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(10/10/16 11:04pm)
UNH’s annual Fresh Check Day occurred last Thursday, Oct. 6 in the Hamel Recreation Center. Brought forth by the Jordan Porco Foundation, the mission of the event is to raise awareness of resources pertaining to suicide prevention and mental health across different college campuses nationwide.
From 11a.m.–2 p.m., students swung by the event to grab free food, engage in the interactive booths, pet some friendly dogs and win prizes, which included a free flat screen TV.
It was more than just a day to relieve stress, as it was also a day to promote and emphasize the importance of overall wellness, with a spotlight on mental illness and mental health.
Carly Barber, an intern at the office of health education and promotion in the sexual health department, said that she hoped students who attended the event learned more about what resources the campus has to offer.
“Knowing that there are other services offered, like [programs for] drugs and alcohol or eating disorder help or sexual health is good,” Barber said. “[This event] is a fun way to get introduced to it, if they have never really been exposed to it. I’m hoping it’s a hit with students and that they like it.”
The goal of this mental health awareness day is to create and encourage conversation about mental health issues, raise public awareness and break down the stereotypical boundaries that mental health can sometimes hold.
UNH sophomore and Project Sunshine volunteer Camille Starr said that she agreed this day is much needed.
“I think there’s so many [stressful situations] at college,” Starr said. “This is nice, it’s a free thing where [students] can come just check up on themselves and make sure they’re doing okay –or maybe they’ll say, ‘Oh I relate to this,’ or ‘I need to focus more on this,’ where they don’t have to take time and schedule an appointment or anything like that.”
“I feel like Fresh Check is one of the only things that UNH really does that really focuses on suicide prevention but in a peer-to-peer teaching way,” UNH student and Health Services intern Rebecca Laliberte said. “It’s more interactive, you’re hands on. It’s not a heavy thing –it’s relaxing to spend time with the therapy dogs, check in and chill out or write down insecurities. We’re trying to promote the healthy aspects of a healthy college community.”
Laliberte said that she hopes to make Fresh Check Day more than a single day event, and plans to use information she learned at the event in regard to what stresses students out the most, and potentially turn it into a weekly or monthly event. “At finals time, at the library, they have so much for you to do. But people are that stressed the whole year,” she said.
Also in attendance was Maggie Wells, the education and outreach coordinator at the Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention Program (SHARPP).
“I think there is a life skill to be learned about reaching out and asking for help and knowing that there’s so many different places that are willing to help, not just when you’re here at UNH, but there are replicas of these booths out in the real world, and learning the skill of seeking that out when you need it, is huge,” Wells said.
(10/10/16 10:30pm)
(10/06/16 1:20pm)
Suicide was the second leading cause of death for New Hampshire individuals aged 15-24 from 2009-13 according to the 2014 New Hampshire Suicide Prevention Annual Report. In that age group, which includes most college students, there were 102 completed suicides. The only cause of death that eclipsed suicide in this age category was unintentional injury, which led to a total of 224 deaths.
Though it hasn’t been since 2014 that a UNH student on campus completed a suicide, the issue has been and deserves to be a topic of relevant discussion at the university. Combating student suicide is a primary goal for the Campus Suicide Prevention Committee. Comprised of UNH faculty, staff and students, this group has a focus on increasing awareness of suicide prevention resources and support programs, while also working to eliminate the stigma that is often connected to the topic of mental illness. The Kognito program is one of the tools they promote and use for the cause.
Established in 2013 at UNH by way of collaborative campus funding efforts, Kognito is an online suicide prevention program that utilizes avatars to simulate conversations that allow users to gain knowledge on how to identify individuals who may be at risk for emotional distress.
In Kognito’s first two years at UNH, there were a total of four programs available for students and staff: “At Risk For College Students,” “At Risk for Faculty and Staff,” “LGBTQ On Campus For Faculty and Staff,” and “Veterans on Campus For Faculty and Staff.” Of those programs, the most widely used was the “At Risk” program, which had 1,443 student registrations and 872 faculty and staff registrations before Sept. 30, 2015. As of Oct. 5, 2016, those numbers have increased to 2,651 student registrations and 1,139 faculty and staff registrations for the “At Risk” programs.
