THE HERALD
September l6, 2015
Stay With Us: Suicide Prevention Week
Emily Chilton, A&E and Copy
starting Monday, September 14,
Meredith will kick off their first annu
al Suicide Prevention and Awareness
week. Sophomore Molly Smerko is the
chief student organizer for the event.
“This past January I lost a friend to
suicide,” said Smerko. “I was grieving
for a long time and really didn’t have a
good way to process my grief. A friend
encouraged Molly to go forward with
her idea of an awareness week, and in
May she emailed the Counseling Cen
ter director Beth Myer. Plans went for
ward from there, mostly taking place
during the summer. Mental health
awareness has become a growing issue
both nationally and locally, especially
in the wake of such deaths as well-
known actor and comedian Robin
Williams and the many Appalachian
students last school year. “We want to
Editor
spread awareness of suicide and de
pression, and educate people so that
they can talk about these issues,” said
volunteer coordinator Sarah Smerko.
“We want people who come to these
events to come out more informed
about suicide and more equipped to
prevent.”
The week will start off on Monday
Sep. 14 with depression screenings by
the counseling center staff from 10am
to ipm in the first floor of the Cate
Center. These screenings will also be
held again at the end of the week, on
Friday Sep. 18. Later on Monday eve
ning, from 4-5:20pm, a QPR training
session will be held in Harris 214. QPR
stands for “Question, Persuade, Refer”
and is known as the “CPR of men
tal health.” This tool will allow those
trained to help those in distress or
with suicidal tendencies. (RSVPs are
required for this event).
Tuesday Sep. 15 will feature a screen
ing of the movie “To Write Love On
Her Arms” at 7pm in Kresge Auditori
um, with a panel discussion following
from 9-lopm. There’s free pizza for the
first too attendees. This event is open
to the public, and if you attend both
it qualifies as an Academic/Cultural
event! A counseling center staff mem
ber will be on site due to the sensitive
and mature content of the movie.
Wednesday Sep. 16, a Stoiy Tell
ing Night will be held in Kresge from
7-8:30. This will be a time for students
and others to share their personal ex
periences with depression and suicide.
Light refreshments will be served. This
event is also open to the public, counts
as an Academic/Cultural event, and
once again a counseling center staff
member will be on site.
Thursday night will round off the
week with a Suicide Remembrance
Night in from of Johnson Hall from
7-8pm, which will include a candle
light vigil. This event is for students to
take part in remembering those lost to
suicide.
We hope to have lots of students
come out for all of these events to help
support the awareness and preven
tion of suicide. Please feel free to post
about any events using the hashtags
#staywithus or #mcsuicideawareness.
If you choose , to post, remember to
do so in a kind and sensitive way. For
more information, like the Facebook
Page “Meredith College Suicide Pre
vention and Awareness Week”.
Study Abroad Kicks Off
Sarah Kiser, Staff Writer
Proud As A Peacock
Julia Allsbrook, Staff Writer
On Tuesday Sept. 8 the Office of
International Programs held a study
abroad fair to inform students about
all the opportunities Meredith College
and its affiliate programs have to offer.
“Study abroad is a wonderful op
portunity to enrich your education,
become more independent and confi
dent, and sensitive to other cultures.
It’s really wonderful to see students af
ter they get back. They’re standing up
a little taller and they’re talking about
all the places they’ve travelled. You
can tell that they have the travel bug
for life, “said Director of International
Programs, Brooke Shurer. Many stu
dents caught the travel bug. and have
studied abroad multiple times, ac
cording to Shurer.
Sansepolcro, Italy is Meredith’s
signature program. Sansepolcro is a
“charming, authentic” town full of life
and culture that Meredith has had a
relationship with for over 30 years.
Students have the opportunity to be
immersed in the culture and learn to
be confident international travelers.
“We’re not just tourists there; we’re
really part of the community,” said
Shurer. Shurer has been there three
times.
There are credits available in each
of the programs that satisfy various
requirements for many majors, mi
nors, general education, and electives.
