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( i^KE ;ks, ssi, ;to iH 0^'i' Cecilia Gatungo, a student at Brevard College, and two others wore a uniform similar to that of detained prisoners of the United States on the Quad last week in protest of the war. Gatungo said it is wrong to pass a law allowing President Bush to bypass the current laws on torture. Abby Kent - Staff Photographer Riana Ackley, senior philosophy student, represents her feelings about the war with a sign. Several students walked out to protest the anti-war protest. Students express feelings about war By Catty Pelliccia Staff Writer UNC Asheville witnessed a divided student body on the Quad during a protest against the war in Iraq last week. “I am against the war in Iraq because it is a war of imperialism and a war for greed and profit at the expense of so many U.S. and Iraqi lives,” said Kati Ketz, junior political science student. The UNC Asheville Socialist Unity League hosted the protest. “Oct. 5 was a nation^ day of action against the war in Iraq,” Ketz said. “Around 250 protests nationwide were going on at the same time as our action here in Asheville.” Some students, led by 21-year- old student Megan Stone, set up a counter-protest around the flag pole area. “I’m sick of the lack of support for our troops in Iraq,” Stone said. “War sucks. Nobody likes war. I don’t like war, but we need to sup port our troops and stand by their side.” ' ■ The anti-war demonstration began when SUL encouraged stu dents to march out of their class rooms as part of the anti-war protest. The protest on the Quad followed, after which students marched downtown to join an even larger effort. “After a two-mile march that involved passing by the federal building, we had an impromptu rally at Pritchard Park,” Ketz said. “It’s an inspiring thing to see hun dreds of people as passionate as you are in public showing they are against this racist war.” A group of students from Brevard College spoke out against the war in Iraq with the clothes they were wearing. “This is the uniform that thou sands of detained prisoners wear everyday,” said Cecilia Gatungo, a student at Brevard College don ning an orange jumpsuit and a black hood which covered her face. “We did an orange alert today on our campus, which included a walkout in solidarity with Oct. 5. We’re just making a statement that wd are not OK with legalized tor ture. It’s not OK for Americans to go about their day not recognizing that their government just legal ized it.” Last October, SUL hosted a protest against the war, but Ketz said this year’s turnout proved to be much more promising. “Last year, we had about 150 people at the peak of the demon stration, and that was in the freez ing rain,” Ketz said. “This year we had about 200 people with us in Pritchard Park. There were about 15 counter-demonstrators, about the same as last year.” Ketz said the counter-protester message of “Support our troops” and “Bring them home now” con tradicts these objections. “I don’t think it was so much a ‘support our troops’ counter protest but a pro-war protest,” Ketz said. “Seventy-two percent of U.S. troops in Iraq want an end to the war by 2006, and over a quar ter of the troops said the United States should leave Iraq immedi ately, according to a recent Zogby poll.” It is important to know the dif ference between supporting the war and supporting the troops, said Amanda Sliker, sophomore sociol ogy student. “We have to draw a line and say that the troops are human beings,” Sliker said. “They are people that are just doing something to serve their country and support their country. We can’t take that and reflect everything that’s happening in the war back on the troops.” Sliker, a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserves who fought in Iraq for 15 months, participated in the count er-protest. Tikrit, the town where Sliker stayed, is the birthplace of Saddam Hussein and faced insur gent attacks since its occupation in 2003. The area where national resist ance is strongest is known as the “Sunni Triangle,” and Tikrit is at the northern tip of this triangle. “While I was there I contracted a long-term lung disease from inhal ing gas fumes,” Sliker said. “I’m bitter at the fact that we were not given more protection for our selves to help prevent things like that, but I know what 1 was doing was why I was there.” According to a CNN count. 2,741 Americans have lost their lives since the beginning of the war. This makes up 92 percent of the total coalition deaths. Eighteen of these reported deaths were dur ing the first four days of this month. “I am against this war because I am sick of seeing people I grew up with dying in the Army,” Ketz said. SUL and other students against the war in Iraq said they plan on continuing the traditions of the Oct. 5 protests. “This day is actually the day where we, as the American people, take to the streets and become a visible, powerful force,” Gatungo said. “This is the movement that is going to take and reverse every thing that Bush has put into place. Nothing short of people standing in their millions in this country is going to reverse that.” Crime update By Anna Lee Staff Writer Intoxicated Driver: Police arrested 34-year-old Asheville resident Bobby Rice at the inter section of Campus Drive and Field Drive Sept. 28 on charges of driving while intoxicated and driving with a revoked license. Campus Thefts: Police