Last year UNH received the Garret Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Grant (GLS grant), which supplies $100,000 to the university per year for the next three years. A portion of this grant, sponsored by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), has been directly allocated to the funding of furthering the capacity of UNH’s Kognito program. There is now a total of seven programs available via the website, though the most popular program remains to be “At Risk.” According to a flyer regarding UNH’s Kognito program, 91.72 percent of students and 93.55 percent of faculty and staff members who have completed the “At Risk” program would recommend it to their peers. The recommendation percentages from the other five programs range from 91 to 97, respectively.
Campus Suicide Prevention Program Co-Chair Amanda Fontaine said that the university receiving funds from the grant is contingent on meeting the goals for each year. The second year receiving the donation officially began Sept. 30, 2016.
According to Campus Suicide Prevention Program Co-Chair and GLS grant Project Manager Sean Moundas, the annual cost of having Kognito available to the university is $31,830 and is completely covered by the grant.
Fontaine said that she doesn’t believe there is a way to empirically measure whether or not Kognito has been a success since its incorporation at UNH. She said that the program relies on user ratings that are made publically available.
“The programs consistently receive high ratings,” she said. “Every one of them has a current user rating over 90 percent… so the users who are taking it feel like it is relevant and very applicable to what they would do if presented in a situation of someone in mental health distress.” However, Fontaine also said that these user ratings don’t necessarily reflect all of the users. In this case, the information behind these recommendation percentages is only collected from individuals who opt into the survey that is offered upon the completion of any of the Kognito programs.
“This is one aspect of a larger mission to foster campus conversations about mental health, and to make mental health a topic of priority,” Fontaine said.
Junior psychology major Caleb Jackson has completed two Kognito programs since first registering for the program in fall 2015. He said that it was through his membership in the student organization Stop the Stigma that he first found out about the online program.
“I think it is a great tool that doesn’t take long to complete, and it’s really interactive,” Jackson said. “It really teaches you well how you can identify kids that may need more help or attention than they are getting.”
Jackson said that while he believes that the Counseling Center and other such UNH organizations have done a good job promoting Kognito, he also thinks that public knowledge of the program could be expanded across campus.
(09/08/16 10:41pm)
In this world of school shootings and hatred, terrorism and abuse of power, the truly scary thing is how we treat each other on a daily basis. Far from the time when “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me,” we have fallen on dark times where verbal abuse has not only become the norm but is occasionally used as a form of greeting between friends. The pessimism and negativity permeating our world has led to a regression in manners and in the understanding of the meaning and necessity of civil/human rights. Most of the negativity we retain is absorbed from our environment, though for some it relates to one specific traumatic event in their pasts.
(04/07/16 4:52am)
I had the pleasure of sitting down with the head coach of the men’s cross-country and track and field programs Jim Boulanger, this past Tuesday, and as athletes slowly trickled in to the Paul Sweet Oval for track practice, I was able to learn why he coaches and how he has done this for so long.
(12/08/15 11:16pm)
By Kyle Kittredge
(12/08/15 10:54pm)
By Liz Haas
(12/08/15 10:28pm)
Suicide prevention is an important area of focus at UNH. Dr. David Cross, Counseling Center Director, has offered numerous in-person trainings over the years to faculty, staff and students. The training has focused on identifying the warning signs but also recognizing the risk and protective factors for students in distress. In addition to providing ongoing short-term individual, relationship, and group counseling as well as consultations regarding students of concern, the Counseling Center provides in-person (academic year hours: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) same-day urgent services to students in distress; urgent services are also available via phone 24/7 at 603-862-2090. Additionally, the Adjunct Assistant Dean of Students, Denise Nelson, in consultation with the Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) can require students to have a safety evaluation at the Counseling Center based on safety concerns reported by community members.
(12/08/15 10:25pm)
By Lisa Demaine
(12/08/15 1:26am)
By Tyler Kennedy
(12/07/15 10:31pm)
By Tyler Kennedy
(12/01/15 4:47pm)
By Mark Kobzik
(11/02/15 7:48am)
By ANDREW YOURELL
SPORTS EDITOR
It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t the way they drew it up, but the Wildcats managed to pull out a 158-142 win on Saturday at Central Connecticut State University’s Jack Saydum Natatorium.