There is no definitive “best” time to
travel. “The best question [when de
ciding when to travel] might be time
wise, and how it fits into a student’s
four year plan,” said Dr. Pitts, an advi
sor of the Anger program.
There are also opportunities with
Meredith Affiliate programs. They are
“providers that meet our standards
of academic quality, student support,
safety and cultural engagement,” said
Shurer. With these programs, stu
dents can travel all over the world.
There is a complete list of affiliate pro
grams pn the Office of International
Programs website. Students traveling
with these affiliates engage in one-on-
one advising with the OIP beforehand
and are still connected with Meredith
throughout their entire trip.
The first step for those interested in
study abroad would be to attend a gen
eral advising session where they will
receive more steps, including personal
advising and funding workshops. Stu
dents can sign up for both of those and
find more information at Meredith,
edu/studyabroad. The application
process begins with an online applica
tion and supplemental materials. Af
ter a student decides where she wants
to go, she meets with financial aid to
figure out how affordable it can be.
She should also submit a scholarship
application with the Office of Inter
national Programs. Students wanting
to travel during the upcoming spring
semester should apply by the end of
this semester. “Meredith College feels
so strongly about the value of study
abroad that 100% of financial aid and
institutional aid travel with students
to help make study abroad more af
fordable,” said Shurer.
Photo Credits Miss America Organization
On August 29th many Meredith
students, faculty, and community
supporters spent their Saturday
afternoon saying farewell to Kate
Peacock as she made her departure for
Atlantic City, New Jersey to compete
in the 2016 Miss America Pageant.
The rising Meredith junior was
crowned Miss North Carolina on
Saturday, June 20th in Memorial
Auditorium in Raleigh, where she won
a $12,500 scholarship and a year of
appearances across the state. Peacock
was previously crowned Miss Dunn
before competing for the Miss N.C.
title.
Peacock’s platform promotes
pediatric eye disease awareness, as
she has been a patient at the Duke Eye
Center for the majority of her life. Kate
has used her stories to inspire patients
around the state in all Children’s
Miracle Network Hospitals, including
Duke Hospital. She will be publicizing
her campaign through bracelets that
say, “SEE the dream” in hopes to find
cures for pediatric eye diseases.
During her farewell in Jones
Auditorium at Meredith, Kate gave
her supporters a glimpse of her
talented toes. She also displayed her
entire wardrobe for Miss America and
discussed her hopes for the pageant.
Meredith College was in full support
its fellow angel as she took the stage
Sept. 13th at Boardwalk Hall.
On Saturday, Sept. 13th, the Class of
2017, Office of Retention, and Students
Success, and the 1891 Club hosted the
Miss America viewing party in Jones
Auditorium. Many Meredith students
arrived and watched the beginning
of the pagent adorning their Miss
America crowns and flooding social
media with “#ProudAsAPeacock.”
Although, Miss Georgia recieved the
2016 Miss America crown in the end,
the entire Meredith community is still
“proud as a Peacock” and cannot wait
for Kate’s return to campus.
STAFF
Editors: Cody Jeffery, Editor in Chief. Rachel Pratl, Assistant Editor. Emily Chilton, A&E Editor and Copy Editor. Cheyenne Williams, Editorials Editor. Laura Douglass, News Editor.
Kristen Lawhorrie, Online Editor. Olivia McElvaney, Online Editor. Savanna Matthews, Layout Editor. Dr. Rebecca Duncan, Advisor.
Staff Writers: Sarah Kiser, Julia Allsbrook, Kaity Melvin, Brook Boatright, Abigail Ojeda, Alexandra Lankenau, M’beyanna Robinson, Brooke Mayo, Bryana Woods,
Alexa lanuale, Ashley-Rosetta Hall, Katherine Soost.
The Meredith Herald is produced by the College throughout the academic year. The paper is funded by the College and through independent advertising. The opinions expressed in the edito
rial columns do not necessarily reflect those of the college administration, faculty, or student body. The policy of this paper requires that submissions be made by 5:00 p.m. the Thursday before
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