1991_11 The Daily Collegian November 1991

              Features
The'
.Collegian • November 4, 1991
Free Speech
What do you think of the racial climate on
campus?
"I have a feeling that it is a
little more conservative than
is good for our diverse cam¬
pus population. I notice seg¬
regation between groups."
J.K. Vincent-Kil I ia n, liberal
studies, senior
"My girlfriend says she went
to the bathroom and saw a lot
of dirty words about racism. I
am not sure who was saying
the words."
Kanaka Hiroyuk i, business,
senior
" People do make an honest
effort to get along. We can
deal with the mistakes of the
past maturely and
intellectually and get on With
our lives." Steven J. Burns,
psychology, junior
"I think it has been hyped up
due to the Montoya contro¬
versy. People have been
more outspoken. I don't think
it is bad or there is tension."
Nairn Shah, Jr., accounting,
senior
"I havenl had a problem, with
any racial issues, but I am not.
a person looking for racism."
Lacy Barnes, USU informa¬
tion center
Youth and suicide
• Booklet provides early warning signs
By Erin Yasuda
DC Contributing writer
Suicide is the third leading
cause of death among young
people in the United States, ac¬
cording to the booklet "Youth and
t Suicide"
Onlyaccidcntsand homicides
take more lives.
According to the booklet, of
the more-than 5,000 Americans
who kill themselves each year,
2,000 of those are youths.
The booklet did not list the
number of attempted suicides
among young people each year.
CSUF has not been exempt
from this epidemic.
A 24-year-old CSUF transfer
student from Baker Hall attempted
suicide on the morning of Oct 10.
The reasons for the admitted at¬
tempt are not known.
Lt. Stephen King of Campus
Police said that there have been
two other known suicide attempts
at CSUF in the last three years.
However, he said mat there
have been no known completed
suicides in his eight years working
at CSUF.
The booklet said the group
with *c highest suicide rates is
young men ages 15 to 24, who
account for one in every five male
suicides.
The rate of young male sui¬
cide has increased three times in
the last thirty years; nearly twice
as many young men kill them¬
selves perl00,000asin the general
population. r
Young women aged 15 to 24
make up one in seven female
suicides; the rate of young female
suicide has increased two-and-a-
half times in the last 30 years.
There area number of symp¬
toms that a person experiencing
major depression may display.
According to the pamphlet
"Suicide: The Danger Signs"
published in 1986, these symp¬
toms include obvious unhappi-
ness, an inability to feel
pleasure, a preoccupation with
sad thoughts, crying and tear-.
fulness.
Other symptoms of major
depression are feelings of hope¬
lessness and worthlessness, loss
of energy and self-neglect, loss
The pamphlet says that "most
suicides are trying to end their lives
as they know them. They fail to
perceive that once dead, they
cannot continue thinking, feeling
and living."
The "Danger Signs" pamphlet
says there are several warning sign.
that are detectable in someone whe
may be considering suicide soon.
These include talking about
suicide, giving away important
possessions to friends, putting
affairs in order, saying goodbye to
others before committing suicide
and sudden changes in personality
The rate of young male ^^S^,
suicide has increased three a»»>u««»»*ieisihe
, most important
times in the last thirty years; «gn***«*for.
■    i     • "Studies have
nearly twice as many young found thatoversc
men kill themselves perp^* ofw^
100,000 *as in the general complete suicide
... w have made    pre-
population.
of concentration, sleep difficul¬
ties and thoughts of suicide.
According to the "Youth
and Suicide" pamphlet, there are
several external factors that may
push a youth to commit suicide.
These factors include
physical, sexual, or emotional
abuse by a parent, guardian pr
other significant person; the
separation or divorce of parents;
and the death of a loved one.
Other factors include mov¬
ing to a new area, breaking up
with a boyfriend or girlfriend,
the loss of a job, being arrested or
jailed, difficulty with peers, and
heavy use of alcohol and other
mind-altering drugs.
suicidal communi-
cations. Talking
about suicide is the single most
dangerous sign that i t may be abou t
to occur."
