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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2013)
S http://www.theclackamasprint.com Wearfesääy,Feb:6,2013 LS^IfegeJal JFüt www.TheCackamasPrint.com Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR » r An independent, student-run newspaper since 1966 mental health concerns proves im p o rta n t Brittany Bell News Editor Our community has recently been subjected to an increased amount o f violence, crime and mental health problems — including suicide. No matter who it affects, everyone should know where to go when they feel like they need help. How to recognize when someone reaches out for help or is sending signals that they are in need o f help is very important as well. C lackam as C om m unity College has a team o f counselors available at no cost to its stu dents. One o f these counselors is Stephanie Schaefer. Her office is located in McLoughlin 247. She previously worked for Clackamas County Mental Health, has a M asters in Counseling Psychology and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Schaefer believes people should take these mental health issues seriously. Someone shouldn’t laugh about it because they don’t know who they’re hurt ing when they do that. Especially w h e n th e r e i s a c r i s is s it u a t io n , o Andrew Millbrooke It’s 6 a .m .as you hear the alarm clock blast you from your, slumber, but you wake quickly and dress and are out the door within minutes on your morn ing run. That may hot seem like an ideal morning for most, but for Badane Sultessa, Clackamas’ top distance runner, this kind of morning routine is just a step ping stone to his dream. Just a few days before Christmas, Sultessa posted this to his Facebook page, “No mat ter if it's raining or snowing, cold or I feel sick 1 get up and run every day. I fight for my dream nothing can stop me from what I love to do. I believe noth ing comes to you without work ing hard.” Sultessa must get that early run in to get his mileage up to 50 miles per week as he prepares for the outdoor track season. Sultessa, who will bump his mileage up to 70 miles per week this summer, wi 11 red shirt this spring at Clackamas Community College so that he will have his sophomore year of eligibility to compete in cross country and track next season. Next year he will be a third- year sophomore giving him a distinct competitive advantage. Sultessa will not compete in a Cougar uniform this spring, but he will try to get in some fast races as an’ unattached entrant to lower his personal best times. Badane Sultessa, right, leads o Colton Snook in a workout . * f on CCC’s track last Friday. 3 ,*~**,*~,^*«^i*«*->® , runners were doing to ■ repeat 400 meter sprints with"1”^" > minimal rest m between. 3’ “This year I want to get some really good times, get in some good races,” said Sultessa. “That way, I’ll get noticed by some big programs.” Sultessa has impressed his current coach at Clackamas with his “anything for the team” attitude. “Badane’s been awesome,” said Jerret Maníalas, Clackamas’ distance coach. “He’s obviously going to be a huge piece to lose this spring when we’re try ing to take down Spokane CC for a conference title. 1 think he scored 23 points for us last spring on the track and did any thing we wanted him to. He was fourth in steeplechase, won the 800-metërs, got second place in the 1,500-meters and he would have run a leg on the relay for us. He’s that kind of guy.” Losing Sultessa to his red shirt year will certainly hurt the Cougars this spring, but it is a fact of life for college ath letic programs. Athletes often redshirt, which saves a year of eligibility while they continue to train and go to school, because they need more time to develop physically or catch up scholasti cally; “Talent-wise he’s absolutely ready to compete Division I,” said Maníalas. ‘‘But, he’s bust ing his tail academically, mak ing sure he’s getting those things done.” , “Until I was 13 I grew up in Ethiopia,” said Sultessa. “Me and my dad and family moved to Kenya, then three years later we moved to Portland.” Sultessa, 20, moved from Kenya to Portland with his father and four brothers and five sisters when he was 15 years old, leaving his mother behind. “I never saw my mom for three years,” said Sultessa. It wax an lit i wiili liulir- ing and war and they wanted my dad,” said Sultessa. “At that time, we moved out to Kenya. We go there and got processed to get all of our family here.” Mantalas acknowledged that the language barrier is there, but Sultessa and his family have certainly adapted well. Two of Sultessa’s younger brothers run for Cleveland High School and are showing early promise. Roba, a sophomore, finished 12th overall in the 5A race in 16:34. Jalato, a freshman, was 36th overall in an impres sive 17:17 for 5,000-meters. They helped the Warriors to a second place team trophy. “English is a , foreign lan guage for him,” said Mantalas. “So some things are little more of a challenge, but he’s taken all that in stride and never backed away from anything.” Please see RUNNER, Page 4 dents actually attempted suicide and there’s an alarming 1,000 or more on-campus suicides per year. “I think in some ways you might find that community col lege students experience more stressors than your typical four-year university students,” Schaefer said. “A lot o f you are balancing family, jobs, returning to work or school — and you have a lot more stressors poten tially.” Karen Carlin, Senior Case Manager for Clackamas County’s Behavioral Health Division, talks about some signs that may signal mental illness. “Sometimes people suffer from lack o f attendance, they m ig h t n o t h a v e th e e n e r g y to g e t be careful about what is said and up and come to school. Their how it will affect other people around, including instructors and peers. “Not talking about suicide is one o f the worst things you that can do for suicide,” Schaefer said. “You’ve increased the stig ma and you make people feel like it’s too taboo of a topic. However, the way you talk about suicide is important.” According to the 2006 National College Health Survey, 44 percent of four-year college students were so depressed they found it difficult to function. More than 50 percent of these students felt that things were h©peless and about 10 percent considered attempting suicide. According to this same survey, one percent o f these college stu hygiene might suffer. They might eat too much or not enough,” she said.“They might report sleeping too little or too much, certainly giving things away is a huge sign — and sometimes an abrupt change in mood.” . “Some things are kind of individual and kind of what you would expect. Maybe they act depressed, talk about hopeless ness, helplessness, and compar ing those things, hopelessness is a lot more serious,” Carlin said. “People might write a blog, talk about death, themes of dying or suicide, become obsessed with maybe a writer who’s known for that.” Please see HEALTH, Page 3 Stephanie Schaefer, a counselor here at Clackamas Community College, stresses the importance o f talking about mental health issues, including suicide. Schaefer works in McLoughlin 247.
