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http://www.theclackamasprint.com
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www.TheCackamasPrint.com
Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR
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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.