Men are more likely than
women to complete a suicide at¬
tempt, said Robert E. Litman of the
Los Angeles Suicide Prevention
Center.
He said in the 1986 issue of
Science that the reason why more
men take their lives than women is
because they are less likely to ask for
help either before or after a suicide
attempt
In the same Science article,
writerM. Mitchell Waldrop said that
the typical attempter is a young
woman and the typical completer is
an older, depressed male.
'Mad'ison celebrates Pot-fest
MADISON, Wis. (CPS)—Pot
smokers, gay rights activists, Julia
Childs, Pete Rose and the Kissing
Bandit celebrated a recent week¬
end in the college town thafs called
"62 square miles surrounded by
reality."
This place is called Mad-
town because ifs mad. Ifs a
nuthouse," said
Madison resident
Mike Goeden, a
former Univer*
sity of Wisconsin
at Madison stu¬
dent who now
owns a fish res¬
taurant in the
190,000 popu¬
lated city.
"I love this place. There's all
thesedifferentkindsofpeopleyou
don't find anywhere else," said
Roxanne Meyers, a 21-year-old
senior majoring in finance and
accounting.
Joints in hand, nearly 10,000
people recently marched to the
•■tate Capitol building chanting for
the legalization of marijuana.
Vendors sold T-shirts ("Silly rab¬
bi t, trips are for kids"), pot brown¬
ies and tie-dye clothing.
Willie Nelson, through a tele¬
phone hookup, joined the crowd
in spirit, if not in body.
"We've got people from Cali¬
fornia who make the annual trip,"
said Madison Mayor Paul Soglin,
who attended the University in
the early 70s and was an active
voice in the protest against the
Vietnam War.
Students
"ThlS   plaCe   IS anddtyfolkalike
called Mad-town £K££
because it's mad."% e a r,
It's a nuthouse," £»» ■*»*»?
attend the Uni-
Mlke GOOden versity of Wis¬
consin at Madi¬
son, which has
been known for the political activ¬
ism for more than a century.
The college is also known for
its party scene, and the almost 20-
year-old pot f est which attracts all
kinds of people.
"We'll probably get a lot of
pot smokers coming into the res¬
taurant when they get the
munchies," added Goeden.
Many more Madison resi¬
dents got the munchies and
hipped over to join Julia Childs at
the'Fall Harvest Tasting, where
she commented on the, "wonder¬
ful" food in Wisconsin, and the
black and white cows displayed
on silos.
Speaking of cows, Wisconsin,
the nation's dairy state, attracted
more than 60,000 people from 103
countries (the same weekend) to
tbe Dairy Expo, where computer-
ized milking machines were dis¬
cussed, among other dairy inno¬
vations.
"The Dairy Expo is truly
something to behold," Soglin said.
This is more man just milking
cows we're talking about We're
talking about the cutting edge of
technological innovations."
TheUniversirytakescreditfor
the innovations, Soglin said.
Toaddanall-American touch
to Madison's weekend, baseball
fans hung out with Pete Rose and
Morganna for an autograph ses¬
sion.
And just miles away, nearly
2,000 marched through the crisp
Madison air to kick off the na¬
tional gay and lesbian pride "Out
And About Week."
"WhatcanI say? We'remulti-
cultural and there's something
nere for everybody," Soglin said.
EarthFact:
When you toss out one aluminum can
you waste as much energy as if you'd
filled the same can half full of gasoline
and poured it on the ground*
•If you throw an aluminum can out of
your car window, it will still litter the
Earth up to 500 years later,
•If you throw away 2 aluminum cans,
you waste more energy than is used daily
by each Of a billion human beings in
poorer lands,
•TKe energy saved from one recycled alu¬
minum can will operate a television set
for three hours.
• Recycling aluminum cuts related air
pollution by 95 percent.
• Making aluminum from recycled alumi¬
num uses 90 percent less energy than
making aluminum from scratch.
Solution:
• Find a recycling center near you.
Sourco: 50 Simple Thing*You Can Do 7b Save The Earth