Weeklong event at Columbia U. examines mental health

March 26, 2001

By Tallie Lieberman
Columbia Daily Spectator
Columbia U.

(U-WIRE) NEW YORK -- Columbia University's first movement to address the
mental health of students debuted in the basement of the Alpha Epsilon Pi
house last night with Stress Relief Sunday, an evening of stress-reduction
meditation and discussion.

As the first in a series of nine events constituting Mental Health Awareness
Week, sponsored by the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC), Stress
Relief Sunday focused on the importance of prioritizing personal health and
peace of mind through the use of stress reduction techniques.

In January, Time magazine published an article naming suicide as the second
largest killer of American college students. In it, author Kate Kelly
specifically cited Columbia University as an institution that fell under the
umbrella of sensational student suicides at college campuses, referring to
"six Columbia University undergraduates or recent students [who] died in
incidents linked to clear or presumed mental disturbances."

The Time article was received with quiet disapproval on campus and had little
bearing on the decision to hold Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW),
according to SHAC co-chair Howard Forman, CC '01.

"This has been in planning since October. We have professionals coming from
every part of New York... This is not being thrown together last moment or
anything," Forman said.

However, Forman added that recent suicides at Columbia affected students to
the extent that many e-mailed SHAC or called their hotline with suggestions
for countermeasures to avert such tragedies.

"Mental Health Awareness Week is based on e-mails and phone calls we received
from students, saying 'Hi, I just got another e-mail about another tragedy in
the Columbia community. We need to do something about it,' and we want to try
to reduce the number of tragedies," Forman said.

Fellow SHAC member and MHAW organizer Elena Honotoris, CC '02, agreed that
student concern for mental health had propelled the Awareness Week.

"We had gotten a lot of concern from students in the community that there
wasn't enough being done for mental health," said Honotoris. "Everyone who is
involved in SHAC has been concerned with suicide even before the Time article
came out, but it made it a more salient subject for us."

Both Honotoris and Forman agree that the Administration has been very
supportive of SHAC endeavors to enact their mission statement, which is to
"disseminate and promote ideas about quality health care."

When asked if the Time article coupled with recent student activism calling
for administrative intervention into the psychological well-being of students
influenced the Administration's willingness to endorse MHAW, Forman said "We
don't blame the Administration for the tragedies. The fact is that college is
the age when mental illness is first expressed. But why the administration is
being so open and so helpful, I can't answer."

The Administration-SHAC partnership functions to foster the understanding
that "Columbia does care about its students if you make it known that you are
having difficulties," Forman said.

However, it is more difficult to help students who conceal or cannot express
their mental problems, Forman said.

"[MHAW] is not a solution, but if it encourages 25 students to seek help who
wouldn't ordinarily, well then I would consider this to be a success," said
Forman.

Students who attended Stress Relief Sunday made up a small but intense crowd.

School of Social Work student Kalpana Parekh opened the event with a lecture
about the physiological dangers of stress before leading the group in Yoga
meditation exercises.

Soon after, Alice! Stressbusters muscled their way into the event to provide free massages. Meanwhile, psychiatric nurse Yvonne Singletary took the stage to discuss smoking cessation techniques.  Parekh concluded the event by saying, "One thing I'd like to end on is to commit to five minutes a day [for yourself]."  Other events this week include Anxiety Disorders: A Personal Story, Suicide: Awareness and Risk Factors, and Men in Intimate Relationships.  Students attended the MHAW event for a wide range of reasons.  Rotem Auerbach of Teachers College said, "I saw a flyer, and I am doing a psychology program in conflict and resolution, so I was interested in the area."  Jennifer Barsky, BC '01, said, "I got some good information on relaxation techniques and stress management."

Students also gained information on stress management.

Jill Markowitz, BC '01, agreed, "It was so informative, it put to words
things I had already intuited."

(C) 2001 Columbia Daily Spectator via U-WIRE