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•BKJUILFORDIAN
Greensboro, N.C.
Campus counseHna health respond to critk^sm
Kaitlyn Moore
Staff Writer
One suicide and several attempted
suicides have brought mental health
issues to the attention of the Guilford com
munity this year. Some students, though,
have concerns about Guilford's counseling
and health services.
"A lot of things can combine together to
make it why, on a college campus, you
might have suicide attempts," said Dean for
Campus Life Anne Lundquist. She lists fac
tors such as class and relationship stress,
and the change in environment when stu
dents move to school. Some students also
decide to change routines, such as therapy
or medication, upon coming to school.
Though the campus Counseling Center
and Health Center are available, some stu
dents are wary of going to them, citing them
as impersonal or inadequate. Some, such
as third-year Benjamin "Ben G" Katz have
specific complaints about particular offices.
"When you try to kill yourself and you go
to the counselor and are actually open
about it, they make you sign a piece of
paper saying that you'll never do it again, or
they'll kick you out of school," Katz said of a
friend's experience with the Counseling
Center. "That's the last thing you should do
to a person who tries to commit suicide -
give them an ultimatum."
When asked about the policy, Lundquist
said, "No, there's no blanket way that this
works ... there does come a point where
you're a member of a community. When
people make a suicide attempt on a cam
pus where everyone's living so close
together, that can trigger things for other
people."
"It's very rare that what the student wants
and what the college wants are two oppo
site things," Lundquist added."Usually it's
collaborative ... working with the student,
working with the counseling center, working
with their family - if the student has given
permission to contact them - and trying to
come up with the best solution for that per
son."
A related office, on-campus health servic
es, receives similar criticism. "I kind of feel
like cattle, being herded through the
bureaucracy of Guilford's health system,"
said first-year Amanda Szabo.
Volume 91, Issue 17
www.guilfordian.com
Szabo explained that, because she could
not get a Friday appointment, she had vom
ited all of one weekend. She said that the
health office should be open every day, and
that medication should be easier to get.
She said of other appointments with the
health center,
"Even when you
are treated, a lot
of time it's in a
very bureaucrat
ic manner that's
very dehumaniz
ing."
When asked
about student complaints of impersonality,
Director of Student Health Helen Rice said,
"I'd hate to think they felt that way."
"We're all trying to do the best we can,"
said Health Services receptionist, first-year
Mary Juravich. "If people are rushing or
impersonal, it's probably because they have
10 other people waiting."
A physician's assistant who can prescribe
Students neglect Bryan series
Kaitlin Uoolik
Staff Writer
n the past three years,
campus attendance at
Bryan Series lectures has
decreased from 300 to 75,
according to a list of atten
dance estimates for the
events since 2001. Guilford
students aren't attending the
lectures and the organizers
are wondering why.
The Bryan Series is a gift
from namesake Joseph M.
Bryan Jr. Bryan, an alumnus
and current chair of the col
lege's board of trustees, set
up an endowed fund to be
used to hire speakers.
The annual sum of money
Guilford receives from this
fund is to be used only for
speakers, with an aim to
honor the arts, humanities,
and public affairs.
"Even when you are treated, a
lot of time it's in a very
bureaucratic manner that's
very dehumanizing."
-First-year Amanda Szabo
INSLEE HACKETT/GUILFORDIAN
Bryan speakers in 2004
included Mary Pipher
"I will be the first to tell
you," says Director of
College Relations Ty
Buckner, "not every speaker
is a household name. We
use the input of the faculty,
Joe Bryan, and the students,
to keep the series academi
cally oriented."
Buckner, who is one of the
medication is on campus from 9-12 a.m.
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings,
and Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from
1:15-4:00 p.m. Students with after-hours
emergencies or more serious illnesses are
sent to Greensboro's Urgent Care facility.
——~the school that
doesn't fund enough hours." Juravich said.
"We're all doing the best we can."
Health Services shares the umbrella of
Campus Life with the Counseling Center.
Lundquist calls each part of the counseling
process individualized from the beginning.
"There are a lot of different options of ways
to get in the door, usually I just encourage
Continued on Page 3
the program's organizers,
sees a strong integrity in the
program. He emphasizes
that the program's purpose
is educational.
Though the series pro
vides good publicity for the
college and is designed to
appeal to a wide range of
people all around the city,
the true goal is education.
Speakers are never hired for
pure entertainment.
"I want to emphasize,"
said philosophy profesor
Jonathan Malino, another
key organizer in an e-mail,
"what an extraordinary
opportunity the Bryan Series
offers both the entire
Guilford community and the
wider Greensboro communi
ty. The speakers are not
ones we normally have
Continued on Page 3
Feb. 4, 2005
Students must
have appoint
ments to see a
physician's
assistant.
"People get
frustrated, but
it's really just
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