parents were searching for, so the
Growing up I always thought I would be at a fouryear university, a member of a sorority, and meeting my best friend in the dorms. I dreamt in middle school of all the good times I would have attending to the football games, walking around campus, and going out on Friday nights with my friends. When high school came around and college became a real, tangible thing, I started to realize how much this “dream college experience” would cost me. At an early age I figured out what money meant to me, and I knew that by attending a four-year university I would be putting myself in a lot of debt. My GPA wasn’t as high as it could have been coming out of high school, so the scholarship opportunities available to me were slim. I had to decide quickly what path I wanted to take in my life to
become successful and try to keep my debt at a minimum. Enter Hutchinson Community College. By junior year of high school, I was thinking pretty seriously about attending a community college for the first two years of my education. There had been admissions representatives at my high school for the different community colleges in Kansas, and I decided to visit Hutchinson Community College. Note: I did NOT want to end up at a community college. From early on, it was hammered into my head that community colleges gave you sub-par education for a cheap price tag, and were not viable options when it comes to going to a “good” college (i.e. a four-year). I did not enter my visit with the idea that I wanted to end up at a community college because I felt that people would think that I was unable to make it
Columnist
Brenna Eller
doctors had me do a tilt-table test where they stuck an IV in my left arm right on the inside of my wrist. I was lying straight on my back and the table slowly rose to where I stood up straight and they timed me while I passed out. It was definitely not fun feeling
fuzzy and hearing absolutely nothing but buzzing noises. Then they finally diagnosed me with vasio-syncopy which is a fancy term for: passing out due to blood vessels not contracting and constricting correctly. Apparently my blood doesn’t circulate as well as it should. Sometimes the blood supply from my heart to my brain doesn’t work fast enough and when I stand up fast or exercise too much, I get dizzy and see black spots, or just have really bad migraine headaches. I know this column isn’t the happiest, but it is in fact unfortunate. From fifth grade up until last year, I had to see a neurologist in Wichita every
six months for a regular check-up, which made me feel dumb. I had to do memory tests, which I absolutely suck at, math tests and reading/English related tests. The best part about it? Skipping school and eating out with my mom or dad because I got to choose the restaurant. I was also told that there are “triggers” for my migraine headaches. My neurologist said they were: caffeine, cheddar cheese, processed meat, and chocolate. It just so happened that the day I was told this, I had eaten a slim jim, a cheese stick, a Kit-Kat, and for my drink, Dr Pepper of course. I glanced at my dad and I knew he was thinking the same thing, that I could never give up my favorite
foods and drink. So, I have limited myself a bit. Sometimes I have white cheese and I don’t eat too much chocolate because it does give me a headache after a while. As for the caffeine... Let’s just say it’s a work in progress. On the bright side, I haven’t had an episode in two years because I can usually detect when I am going to pass out before it happens, so I sit or lay down as soon as I hear ringing in my ears or when my eyesight goes black. Also, I can always get out of a sticky situation by standing up straight, locking my knees and counting to a minute and a half. I’ll just need someone to take me away from any danger around the area.
moment I saw the cost breakdown for tuition. Tuition was half of what it costs to go to a four-year, and it was closer to home so I wouldn’t have to pay to live on campus. I made my decision because it was what made sense for me financially, but in the back of my mind I still believed that I was missing out on something by going to a community college. I found that it was far from the truth. Coming to a community college was an amazing choice for me financially, but I realized that there is no difference between a fouryear and two-year other than class size. The community college track offered a 17:1 student-teacher ratio, while a general education class at a four-year had lecture halls with over 100 students in them. My teachers know my name, they know how well I do, and they are willing to
help me out when I need it. I am being taught by someone with a doctorate in their field, instead of a teaching assistant. I am learning the material in my classes because I am encouraged to ask questions. I realized that the quality of my education at a twoyear was not the same—it was actually better. Because most people who go to twoyears are looking to transfer, all of the advisors have information on what classes are required at the four-year of your choice and can make a plan that allows you to take all of the classes you can at a two-year (for half the cost) that still transfer to a fouryear. I met new people just like I would at a university, and I am still having a good experience. The big difference is: now that it is time for me to transfer to the University of Kansas in the Spring, I have
no debt. None at all. I owe nothing for the first two years of my education. Most universities offer scholarships for transfer students, and because I took my schooling more seriously at the college level, I was able to receive the highest amount of money that they offer. Though I do have to take out my first student loan, I can do so knowing that I will not have four years’ worth of debt by the time I graduate, but only two. I see every day the stigma that surrounds community colleges, but the reality is that it is the same level of education that you receive at a university, and you save thousands of dollars. I am proud to have come here because it was a decision that safeguarded my future and opened up opportunities to me that would not have been available if I had let my emotions decide my fate.
Destroying the stigma surrounding community colleges
The Hutchinson
Collegian
The Hutchinson Collegian is the official student newspaper of Hutchinson Community College. It is created by the Newspaper Production class each week during the academic year, except for when school is not in session, or during final exams.
Columnist
Haeli Maas
at a four-year. But either way, I decided to visit HCC and see what it would offer. During my visit, I noticed that the college wasn’t very different from a 4-year, except maybe in size. It offered all the same classes, all of the same extracurriculars, and all the same things you would find at a state school. While I liked that it would offer the same experience, I made my decision the
Staff
Editor: Merissa Anderson Campus editor: Emma Cox Opinion page editor: Brenna Eller Sports editor: Lucas Barlow Online editor: Amanda Carney Adviser: Brad Hallier Staff members: Cassidy Crites, Jack Greenwood, Allie Schweizer, Kourtney Sweet.
Letters to the editor:
The Hutchinson Collegian welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include the author’s signature, address and phone number. The Collegian reserves the right to edit letters for style, legality and length. Letters may not exceed 300 words. Send letters to hallierb@hutchcc.edu.