The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 178, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 27, 2007 Page: 4 of 10
ten pages : b&w ; page 23 x 13 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Features
Page 4
THE J-TAC
September 27 s 2007
f\ew Secretary
bf Senate elected
By REBECCA
HOEFFNER
Staff Writer
it- \ The newly elected Student
> Government Association Sen-
- rate Secretary, Rachel Rucker,
;>was nominated on Monday
C^ept. 17. This is Rucker's first
-vyear in the senate and her first
>year to hold the position, and
Pv_she says the nomination was
^.'unexpected.
"I had my paper and pen
-;put, and my friend sitting be-
;>hind me was like 'you're all
J^eady to go!' So he raised his
- 'hand and was like 'I nominate
^Rachel Rucker for Secretary/ I
I>vvas the only one nominated,
-Xand about five seconds later
£>he moved to close the nomina-
^jtion"
Rucker is a 22-year-old
^graduate student at Tarleton
—iState University studying for a
'master's of science in manage-
ment and leadership. She grad-
uated from Tarleton with her
bachelor's degree in industrial
technology in May of 2006.
"I definitely think ifs im-
portant for graduate students
to be a part of the student gov-
ernment, We have a different
perspective from the tradi-
tional undergraduate student.
..We have different experiences
with our classes and professors.
- ^Graduate students are a part of
,, the university too, so ifs impor-
. - tant that they're represented/'
said Rucker.
She wanted to be a part of
the senate in order to /'have a
.say in campus decisions, put in
Rebecca Hoeffner/The J-TAC
Rachel Rucker is a 22-year-
old graduate student.
my experience from working on
campus, contribute to ideas, and
help with decision making/'
As senate secretary, Rucker
is in charge of taking the min-
utes during meetings, corre-
spondence for the senate, taking
the roll at meetings, and any
other duties as assigned by the
president.
According to Brady Pend-
leton, SGA president the sen-
ate goals this year are "to seek
.after the establishment of an
Academic Advising Center, to
review the core curriculum and
make changes if needed, restruc-
ture the selection process for a
Tarleton representative for the
student Board of Reagent posi-
tion, and to strengthen student
life by providing lines of com-
munication from the students to
the administration, to increase
school spirit, and to provide
moire student services/7
Hinga discusses depression
Dr. Hinga's Advice for Syptoms of Depression or Stress
DO... DON'T,..
Do what ymt feel you need to do lo save Make them feel like they have been
your friend's life. , caught doing something bad, dort'f
accuse ihem of negative behavior.
Have 3 camiid conversation; mh Jhem
about how they have been behaving hearsay, use what you have
lately, observed first-hand.
Let them know that it is OK for them to
scs a counselor.
Offer to walk with your friends to the
Student Wellness Cettfen offer to
pick up the Ibrms
they will need to
i when they call
fill out, cs-btf Awe
to make m appointment
If you have a problem starting the
conversation* talk to a counselor or
a RL for advice pa how to proceed,
but keep your friend anonymous.
Go behmd your friend's back, even
with gytxi mixtions, this eait
back ill e by destroying trust* mining
you friendship, and possibty even
making it harder for ymif triemi to
gel help
v
Kenneth Brisendine/The J-TAC
By JOLYNN ELKINS
Staff Writer
As the semester gains momentum towards midterms, the
stress of school is cranking up. Dr. Gilbert Hinga, assistant vice
president of Wellness and Career Development, advises on the
dangers of depression and stress, and what the school offers tp
help.
Hinga says there is a difference between what people gener-
ally call depression and clinical depression,
"The best way to think of clinical depression is to think of
it as depression as a continuum. Where on one hand you feel
sadness, kind of down in the dumps, we all go through that, to
clinical depression" he said, "looks very different than sadness
or feeling down/' Hinga said. To be diagnosed with Clinical de-
pression, a person would have to have had symptoms of depres-
sion that last for two weeks or more and they have to be interfer-
ing with normal life in some way.
Hinga outlined some of the symptoms for clinical depres-
sion.
