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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 1984)
Crisis Center has advice for troubled By Diana Elliott Of the Emerald Some call simply to ask when the EMU is open, while others, desperate and suicidal, are looking for a ray of hope. Whatever the situation, counselors at the Crisis Center are there to help whoever calls. The Crisis Center is not a walk-in counseling service. There are no couches and no waiting rooms — only telephones. “We offer immediate phone r counseling to students, faculty and the community,” says Susan Snyder, the Crisis Center’s new director. “Occa sionally, we do make emergen cy house calls, but basically we’re here to refer callers to the proper agency,” Snyder says. Every day from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., several counselors are sit ting by the phones ready to answer questions, to offer ad vice and to direct callers to agencies that can help them with their problems. Although i GO HOME FORA QUARTER. Give the folks a ring from a convenient public phone. Call on one today. (2) Pacific Northwest Beil ©1984 Pacific Northwest Bell r it may appear to be nothing more than Dear Abby by phone, Snyder says the Crisis Center is much more sophisticated than that. “All of our counselors are ex tensively trained,” Snyder says. “And although it isn’t a re quirement, most are psychology majors who have an interest in this kind of work.” Crisis Intervention, a class of fered through the University every fall and spring term, is a prerequisite for all counselors. In addition, counselors attend meetings twice a month to learn from each other about ways to solve problems, Snyder says. “Those who use the Crisis Center usually feel comfortable because our counselors are well-trained, and they (the callers) know they are talking to fellow students,” Snyder says. Although she has no way of knowing for sure, Snyder believes that most of the callers are University students. “I think we get mostly students calling, because they’re the ones who know about us,” she says. This explains why returning students are more likely to call the center than freshmen, she says. “A lot of new students don’t know about us, but I hope that’s changing,” Snyder says. “We’ve made an effort to in form students about our service. We’re flooding the campus with cards with the telephone number on them, and we're placing fliers in all the dorm mailboxes.” Snyder says the biggest pro blem is not informing students about the center, but getting them to use it. “Older students call more because they’re more aware and not as worried about getting counseling,” Snyder says. “We want students to understand that they don’t have to be freak ing out to call. Even if a student just feels down, that’s reason enough to give us a call.” While most callers are from the campus, Snyder believes the Eugene community has been relying more heavily on the ser vice in recent years. “The way the economy has been these last few years, some of the (community) crisis agen cies have gone under, which means more people tum to us,” she explains. The Crisis Center, which started in 1969, has seen its share of growth during the past 15 years. Snyder says. “It started out as one person runn ing it out of a hole-in-the-wall apartment, and it has been get ting better every year.” Snyder hopes that the center will continue to improve under her leadership. “I don’t plan on making any major changes because it’s real ly well-established now,” she Susan Snyder says. "But I do want to increase the training of the counselors by involving the students in more workshops." One workshop that all her counselors are sure to attend is "Self Health ’85.” which Snyder will be giving in February. The one-day con ference will focus on topics ranging from intimacy to im proving study skills. "This is the second year for the conference, which is open to everyone," Snyder says. The Crisis Center receives funding from both the Universi ty Health Center and the ASUO. The center’s phone number is 686-4488. FriPnHQ Continued from Page 1 For Fortier’s brother, Gregory, “He was a mentor. He was like an older brother, even though we were twins.” Gregory Fortier said his brother showed him how not to Jim Fortier tSUBIVflV' Sandwiches & Salads Lunch Special ONLY $^99 Choose any sandwich or salad Reg. worth $250 PLUS a FREE small drink, all for *1»»! Special Good: Mon - Fri 11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Get the Fresh Alternative £UMllftV* Sandwiches & Salads 13th & Hilyard • 484-6955 Open til 1:00 a.m.; Seven Days A Week! £> procrastinate but to initiate and carry out tasks. ‘‘He was a tackier and a problem-solver. He was a go-getter," Gregory said. “Jim really appreciated nature, and he loved Oregon. The biggest thing that Jim believed in was the love of the outdoors, and it was really im portant to preserve nature,” said Don Denman, another stu dent and former roommate of Fortier’s. Denman said he remembers Fortier as “always outgoing, always aggressive.” That zeal of Fortier’s took him to Jackson Hole, in the pickup truck he got for graduation, to find a summer job and home. His plan was to work, so he could take some time off to ski and travel before returning to graduate school in geological engineering, Jones said. “He’s just that type that didn’t worry about it. He just got the job when he got there,” Gregory Fortier said. And although he never left Wyoming to carry out his plan, "he probably lived a fuller life in 24 years than a lot of people do in their whole life.” Jones said. A procession of cars will leave from outside Old Taylor’s Tavern for Spencer's Butte at 4 p.m. Sunday. For more infor mation about the memorial ser vice, contact Jones or Denman at 485-6175. Picture had wrong name A photograph on Page 8 of Monday’s Oregon Daily Emerald incorrectly identified Ibrahim Wabah as Gerry Kamp. Kamp, a SEARCH class in structor, was quoted in that issue’s story about a SEARCH class entitled “Literature of the Vietnam War.” Wabah, who was pictured, is a YMCA Big Brother at the University and will appear in a later issue of the newspaper. The Emerald apologizes for any inconvenience this error may have caused. JADE PALACE CANTONESE SZECHUAN CUISINE \ Welcome U of O Faculty and Students! The JADE PALACE wishes you an outstanding school year. 344-9523 _ 906 West 7th Ave., Eugene Open for Lunch and Dihner