UNH trailed the Blue Devils for most of the afternoon, and did not put up good times. It was the first away meet for many of the Wildcats, who have seven freshmen on the roster, and head coach Josh Willman thinks that swimming away from UNH’s Swasey Pool played a factor.
“It’s always difficult to swim on the road,” he said. “With our team being so young, most of the new people are comfortable in our pool.”
The Natatorium features a six-lane pool, which means no warm-up and cool-down lanes for swimmers. It’s also a shallower pool, and the starting blocks were so poor that towels were used to cover their surfaces. All in all, it was a shock for some of Willman’s younger swimmers.
Despite the pool conditions, it was the team’s young swimmers that stepped up and helped UNH regain the lead.
Down 124-102 with only four events remaining, the Wildcats got a huge points boost when they swept the 500-yard freestyle. Leading the charge was freshman Brittany Moffat, who also won the 1,650-yard freestyle earlier in the meet. Brittany Driscoll, another freshman, and sophomore Bridget Miller followed Moffat, and the 1-2-3 finish brought UNH within striking distance.
“I think both Brittany’s are doing a great job,” senior captain Bettina Caspersen said. “They definitely know how to get down to business.”
That focus and preparation was something that Willman stressed the entire team needed to work on. Moving forward, it will be something the team focuses on, according to Caspersen.
“Being eager and mentally preparing yourself throughout the week for the meet is something we’re working on every day,” she said. “It takes time to get there.”
He did, however, reserve high praise for Driscoll, who has seamlessly become one of the top swimmers on the team, despite her youth and relative inexperience.
“She’s awesome,” he said. “She’s been like that every single meet we’ve had so far.”
Indeed, the rookie was relied upon to carry the team late in the afternoon. After swimming the 500, Driscoll had only one event to rest before swimming the 400-yard individual medley, one of the sport’s most grueling races. She performed phenomenally, winning the event. Caspersen came in second in the event, and junior Sarah Olver’s fourth place finish helped to give UNH a slim lead heading into the final event, the 800-yard freestyle relay.
UNH’s top swimmers led off, with Jess Harper’s first leg opening a lead over Central Connecticut’s lead swimmer. Junior co-captain Sarah Broderick entered the water next, and increased the lead for sophomore superstar Liza Baykova, who slammed the door on the Blue Devils comeback chances. By the time Driscoll entered the water to anchor the race, she had half a pool length lead.
“As a team we’re very strong in the longer events, and I think that has to do with the training we do,” Caspersen said of the team’s dominant performances in the distance events.
In addition to the new setting, one of the reasons that UNH failed to meet its usually high standards had a lot to do with the team’s health. Several team members were battling minor illnesses and fatigue on the bus ride to Connecticut. Willman spoke with his student-athletes on the return trip about taking care of their bodies, focusing on sleep, nutrition, and hydration. With the team counting on each and every swimmer to perform well in meets, he said that the kinds of issues the team experienced on Saturday need to be overcome in future meets.
“I think I just want them to remember to be tough, especially with the new people,” he said. “They can’t really let how they are personally feeling—their aches and pains, or their health—they can’t really focus on that.”
UNH has the week to get healthy before travelling to the University of Rhode Island for a matchup against the Rams on Saturday. Caspersen said that she’s confident the team will be ready and eager to hit the water.
“Since it’s the last dual meet of the semester, I think that helps as motivation and being excited. I also think that the incoming freshman now know what it will be like to be on the road, and that will help too.”
(10/16/15 3:30pm)
As cliché as this is going to sound, it’s difficult to believe that this Friday, Oct. 17 marks the halfway point of the fall semester.
(10/12/15 9:49pm)
By Mark Kobzik
(09/24/15 8:25pm)
By Zerina Bajramovic
(04/30/15 6:55am)
By ELIZABETH CLEMENTE, Contributing Writer
(04/27/15 9:04am)
By Brendan LeRoy
(03/12/15 6:28am)
By CATEY McCANN, SPORTS WRITER
(03/09/15 4:55am)
By Fatima Jaber, Contributing Writer