"Some of the symptoms can be depressed mood, can't get
up, can't do anything... It could be that they have weight loss,
they have lost a lot of weight or gained a lot of weight. Qr they
have lost a lot of interest in activities that they did before. It can
be that they can't sleep, or they are sleeping a lot. It could be that
they have been having thoughts of death, or suicide. It could be
that they are having a feeling of worthlessness or guilt," Hinga
said.
Hinga s^id that suicide is linked to depression, and that sta-
tistics show suicide rates are much higher in students who do
.not seek counseling than in the groups of students who have
I ' " V 1 ■ ' '
gone through counseling. 'There is a protective factor of counsel-
ing/' Hinga said.
Depression is riot the only thing that can hurt your well being
at school. Hinga said that stress is a major issue on campus. Stress
can lead to many problems if not handled properly. While every-
one has had stress in their life, what they used to cope with stress
may not work in the University environment.
"When they [students] come here they find that the coping
mechanism doesn't work anymore. Say, what they used to do was
watch TV now they find out that watching TV doesn't help, or
doesn't help as much. It probably means that
their level of stress has increased, and the coping they used to do
no longer works.
Sometimes talking to a counselor or an RL [Residential Leader]...
what happens is they may get a few more coping mechanisms,"
Hinga said. Some of the new coping mechanisms n iay be as simple
as going jogging, or changing your eating habits to be healthier.
Hinga added that nutrition can be a factor in coping. "Eating a
healthy balanced diet, you would be surprised at how influential it
is on your mood/' Hinga said.
Gn the list of things not to use as a coping mechanism is alco-
hol. "Alcohol is a common coping mechanism that students use.
It is not a positive coping mechanism. Alcohol is a depressant. It
does make depression worse. But it does help some students not
feel for a time, or not feel in a situation where they feel socially
anxious/' Hinga said.
Tarleton offers Alcohol Edu, a program that educates students
about the effects of alcohol. *
Hinga said the Alcohol Edu is "...a good, effective program
because it is education on what alcohol does and does not do.
People who go through Alcohol Edu are much less likely to binge
drink, or to engage in unhealthy practices involving alcohol."
"It helps students figure out that alcohol is not a good coping
mechanism." Hinga said.
Another on campus stress and depression management tool is
the Residential Living and Learning programs, and especially, the
residential leaders. According to Hinga, creating a sense of com-
munity is a strong defense against stress.
"RLs are supposed to know their residents, are supposed to
get students to get to know each other," the vice president said, "It
does not say 'To deal with depression come to this program' it says
'stress management7 or 'get to know7, but all those things mitigate
depression."
But the university could do more, in Hinga's opinion. "Lower-
ing the threshold of students coming in to counseling, making it
very easy for students to come into counseling is an important
, _ f , , , , See, DEPRESSION, Page 9
Career Sevices...all things are connected
feme
o i
Get your resume
critiqued
No appointment
needed
Walk-Ins welcome
Career Services
TSC 218
4-6pm, Sept. 27
968-9078
M M Fife
Looking for that perfect
Job or Internship?
Oct. 2,10am-2pm
TSC Ballroom
Co-Sponsored by:
Luby's
Texas Health Resources
Baylor Health Care Systems
Dillard's
Enterprise Rerit-A-Car
Frito-Lay
lor a complete listing off
companies attending,
visit www.tarietoiKedu/^careerg
click m job fairs
Dress business professional and
bring extra resumes
on mum* paper
in the Workplace
Oct. 2, 7pm
TSC Ballroom
Meet Corporate Representatives
Mix, mtngl# and outwork
Discuss etMcal and diversity Issue*
Gel ^@ur Senior Series Cord
$tartip«d
.FREE FOOD
Co-Sponsored with C$r®«r $«rvte*s
Student* In Free Enterprising (SIFE)
and Center for Diversity initiatives
Make the Connection!
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 178, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 27, 2007, newspaper, September 27, 2007; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth142159/m1/4/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.