arrest ed 18-year-old Ashevffle-Bunambe Technical Coimnunity College stu dent Leonard Jack Davis at his home on Oct. 4 after investigating die Sept. 29 theft of some elec tronic items from dorm rooms in Founders Hall. Davis is now banned from UNC Asheville property. Flashing incident on campus: An unidentified male exposed bimself to a female student near the creek adjacent to Founders Drive Tuesday. Sgt. Jerry Adams asks anyone with additional infor- niation to call Campus Police. Increase in suicides stresses importance of prevention By Christa Chappelle Staff Writer With suicide as the second lead ing cause of death for people 18 to 24, the UNC Asheville community continues to place importance on depression treatments and suicide prevention. “We have a Care and Crisis Team, which is chaired by the dean of students, Jackie McHargue,” said Bill Haggard, vice chancellor of student affairs. “This team is designed to respond to student cri sis and to coordinate care for stu dents who go through critical experiences. In the event of a sui cide or a suicide attempt, the Care and Crisis Team goes into action and provides these services.” The number of college students feeling overwhelmed and stressed has increased over the past 15 years with the greater pressures on performance, according to the BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network. The Care and Crisis Team con sists of staff and faculty members from the university ranging from the dean of students to experts in how deaths may affect the aca demic experience of students. This interdisciplinary group helps to look at all perspectives on how a student death may affect others, according to Haggard. “They usually come up with an appropriate plan on how to respond to the situation,” Haggard said. In addition to substance abuse, changes in sleeping habits and iso lation are signs of depression, according to Maggie Weschner, director of the counseling center. “Some signs of depression include not going to class, not seeming to enjoy things that they used to enjoy and changes in eat ing or sleeping patterns,” Weschner said. “Most people that are depressed wind up sleeping too much and staying in bed, but there are some people who can’t sleep.” About 10 percent of college stu dents suffer from depression, according to the BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network. Depression makes up 85.2 percent of mental disorders in suicide victims, according to a 2004 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This does not mean a depressed person will commit suicide, according to Weschner. “Most people who commit sui cide are suffering from some kind of emotional depression, whether it’s depression or some bipolar dis order,” Weschner said. “Fortunately, most people who are depressed don’t commit suicide.” However, when a student men tions suicide, friends should pro vide support for that person and listen to them, according to Weschner. “If you’re worried about a friend, I think the most important thing to do is listen to them, offer them support and don’t try to cheer them up,” Weschner said. “You should really listen to them.” Students can call Campus Police who are always available to help students, according to Weschner. “We’re always on call,” Weschner said. “If a student has an emergency and needs a counselor during the night, they can always access us through Campus Police.” A stigma exists in our society where people view counseling in a negative light, which makes it dif ficult for people to admit they need help, according to Haggard. “We have great pressure on our selves and in our society to be independent, self-sufficient and strong,” Haggard said. “It’s very difficult for people to get that they could potentially be better off if they have somebody helping them.” The counseling center attempts to help ease the pressures of the college experience by teaching students how to take better care of their mind and body, according to Weschner. “College is such a stressful time ,and we live in such a stressful world that so many times you guys are just going, going, going all the time,” Weschner said. “One thing that we really try to help people do is try to take care of themselves. Whether that means making changes in exercise, nutrition, stress management or saying things that they need to say.” The center provides things including individual and group counseling. “The counseling center provides counselors and referrals for med ications if we think it’s appropri ate,” Weschner said. “It depends on the circumstances.” Although the suicide rates of stu dents in college remain lower than young people not in college, stu dents having thoughts of suicide have grown in number, according to Haggard. “The number of students who actually act out and commit sui cide after having ideas about doing it is still relatively small,” Haggard said. “At the same time, we have to take every single case extreme ly seriously, because it’s an oppor tunity to save a life.” Warning Signs of Suicide Loss of interest in usual activities Change in appetite or weight Change in sleeping patterns Fatigue or loss of energy Feeling of worthlessness Lower level of concentration Thoughts of death Warning sign information from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. •••
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Oct. 12, 2006, edition 1
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